Democratic and Republican nominees Kamala Harris and Donald Trump went head to head in the second presidential debate for the 2024 US presidential elections on September 10th. The debate was hosted by ABC News, and some of the points of contention were immigration, reproductive rights, the economy, and current wars around the world. This debate happened after Joe Biden stepped down as the Democratic nominee and was replaced by Harris. Moderators were also live fact-checking the debate.
Immigration was a big issue for both Trump and Harris. Trump claimed that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating their pets. “Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there and this is what’s happening in our country.”
Later on, when debating the topic of reproductive rights, Harris claimed that she would sign Roe v. Wade (a supreme court ruling which made abortion a federal right) into law, and that Trump would sign a national abortion ban. Trump responded by saying “I’m not signing a ban and there’s no reason to sign a ban.” Trump appointed three of the nine supreme court justices, with another three appointed by George W Bush. All of the Republican nominated justices voted to overturn the ruling. Trump claimed credit for the overturning of Roe v. Wade on his social media platform, Truth Social: “I was able to kill Roe v. Wade.”
When interviewing North Park senior Navleen Bola, she had the following to say: “I mostly just watched clips of the debate on TikTok, but based on what I’ve seen, I would say that Trump seemed uncomfortable and unprepared.”
In terms of ongoing wars, Trump said Israel will not exist under a Harris presidency. Harris said “Israel has a right to defend itself. It is also true, far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed—children, mothers. What we know is that this war must end.”
When discussions about the economy and policies arose, Trump said, “She has no policy. Remember this, she is Joe Biden.” Harris replied, “Clearly, I am not Joe Biden.” Trump tried to overturn Obamacare while president, and so he was asked what he would replace the Affordable Care Act with. He said, “I have concepts of a plan […] something far better. In terms of economy, he said “I have a plan.”
Finally, there was one statement which surprised Democrats and Republicans alike. Harris claimed to be a gun owner, as well Tim Walz (Kamala’s running mate). “We are not taking anyone’s guns away,” she stated. Although she has spoken about her gun ownership in the past, she has historically supported stricter gun laws.
The election is on November 5th, 2024. According to recent polls, the election is within the margin of error and can therefore go either way.
THE NORTH STAR 