We start off strong, with the economy. And the mantra is, on the part of Donald Trump, “with me the economy was doing great, with them it stopped and inflation increased, if he wins Kamala Harris we will become like Venezuela”; while on the part of her opponent, the vice president in office who actually speaks first and is on the right of the television screen as Joe Biden during first tv debate, “I'm the only one here who grew up in a middle-class family, so I know how to give purchasing power back to the middle class.”economy It's a theme that Harris is chasing, because inflation has actually hit hard under the Biden administration, while her main topics are the defense of democracy and abortion, which is discussed shortly after.
The first 16 minutes of the second televised debate between the presidential candidates, the first between Trump and Harris after Biden's resignation, hosted by the private broadcaster ABC, are all dedicated to economic recipes. And they immediately signal a game of glances and postures: at the beginning of the confrontation, Harris heads decisively toward her opponent's position to shake his hand, after which during the entire live broadcast, which lasted an hour and a half in total, she often turns her gaze toward Trump, who instead either stares at the camera or looks toward the hosts.
Trump-Harris: Economy, Inflation, Purchasing Power
Communication styles aside, Trump, unlike other times, avoids vulgarity and gratuitous insults but insists from the very beginning on the concept of a “Marxist”, “radical leftist” Harris, following up on the provocations of the last few weeks also by his now right-hand man. Elon Musk, with images created by Artificial Intelligence to discredit the rival. The theme of the “Venezuelaization” of the United States is recurrent: the word “Venezuela” is mentioned by Trump several times, at least 6-7 in the first part of the debate, and not only referring to the possible economic disaster of Chavista origin proposed by Harris, but also and above all on immigration, as we will see later. “I will cut taxes significantly,” the tycoon promises. “He doesn't have a plan,” Kamala replies, “his policy on duties would increase inflation, according to several research centers and 16 Nobel Prize-winning economists." "The duties would not fall on consumers," Trump assures, "they would be paid by the China, as he paid them when I was there and as he has continued to do, since the Trump administration has confirmed the measures. With me there was no inflation, with Biden it's one of the highest ever." Harris counters by recalling that "Trump left us the highest unemployment since the Great Depression. What we did was clean up the mess he created." It is clear that the game will be played a lot on these skirmishes, it is difficult to say who has prevailed in a cross-battle of accusations and promises.
Trump-Harris: Abortion and Immigration
Then we move on to abortion and there the former president hits the nail on the head: "The Dems want to kill the baby in the ninth month of pregnancy, when it is practically born". Harris does not need to deny it since it is a complete fake news, which forces the presenter to intervene to correct the Republican candidate. "The government and especially Donald Trump should not tell a woman what to do with her body", attacks Kamala Harris. "I am convinced that Americans believe that certain decisions about our freedoms should not be made by the government". The vice president is well aware that on this issue she is playing on home ground, since according to the polls it is precisely on civil rights that the vice president convinces US voters the most. And in fact on this point of the debate she certainly gets the point home. Trump is not doing very well on immigration either. She starts immediately with Venezuela, again: "Harris is ready to follow Maduro's policies. How am I going to expel 11 million illegal immigrants? In the meantime, the number is much higher. Notice: in Venezuela and the rest of the world, crime has decreased, but here it has increased precisely because criminals from those countries came here and Kamala Harris's administration let them in." Donald exaggerates, relaunching another fake news about an alleged case of Haitian immigrants who ate dogs and cats stolen from the citizens of Springfield, Ohio. For the second time, the moderators used fact checking and denied it.
Trump-Harris: energy and Capitol Hill
Then, just before the first commercial break, the discussion shifts to a strategic topic such as energy, with Harris being accused of obstructing the fracking, that is, a new technique for extracting liquid fuels from underground. “I am not against fracking, on the contrary I believe it is necessary to open up to new sources of energy to be less dependent on oil purchased abroad,” explains the Democratic candidate. Then we move on to news stories again: Trump is asked to clarify his position on the events of January 6, 2001, for which he was accused of organizing the insurrection. He does not answer and turns the tables: “And when will foreign criminals be brought to justice? I have no responsibility on Capitol Hill. The rioters did not kill anyone, the assault was peaceful and patriotic.” Kamala: “I was there on January 6, 2021, as a senator, and President Trump incited the crowd. And it was not even the only case: it also happened in Charlottesville.” Ugly pages in recent American history, on which Trump was once again not convincing.
Trump-Harris Duel: Foreign Policy and Environment
While Trump repeatedly reiterates that the economy was great under him and will do so again, even more so, relaunching the old slogan “Make America Great Again”, we move on to his reputation abroad. Kamala strikes the blow: “You are a disgrace, everywhere I went as vice president, world leaders laugh at you." The tycoon claimed once again that he could stop the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and also in the Middle East very quickly, "in 24 hours." "She hates Israel, and I tell you if he becomes president in two years Israel will disappear,” Trump went on to snipe at his opponent. Harris reiterated her support for Israel but highlighted the excess of Palestinian victims, expressing her support for a two-state solution. But she stressed: “Trump is manipulated by dictators like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un who are rooting for him. Vladimir Putin is a dictator who would eat you for lunch,” she said harshly, addressing the Republican candidate. On foreign policy, however, particularly on Ukraine, neither candidate seemed particularly convincing.
