Harris and Trump engage in heated debate

Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris faced off in Philadelphia on Tuesday night for their first and only scheduled debate. ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis moderated the debate, which covered topics including abortion, immigration, the 2020 election, the Israel-Hamas war, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Harris’ race, Obamacare and the economy.

Zachary Peskowitz, associate professor of political science, said the three key issues in this election are the economy, abortion rights and immigration.

Bernard Fraga, associate professor of political science, believes voters are more likely to cast their votes based on candidates’ perspectives on future issues rather than on their views on specific policies.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Peskowitz says abortion has become a key campaign issue for voters. He sees abortion as a winning issue for Democrats in the 2024 election.

“Many moderate voters are quite disturbed by the reversal of Roe v. Wade,” Peskowitz said.

According to a May Pew Research Center poll, 63 percent of U.S. adults said abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared with 36 percent of U.S. adults who said so.

During the debate, Trump did not answer whether he would oppose a national abortion ban if elected president. Harris insisted that the government should not interfere in a woman’s decision to have an abortion.

Peskowitz said Trump has a “natural advantage” on the immigration issue. In 2021, US President Joe Biden appointed Harris to deal with immigration at the US-Mexico border. Politicians such as Senator Ted Cruz (Republican, Texas) have criticized Harris for her handling of the issue. According to Peskowitz, there is concern among moderate swing voters about the extent of illegal immigration.

According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, immigration is the second most important issue for registered voters who support Trump and the sixth most important issue for all registered voters.

In her defense, Harris said Trump had persuaded Republicans to vote against an immigration deal that she hoped would help secure the United States’ southern border.

“Harris has to go through this complicated explanation: We had an agreement with conservative Republican members of Congress and then Trump blew it up,” Peskowitz said.

Regarding the economy, Peskowitz said that there has been a “mixed picture” under the Biden administration. He mentioned that there has been very high inflation under the administration, but unemployment has been very low.

During the debate, Trump tried to link Harris to Biden and his poor approval ratings regarding his handling of the economy. In response, Harris pointed to some of Trump’s economic proposals, including his tariff proposals. Harris argued that Trump’s tariff plans would increase the cost of living.

“The interesting part of the back and forth, and this was a bit challenging for Harris, is that Trump made this point while [there were] “Tariffs on Chinese goods, the Biden administration has maintained many of them even after Trump left office,” Peskowitz said.

Another issue that could influence moderate voters in deciding between Harris and Trump, according to Peskowitz, is Trump’s stance on the aftermath of the 2020 election. During the debate, Trump denied that he lost the 2020 election. Peskowitz believes Trump’s comments about the 2020 election and his defense of the January 6, 2021 insurrection are a winning issue for Democrats.

“Clips of him … in today’s debate claiming he won the 2020 election and … sarcastic comments about how he lost by a small margin,” Peskowitz said. “I think that will make some moderate swing voters think about Trump.”

In addition, during the debate, Harris called for an immediate return of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and an immediate ceasefire with a possible path to a two-state solution between Palestine and Israel. Peskowitz said Harris was attempting a “balancing act” with her response.

On platforms like X, conservatives including podcaster Ben Shapiro, Donald Trump Jr. and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have criticized Muir and Davis for not applying the same standards when fact-checking Harris and Trump, claiming they did not adequately fact-check Harris.

“The moderators might as well be on the DNC payroll. This is ridiculous,” Graham wrote on X.

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon praised the anchors for their fact-checking of Trump.

Peskowitz said the moderators were “reasonable.”

“They asked a wide range of questions, did a little bit of fact-checking, more on Trump … He made some claims that they thought were false,” Peskowitz said. “I don’t think that will dramatically affect the candidates’ interpretation.”

Fraga said that at the start of the evening, Harris and Trump appeared to be virtually tied, with FiveThirtyEight’s interactive videos showing that Harris was only 2.7 points ahead at the start of the debate.

Peskowitz said he believes yesterday’s debate will not have a drastic impact on the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.

“Both candidates have performed at about the level that everyone expected,” Peskowitz said.