Racking in a viewer count of over sixty-seven million people, the second 2024 presidential debate hosted by ABC amassed a broad audience to witness presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump face off in a rhetorical battle. Hosted every year in preparation for presidential elections in November, the debates provide candidates with opportunities to present their ideas and policies to the American people while critiquing their opponents. It has been commonly observed that the past presidential debates have become more competitive, especially considering the increasingly narrow margins of voters that have been deciding elections for the past eight years. This debate was no different.
The debate was highly anticipated following Joe Biden’s lacking performance in the first presidential debates in June. Since then, Biden has stepped down from running and vice president Kamala Harris has taken his place in the race, choosing Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. Complementing her first performance in a national debate setting, Zachary Kenigsberg, reported, “Harris went on offense when she needed to, though she didn’t come off as sly as Hillary or too verbose like Biden.” The debate saw both candidates address several burning issues in domestic and foreign policies including but not limited to, access to reproductive healthcare, inflation, migration, Ukraine, the Israel-Palestine conflict, tax policy and gun regulation.
Trump led much of his performance on stage emphasizing the growing harm of inflation on the American economy and cost of living. Harris, however, criticized the former president’s involvement in the January Sixth Insurrection and his abortion policies. This debate also had its fair share of shocking highlights. For Harris, her reveal that she and Tim Walz were in fact gun owners was surprising given her advocacy for stricter gun control. For Trump, his accusation that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating cats and dogs was shocking to audiences. By the end of the debate, it was clear that neither party intended to be cordial in their attempts to win the election in November.
General consensus about who won the debate is unclear, though several sources like The New York Times, CNN, The Guardian, The Washington Post and even ABC themselves are reporting that Harris won the debate. At the same time, political analysts from Fox News and Newsmax are reporting that polls are more split rather than a complete Harris victory. For Senior Hope Huffman, “Kamala was the clear winner of the presidential debate. Trump had no plans and lied countless times which was frankly insulting to the audience. I cannot vote, but if I could, I would vote Kamala.” Regardless, it is still very unclear who will come out on top this election season. It will be a close election either way so make sure to register to vote for November 5th!
