Six lines from the Harris-Trump debate

So there you have it, folks. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris just had their first – and possibly last – presidential debate. Interestingly, it was also the first time they’ve ever met – Harris introduced herself with a handshake.

So we’ve picked six quotes to squeeze the juice out of that pulpy 105 minutes: three from Harris, three from Trump, and all focused on how they propose to approach the world from the Oval Office.

Voilà:

1. “If she doesn’t like ’em, they should have gone out and immediately cut the tariffs” – Trump

Harris had criticised Trump’s proposed 10-20% blanket tariffs on imports as effectively being a sales tax contributing to US inflation. So Trump’s above point in response was that the Biden administration has kept (and expanded) his own earlier tariffs on China. And maybe that’s a semi-nice, semi-bipartisan starting point here – everyone in DC seems to concur on the US needing a tougher approach to the way China trades. The disagreement is really in the details.

2. “He ended up selling American chips to China to help them improve and modernise their military” – Harris

Harris was highlighting by contrast the Biden administration’s escalating tech export controls, which (as we wrote on Monday) China may now be circumventing. In response, Trump noted that most chips are made in Taiwan (Intriguers will know they’re also made with US tech, which is mostly how US law gets involved).

3. “Iran was broke under Donald Trump… Iran had no money for Hamas, or Hezbollah or any of the 28 different spheres of terror” – Trump

Trump was referring here to his policy of ‘maximum pressure‘ on Iran, and arguing that Biden’s back-channel steps to re-engage Iran on its nuclear program simply empowered Iran to throw more money at groups like Hamas that attack Israel, a US ally. In response, Harris reiterated her pledge from the DNC last month that she’ll “always give Israel the ability to defend itself”.

4. “Why don’t you tell the 800,000 Polish Americans right here in Pennsylvania how quickly you would give up for the sake of favour?” – Harris

Harris was claiming here that Trump’s plan to end the Russo-Ukraine war is really just a plan to give up. “And that’s not who we are as Americans”, she said. Her point was that, if Putin was to win, Russia’s next stop would (again) be Poland, a US ally. And wouldn’t you know it, but there are apparently 800,000 folks with Polish ties living in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania.

For his part, Trump wouldn’t be drawn on direct questions around whether he wants Ukraine to win. Instead, he reiterated his claim that he wants the war to end.

5. “These people did the worst withdrawal and, in my opinion, the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country” – Trump

This was Trump’s description of the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan, reiterating his assertion that it also inspired Putin to invade Ukraine, “because they saw how incompetent [Harris] and her boss are.” In response, Harris said Trump negotiated the withdrawal deal directly with the Taliban, even invited the Taliban (a listed terrorist group) to Camp David, and that with the US now out of Afghanistan, fewer US soldiers were now losing their lives abroad.

6. “It is well known he exchanged love letters with Kim Jong-un” – Harris

North Korea barely rated a mention. Rather, Harris was citing Kim (and Putin) as evidence that “these dictators and autocrats are rooting for you to be president again because they’re so clear they can manipulate you with flattery and favours.” Trump’s response? Referring to Biden and Harris, he said “the leaders of other countries think that they’re weak and incompetent, and they are.“

Of course, we’re barely scratching the surface here. Responding to questions, Trump also reiterated his claims about the last election, and dismissed his legal cases as politically motivated, while Harris had to play defence on immigration.

But the only thing more surprising than the number of questions about geopolitics was the way the two candidates occasionally flipped the script: Trump mused about sending Harris a ‘MAGA’ hat, and Harris invited viewers to check out a Trump rally for themselves.

INTRIGUE’S TAKE

Let’s take a quick look at the three obvious questions that come next:

First, who won? The initial market and survey responses are on balance suggesting it was Harris (last time they gave it to Trump over Biden).

Second, will we see another debate? Presumably feeling good about the night, it only took the Harris campaign an hour to announce she’s ready for round two. And Trump’s supporters have voiced frustration at the fact-checking by moderators, so he may well feel an urge to go again.

Third, will this debate change anything? Absent something spectacular like, say, a candidate dropping out (!), any single debate is unlikely to alter the election’s trajectory. Hilary Clinton was mostly deemed the winner of all three debates back in 2016, but remember who won the election that year?

Anyway, let’s all agree on one thing: America’s role in the world is a campaign issue that impacts everyone, so it was good to see it featured way more this time around.

Also worth noting:

• Shortly after the debate concluded, pop star Taylor Swift responded to an AI deepfake of her endorsing Donald Trump, by outlining her decision to vote for Kamala Harris. She concluded by noting, “your research is yours to do, and the choice is yours to make.“