Harris and Trump face off in tense, critical debate in Philadelphia

(NEXSTAR) – Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris squared off for the first time on the presidential debate stage at Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center Tuesday night.

The matchup offered Americans their most detailed look at a campaign that’s dramatically changed since the last debate in June which forced President Joe Biden from the race. The Democratic vice president immediately moved to press the case against the former Republican president and his bombastic rhetoric, linking him to the conservative Project 2025 blueprint for a Republican administration and GOP efforts to restrict abortion access.

Harris, intent on demonstrating that she can press the Democratic case against Trump better than Biden did, walked up to Trump’s lectern to introduce herself as the debate opened.

“Kamala Harris,” she said, extending her hand to Trump, who received it in a handshake.

Harris immediately presented herself as a fighter for the middle class, saying she was the only candidate with plans to lift up “the middle class and working people of America.” She criticized Trump for enacting a tax cut for “billionaires and big corporations” and hammered his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“What we have done is clean up Donald Trump’s mess,” Harris said. She opened her answer by saying she expects voters to hear “a bunch of lies, grievances and name calling” from her GOP opponent during their 90-minute debate.

Trump, meanwhile, quickly went after Harris for abandoning some of her past liberal positions and said: “She’s going to my philosophy now. In fact, I was going to send her a MAGA hat.” Harris smiled broadly and laughed.

Harris not only tried to make the case that Trump is unfit for office but tried to use her answers in a way that seemed designed to provoke him into launching one of the personal attacks that his advisers and supporters have tried to steer him away from. In one moment, Harris turned to Trump and said that as vice president, she had spoken to foreign leaders, “And they say you’re a disgrace.”

Trump again denied his loss to President Joe Biden four years ago, when his efforts to overturn the result inspired the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.

“Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people,” Harris said, “So let’s be clear about that. And clearly he is having a very difficult time processing that.”

Trump in turn tried to link Harris to Biden, questioning why she hadn’t acted on her proposed ideas while serving as vice president, and focused his attacks on Harris over her assignment by Biden to deal with the root causes of illegal migration.

He repeatedly dismissed her and Biden as weak, and cited the praise of Hungary’s nationalist prime minister Viktor Orbán to show that he is a widely respected by leaders around the world, saying Orbán calls him the “most feared person.”

Both candidates also made a point of expressing support for positions often celebrated by each others’ parties, with Harris pointedly saying she wasn’t against fracking in a bid for U.S. energy independence, and Trump saying that he was a big fan of “solar.”

Migration was a common theme, with Trump repeatedly returning to claims of a wave of “migrant crime,” at one point alleging that immigrants in Ohio were eating residents’ dogs and cats. Such claims, also asserted by Trump’s vice presidential nominee Ohio Sen. JD Vance, were debunked by local officials.

“Talk about extreme,” said Harris, who earlier accused Trump of having a border security bill killed so he could “run on a problem” rather than fix one.

Harris also sought to differentiate herself from her opponent on the subject of abortion, telling viewers at home “The government, and Donald Trump certainly, should not be telling a woman what to do with her body.”

Trump responded saying that he did a “great service” and took credit for overturning Roe v. Wade. When asked if he would veto a national abortion ban, Trump refused to say.

Trump, 78, has struggled to adapt to Harris, 59, who is the first woman, Black person and person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president. The Republican former president has at times resorted to invoking racial and gender stereotypes, frustrating allies who want Trump to focus instead on policy differences with Harris.

High stakes as November nears

It’s the only debate that’s been firmly scheduled and could be the only time voters see Harris and Trump go head to head before the November general election.

The candidates are in a tight race, making the stakes high for Tuesday night.

There was some concern among Democrats Tuesday after a recent poll found that a majority of voters saw Trump as the more moderate candidate, The Hill reports. Despite Democratic attempts to portray the former president as a serious threat to U.S. democracy, a national poll of likely voters by The New York Times and Siena College found 47 percent saw Harris as too liberal, compared to 32 percent who saw Trump as too conservative.

Since replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee, Harris has pledged to chart a new way forward even as she’s embraced many of his ideas. She wants middle class tax cuts, tax hikes on the wealthy and corporations, a restoration of abortion rights and a government that aggressively addresses climate change, among other stances.

Seeking a return to the White House, Trump wants to accomplish much of what he couldn’t do during a term that was sidetracked by the global pandemic. The Republican wants the extension and expansion of his 2017 tax cuts, a massive increase in tariffs, more support for fossil fuels and a greater concentration of government power in the White House.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.