Less than two months before the American presidential election, the two candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump found themselves face to face for a televised debate. An offensive verbal joust during which two very different visions of America opposed each other.
5 min
During a televised debate with high stakes for the American presidential election and the country, Kamala Harris And Donald Trump have been at each other’s throats, accusing each other of lying and pitting their opposing visions of America less than two months before an already historic presidential election.
It was the first meeting between the Democrat and the Republican running for president of the UNITED STATES and it was not one of the most cordial. Even though the two candidates shook hands at the start of this debate, the tone quickly rose.
” Highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression »
From the very first speeches, particularly on the economy, the two candidates clashed over the country’s economic situation. Donald Trump left us with the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression ” said the Democratic vice president about the former Republican president’s term from January 2017 to January 2021, estimating that what the Biden administration did during his term, “ It’s cleaning up the mess that Donald Trump made. ” Addressing the American people, she said that ” Donald Trump has no plans for you “.
For his part, the former American president chose inflation to strike the first blows. According to him, the persistence of inflation under the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden is a ” disaster ” for the population. Before quickly switching to his main campaign theme, immigration, Trump claimed to be the only one who could face China, unlike his opponent, a “Marxist.”
” Opening the floodgates of immigration »
And it was with a serious air, a closed face and his gaze fixed on the camera without ever looking at his opponent that Donald Trump accused his rival, who herself multiplies the overtures and glances towards him, of wanting ” open the floodgates of immigration ” and that its migration policy will cause a ” third world war “. And as usual, the former president did not hesitate to use false information to make his point. Thus, he repeated the false accusation of his camp according to which Haitian migrants eat “ cats and dogs ” in a city in Ohio (northeast). ” In Springfield, (…) they eat the pets of the inhabitants. This is what is happening in our country ” said the Republican candidate.
Also read“Cat or bird eaters”: the unfounded rumor of a Trumpist campaign against Haitian migrants
On the very sensitive issue of abortion, Donald Trump did not mince his words and criticized the Democrats’ positions on abortion, accusing them of wanting “execute babies” before the end of the pregnancy. Kamala Harris, for her part, claims that Trump is behind the overturning of Roe v. Wade: “Trump bans abortion without exception, even in cases of rape or incest, which means that a survivor of a crime, of a violation of her body, does not have the right to make a decision about what will happen to her body.” He added: “It’s immoral. Americans don’t want that.”
“ If Donald Trump were president, Putin would be sitting in kyiv »
And while their visions of what the United States should be are polar opposites, the two candidates also disagree on American international policy. Asked about the conflict between Hamas and Israel, which has already left tens of thousands dead in less than a year, Donald Trump responded that if he were in power, the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel would never have happened, and he directly attacked Kamala Harris, whom he accused of ” hate Israel “.
He also felt that if Harris came to power, it would be a “threat to democracy” And ” Israel would disappear in two years ” Kamala Harris, for her part, was content with the American speech repeated for months, deploring the human cost of the conflict, calling for a ceasefire and the release of the hostages while recalling Israel’s right to defend itself.
It was on the issue of the war in Ukraine that the American president showed himself to be most involved. “I know Zelensky very well and I know Putin very well. I have a good relationship with them. They respect me. This is a war that needs to be settled. I will settle it even before I become president. If I win, when I am elected president. And what I will do is I will talk to one, I will talk to the other. I will bring them together.” he said. On the other hand, “They don’t respect Biden,” he said, provoking the ire of Kamala, who insisted that today, “it’s her he has to face.”
” If Donald Trump were president, Putin would be sitting in kyiv right now and understand what that would mean, because Putin’s agenda is not just about Ukraine. ” she warned.