Barbs and manipulation: the main topics of Harris and Trump's debate. And what the candidates said about Ukraine

The candidates for the U.S. presidency held the first, and perhaps the only, debate of the election campaign. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris exchanged barbs and made statements, not all of which were verified by journalists for compliance with real facts. The candidates also talked about Ukraine. UNN collected the main statements from the politicians' speeches. 

Did Trump over talk Harris?  

During the debate, Donald Trump spoke for about 42 minutes and 52 seconds, and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke for about 37 minutes and 36 seconds. 

Although the debate was designed to give both candidates an equal opportunity to answer questions, they may not have used the maximum allotted time. Moderators also gave more time for answers after some of the opponents' remarks.

At the end of the debate, Trump said, “I think it was the best debate I've ever been in.” The politician believes that he won the debate and apparently does not intend to participate in another round. 

“Why would I want to have another debate? She immediately said: “We want another one. That's, you know, what happens when you're a pro boxer and you lose, you immediately want another fight,” he said in comments to Fox News. 

Harris and her team do want at least one more round of debates. Outside assessments of Harris' performance suggest that although she spoke less than Trump - her performance was more substantive. Some Democratic politicians have already said that “Harris dispelled the fog in the minds of Americans” and “demonstrated that she will be a president for all Americans.” Harris herself said at a rally of her supporters after the debate - “Guys, we're still outsiders in this race. It's intense.” 

Attacks and manipulation 

The candidates met in person for the first time. But they had a lot to say to each other. 

Earlier, Trump made a statement about Harris' racial identity, saying she “accidentally became black,” pointing out that she had long positioned herself as an Indian-American (Harris' mother is from India) and then became “black.” During the debate, the host reminded Trump of this statement to which the politician responded that he “doesn't care” about his opponent's race. Harris, on the other hand, called Trump's comments about her racial identity a “tragedy” and criticized his stance on race relations in America. 

During a discussion on foreign policy, Harris said that “world leaders are laughing” at Trump. For his part, Trump kept referring to incumbent President Biden and his policies - probably in order to link Harris and all the failures of Biden's presidency. To which Harris responded, “It's important to remind the former president: you're not running against Joe Biden, you're running against me.” 

During the speeches, the candidates made many statements on various issues. Not all of these statements stood up to the journalists' fact-checking. To a large extent, this applies to what Trump said. In particular, he recounted an earlier rumor that had been launched and refuted more than once that Haitian migrants in Ohio were stealing and eating pets. Also, Trump claimed to have halted the construction of Nord Stream 2, which is not true since although Trump signed the imposition of sanctions against the companies behind the pipeline, this was done in the third year of his presidential term, when the project was 90% complete .  This position of the cases allowed the Russian side to claim that the project could be completed without foreign support.

Trump was also caught manipulating about U.S. aid to Ukraine. Trump complained that the U.S. has provided $250-275 billion in aid to Ukraine, while European countries have provided only $100-150 billion, even though they are closer to Ukraine.  However, according to analysts from the end of January 2022 through June 2024, the European Union and selected European countries have provided a total of about $207 billion in military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, compared to about $109 billion provided by the United States. Europe also surpassed the U.S. in the amount of aid that was actually “allocated” to Ukraine - that is, aid either delivered or specified for delivery - about $122 billion for Europe compared to about $83 billion for the U.S. 

In addition, Europe allocated more total military aid to Ukraine, about $88 billion versus about $72 billion for the United States. The U.S. was slightly ahead in military aid that was actually disbursed (i.e., delivered, or specified, for delivery to Ukraine), about $56.91 billion for the U.S. vs. about $56.84 billion for Europe, but that's a far cry from the difference Trump announced.  

However, Harris was also found guilty of manipulation. Thus, journalists drew attention to the fact that Harris said that Trump left the presidency in the conditions of the highest unemployment in the United States since the Great Depression. However, this is not true.  

War in Ukraine 

Although the debate was mainly about US domestic policy - Ukraine was mentioned more than once by both participants. Trump even mentioned Ukraine in the context of accusations against Joe Biden's son Hunter of abuse and possible money laundering.  

As for Russia's war against Ukraine, the former president repeated his earlier assertion that he could “resolve the conflict” in 24 hours. At the same time, he avoided answering whether he wants Ukraine to win. Trump stated that he simply wants “the war to stop.” He also insists that he has a good relationship with both Putin and Vladimir Zelensky and will be able to work things out before he becomes president.  In his speech, Trump stated, among other things, that Harris met with Putin days before the full-scale invasion began. 

“They sent her to do peace talks before this war started,” Trump said, referring to Harris. “Three days later, he went in and started a war because everything they said was weak and stupid.” At this time, however, Harris was at the Munich Security Conference, where she was meeting with U.S. allies and the President of Ukraine. putin was not at that conference and the Russian side has previously said that putin and Harris had no contact. 

Harris, on the other hand, recounted meeting with Zelensky before the invasion and shared US intelligence with him. Her comments about Trump's claims that he could “settle things” were pretty harsh.  

“You think you're friends with a dictator, but he would eat you for lunch,” the vice president said, accusing Trump of flirting with dictators who can manipulate him with flattery. 

Harris also stated that Trump would have been the one to surrender and Putin would already be sitting in Kiev. Also, according to Harris, Trump is laughed at by world leaders and some military ranks call him a disgrace. Trump found a surprising argument to counterbalance these words of his opponent - he revealed that he was praised by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The latter, according to Trump, believes that Trump would be feared by China and Russia as president. Trump also expressed her respect for Orban. 

Israel and Hamas 

Both candidates have generally expressed support for Israel. However, Trump, in his characteristic manner, said that if he were president of the United States, this war would not have happened. He went on to accuse Harris of saying that Israel would disappear under her presidency and that she hates the Arab population. 

For her part, Harris parried that she would “always let Israel defend itself” but a “two-state solution” was needed. 

Domestic political issues 

The candidates paid much attention to the economic situation in the United States. Harris plans to expand aid to families, small businesses, and provide affordable housing for those in need. One of the principle issues - was taxes. The Democrats plan to expand the base of those who will receive tax relief, and they impute to their Republican opponent their desire to cut taxes for the rich. Harris mentioned this during the debate as well. 

Another stumbling block between Democrats and Republicans is the issue of banning abortion. Harris made her position clear at the debate: “The government should not tell a woman what to do with her body.” She called it a crime for 23 states to ban abortion, even without an exception for sexual assault cases. Trump tried to avoid direct answers regarding the abortion ban, but still said he would not push for a nationwide abortion ban. At the same time, he opined that Harris would allow very late-term abortions, which would effectively be “the execution of children.”  

And of course Trump didn't miss the opportunity to blame the Biden administration for the migrant glut, for not closing the U.S. southern border. According to Trump, migrants are taking over American cities, stealing and eating pets - “millions of people are floating into our country from prisons, from mental health facilities.” In response, Harris recalled that it was Trump who drafted but blocked a bill to strengthen the defense of the U.S. southern border.