Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump faced off in their first presidential debate Tuesday night, spending much of the 90-minute event exchanging attacks on each other.
So how long did each candidate speak during the debate?
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump debate time
According to CNN, Trump spoke for approximately 42 minutes and 52 seconds, while Harris spoke for 37 minutes and 36 seconds. Trump used about 12 minutes and 54 seconds of his total speaking time to attack Harris, while the vice president dedicated 17 minutes and 25 seconds to criticizing her opponent.
The format and dynamics of the debate bore similarities to Trump’s June debate with President Joe Biden. During that event, Trump spoke for 41 minutes and 2 seconds, while Biden spoke for 36 minutes and 12 seconds, The New York Times reported.
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What topics were covered at the debate?
Tuesday’s debate covered a range of topics, including the economy, healthcare, and foreign policy, with each candidate aiming to highlight their strengths while pointing out their opponent’s perceived weaknesses.
They were asked questions on abortion, climate change, energy and the transfer of power following the elections.
Attacks on Donald Trump
Democracy and the events of Jan. 6, 2021, took center stage during the debate. The vice president called the insurrection an assault on democracy and accused Trump of leading the worst attack on American democracy since the Civil War. She reiterated that he lost the 2020 elections. “Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people,” she said, referring to Joe Biden’s winning total.
She questioned the former president for lobbying Republican lawmakers against passing a bipartisan bill on immigration that would increase border funding and impose new border restrictions on border crossings. “He preferred to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem,” she said.
Harris went on to say that if Trump were in power, Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now. “Why don’t you tell the 800,000 Polish Americans right here in Pennsylvania how quickly you would give up for the sake of favor and what you think is a friendship with what is known to be a dictator, who would eat you for lunch,” she said.
She went on to attack Trump by claiming that his rallies are boring and that people often leave early. “You will not hear him talk about your needs, your dreams and your needs and your desires,” Harris said. “And I’ll tell you, I believe you deserve a president who actually puts you first.”
Trumps attacks Kamala Harris
Trump led his debate with depending mostly on inflation and immigration. He repeatedly restricted Harris to Biden saying, “she is Biden,” implying her policy on inflation and immigration would be no different than that of President Biden’s.
“The worst inflation we’ve ever had,” Trump claimed. “A horrible economy because inflation has made it so bad. And she can’t get away with that.”
He continued to attack her on changing her policy on fracking. During the 2020 nominations, Harris said she would ban fracking and pursue the Green New Deal. Since then, Harris changed her stance and said she would no longer ban fracking.
“She’s going to my philosophy now. In fact, I was going to send her a MAGA hat,” he said, referring to the red “Make America Great Again” baseball caps that many of his supporters wear. “But if she ever got elected, she’d change it.”
Trump blamed Harris for the messy Afghanistan withdrawal during which 13 American service members were killed in a bombing calling it “the most embarrassing moment” in the nation’s history.
He bashed Harris for missing the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress over the summer to deliver a speech to a historically Black sorority. “She hates Israel,” the former president claimed.
In another moment, Trump shot back at Harris when she interrupted him during the debate with “I’m talking now” – similar to the line she used on Mike Pence in the 2020 vice presidential debate. “Does that sound familiar?” he said to the Vice President.
The debate marks a key moment in the 2024 presidential race, as both candidates worked to sway voters ahead of November’s election.
