Vice President Kamala Harris went on the offensive against former President Donald Trump in last night's spirited presidential debate — and then scored a much-anticipated win when pop star Taylor Swift endorsed Harris in a social media post after the debate ended.
Harris walked across the stage and initiated a handshake with Trump to start the event at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center. That proved to be a bellwether for her approach. The vice president spent most of the evening baiting Trump into numerous testy exchanges while urging the nation to "turn the page." The full debate can be watched here.
Trump continually tied Harris to President Joe Biden's policies, but Harris argued she is not Biden. Her strategy appeared to be goading Trump into heated moments spats; he appeared angry and frustrated at several points. He made headlines for refuted claims about immigrants eating pets and refused to commit to vetoing a potential national abortion ban, questioning running mate and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance's promise he would do so. The candidates also sparred over border security, the Russia-Ukraine war and Afghanistan withdrawal, the economy and other issues.
While most analysts said Harris got the best of Trump, she did not fully flesh out all her policy plans.Harris refused to say if she believes there should be any limits on abortion; she also bobbed and weaved around questions about issues she has flipped on since becoming the Democratic nominee or past statements.
Harris' campaign said she wants to debate Trump again in October, Fox News has pushed to host that event, but nothing is formally booked. The vice presidential debate between Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will be hosted by CBS on Oct. 1 in New York.
