8. Israel-Hamas War in Gaza. Moderator to Harris—”How will you break the stalemate in the Israel-Hamas war? How would you deal with this?” After recounting that Hamas attacked Israel, which started the war, Harris replied, “Israel has a right to defend itself. Yet way too many Palestinians have been killed due to the war. We must chart a course for a two-state solution. There must be a two-state solution that rebuilds Gaza.”
Thus, Harris at first reiterated the Biden position and then affirmed the need for a two-state solution, which Biden was way, way too slow to finally admit. During Harris’ short campaign so far, she has made this distinction between her and Biden even though she is married to a Jew who seems to have discovered his ethnic roots of late by campaigning for her about it.
Trump responded, “If I had been president, there never would have been these wars in Gaza and Ukraine. If she is president, Israel will no longer exist in two years.”
Moderator to Harris, “He says you hate Israel.”
Harris replied, “We all know he admires dictators. When Putin attacked Ukraine, Trump said it was ‘genius,'” which is true.
A break was now called, which allowed for television advertising. 63 minutes had transpired in the debate thus far.
9. Russia War in Ukraine. Moderator to Trump—”How would you end the Ukraine war? Do you want Ukraine to win this war?” Trump clearly did not answer this question, thus suggesting that the second answer is no which seems to fit his past statements about it. Because Trump didn’t answer either of these questions, the moderator asked him again. Trump then blamed Biden for this Ukraine war.
Harris replied, “Donald, you are running against me, not Biden. I met five times with [Ukraine’s] President Zelenskyy. I brought 50 countries together to support Ukraine in this war. Putin the dictator has eaten your lunch.”
Trump replied, “Biden and Harris are the worst president and vice president in the history of our country.”
Harris responded, “You adore strong men who are dictators instead of standing firmly four our country. You sacrifice our democratic principles for the benefit of your personal flattery.”
10. Afghanistan War. Moderator to Harris—”Do you agree with the U.S. pullout of the war in Afghanistan?” Harris answered, “I agreed with the need for the pullout.” She thereby avoided commenting on how the pullout was conducted, which has been criticized on both sides. Harris then spoke about Trump’s handling of the war previously. She accused him of bypassing the Afghan government in negotiating with the Taliban, which is true.
Trump replied, “The Taliban were killing our soldiers. It was the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country.” Here, as he so often does, Trump speaks in such superlatives of the greatest or worst whatever “in the history of our country.” His constant refrain like this must, IMO, be labeled a lie.
11. Race. Moderator to Trump—”Why do you weigh in on the racial identity of your opponent?” I didn’t get Trump’s reply to this in my notes.
Harris replied to it by saying, “It is a tragedy how Trump uses race to divide our country. It is how he started,” obviously referring to birtherism (accusing Obama not being born in the U.S. and thus not eligible to be president according to the U.S. Constitution). “He refused to rent to Blacks, called for the execution of the Central Park Five.”
Trump said, “She is Biden regarding inflation.”
Harris responded, “I’m not Biden and clearly not Trump. You are always disparaging American people. Let’s talk about plans about how to help Americans. I have a plan,” and then she enumerated facets of it, such as reducing grocery prices and escalating housing prices. She added, “On name calling, Americans want to turn the page.”
12. Healthcare. Moderator to Trump—”Do you have a plan for healthcare?” This was asked because even as president, Trump had said amidst his constant criticism of Obamacare that he had such a plan but never came out with one. Trump again didn’t answer this.
Moderator to Harris—”What is your plan for healthcare?” She then defended former President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. She said, “I think ever American ought to have access to healthcare, that it is a right.” She also rejected Trump’s previous accusation that as president Harris will “take away guns.” She replied, “We are not taking away guns. Tim Walz and I both own guns.” That revelation about herself may be new publicly.
Trump reply, “Obamacare, we can do much better.” Yet he didn’t say how.
13. Climate Change. Moderator to Trump—”What will you do to fight climate change?” I thought this was an irrelevant question, meaning that another question needed to precede it. That is, Trump has always denied made-made global warming. He didn’t answer the question.
Harris alleged, “Trump says climate change is a hoax,” which was correct. She added, “You should ask if he believes it because he doesn’t.” She continued, “I have supported our investment of a trillion dollars in fighting climate change.” Indeed, she implied President Joe Biden’s success in getting his Inflation Reduction Act passed in Congress, which may become his greatest accomplishment as president.
A break was now called. About 95 minutes of debate had transpired. The debate was resumed with what moderators called “Closing Statements.”
Harris then said, “I am focused on the future and Trump is focused on the past. I have a plan for opportunity regarding our economy, to bring down the cost of living, to keep our standing in the world,” thus not isolating as Trump has indicated he prefers, or at least isolating from our historic allies. She added that she will support abortion rights. She concluded, “I will a president for all Americans.”
Trump then said, “She says she’s going to do wonderful things, then why haven’t you done it in three-and-a-half years? The U.S. is a failing nation. The U.S. is laughed at all over the world. Immigrants are destroying our country. She is the worst vice president in the history of our country.”
END OF DEBATE
[Click here to see my post, “Summary of First Half of Trump-Harris Debate.” Also, see my book, Bible Predicts Trump Fall, since just about all political pundits on TV have been saying that Harris won this debate, which further affirms Trump’s fall.
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