Recapping Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s first (and last) presidential debate

How Kamala Harris Dragged Donald Trump

By Solomon Jones | WURD Radio

When Kamala Harris came out, introduced herself and extended a hand to Donald Trump, I knew she caught him off guard. As her hand lingered half a second too long, he didn’t quite know what to do. When he grudgingly shook her hand, it was game on.

Harris took a question on the economy and recalled her middle-class upbringing, weaving in the small business owner who was part of her childhood, then hammering home a policy point about giving a $50,000 tax deduction to startup small businesses.

In the same answer, she attacked Trump on tariffs, calling them the Trump sales tax, and pointing out that tariffs that are charged to other countries get passed on to the consumer. She said Trump’s plan would cost families $4,000 a year.

So, in one answer, she told viewers who she was, shared a policy on small business, and attacked Trump on tariffs.

For the most part, Trump stayed disciplined, delivering rapid-fire lines on immigrants, tariffs and the economy. But when Trump said anything crazy, she used the kinds of tools that Black women have mastered—the eye roll, the wrinkled brow, the slow head shake.

Finally, Trump falsely said that Haitian immigrants are eating people’s pets, and Harris looked at him with a sort of pity. It was the perfect response to a claim that was both racist and ridiculous.

Trump cited polls that say the economy was great under his leadership. He claimed he had nothing to do with Project 2025. He called Kamala Harris a liar. And he got in a few good lines, as well. He asked Harris to please be quiet, using Harris’s “I’m speaking” line against her. He said she’d stolen so many of his ideas he would get her a MAGA hat.  

Still, Harris was well-prepared. She predicted that Trump would tell lies and harp on immigration. Then she made an unusual offer. She told people to go to a Trump rally, and watch people leave out of exhaustion and boredom.  

That got under Trump’s skin. He claimed to have the biggest rallies ever, and said Harris has to pay people to come to hers, which of course, is not true.

 Not that it mattered. Harris was clearly too much for Trump. She spoke strongly on reproductive rights. She reminded America of Trump’s criminal record. Most importantly, she said that other world leaders are laughing at him—and that military leaders call him a disgrace.

By the time the debate was over, it was clear that Harris had delivered the more polished performance. Later, when Trump appeared in the spin room to be photographed by the media, it was the action of a man who knew he’d lost. 

This article is a part of Every Voice, Every Vote, a collaborative project managed by The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. The William Penn Foundation provides lead support for Every Voice, Every Vote in 2024 and 2025 with additional funding from The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, Comcast NBC Universal, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Henry L. Kimelman Family Foundation, Judy and Peter Leone, Arctos Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, 25th Century Foundation, and Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation. To learn more about the project and view a full list of supporters, visit www.everyvoice-everyvote.org. Editorial content is created independently of the project’s donors.