Kamala Harris repeatedly provoked Donald Trump during their debate on Tuesday night, challenging him on topics like his crowd sizes, his stance on abortion, and his criminal trials. Trump showed visible frustration, cutting off Harris to label her statements as "lies" and repeating a widely shared claim from his supporters that migrants are 'eating pets.'
Appearing unsettled, Trump shifted to his usual tactic of launching into an offensive attack. The former president relentlessly slammed Harris and President Joe Biden, calling Harris a "Marxist" and a "terrible" choice for vice president. He also accused Biden of spending his time on the "beach" and staying in bed until "4 in the afternoon."
Trump Attacks Harris
Harris appeared taken aback as Trump furiously spoke from his lectern. However, her debate strategy seemed to be to provoke him by targeting personal issues. It seemed to be effective.
Trump became so enraged that he even claimed Biden "hates" Harris for taking his place as the Democratic nominee. "I'll give you a little secret. He hates her. He can't stand her," the former president claimed, while Harris looked visibly shocked.
Despite this, Biden has endorsed Harris and consistently shown his support for her.
The two candidates clashed repeatedly during their 90-minute debate, often speaking over each other and off mic.
Although moderators allowed time for responses, they mostly interrupted Trump rather than Harris. The exchange was so intense that the first commercial break didn't happen until over an hour into the debate.
What started with a handshake ended in disarray. The candidates barely acknowledged each other by the end and left the stage on opposite sides, turning their backs on one another.
The heated argument began with a sharp exchange over abortion rights, quickly spiraling into disorder.
The tone shifted noticeably when Harris slammed Trump over the size of his rally crowds, a point of pride for the former president, who frequently boasts about the large turnout and number of supporters at his events.
"I'm going to invite you to attend one of Donald Trump's rallies because it's a really interesting thing to watch," she told the debate audience, speaking directly to camera.
"You will see during the course of his rallies he talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter. He will talk about windmills cause cancer. And what you will also notice is that people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom. And I will tell you the one thing you will not hear him talk about is you."
Furious Trump Makes Strange Claim
Trump then alleged that migrants were eating "pets"—a claim that went viral online after his team began promoting it. "They're eating the cats. They're eating -- they're eating the pets," the former president said.
Trump was echoing remarks from his running mate J.D. Vance, who had claimed that Haitians in Ohio were eating pets.
Off-mic, Harris whispered, "What? This is unbelievable."
ABC News' moderator David Muir cut in and said: "I just want to clarify here, you bring up Springfield, Ohio. And ABC News did reach out to the city manager there. He told us there have been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals."
"I've seen people on television say my dog was taken," Trump argued. "A dog was eaten by the people."
"Again, the Springfield city manager says there's no evidence of that," Muir said.
From that point, Harris brought up Trump's criminal cases, including his conviction in New York related to a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels and a libel settlement with writer E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of sexual assault. Trump has repeatedly denied guilt in both instances.
Harris pointed out that Trump has faced prosecution for national security violations, economic crimes, election interference, and has been found liable for sexual assault. She added that his next major court appearance is set for November for his criminal sentencing.
Trump reiterated his long-standing defense, claiming that he is the target of a witch hunt.
Tuesday marks Trump's seventh presidential debate. He faced Hillary Clinton three times during the 2016 election, debated Biden twice in 2020, and has now debated him once in the 2024 race.
