Kamala Harris and Donald Trump participated in the US Presidential Debate today, exactly eight weeks before the United States goes to polls. In a fierce debate that saw both candidates indulge in a verbal duel, there were claims and counter-claims.
The debate, which is the first such debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will most likely also be the only debate they take part in with just over 50 days to go for the election. The debate was televised on US’ ABC News.
Tens of millions of Americans tuned in to understand better what each presidential candidate had to offer and what their respective visions are to steer their nation forward. US, being a country of immigrants and a major global power, also invokes interest of people living in other countries, millions of whom tuned in earlier today to witness the closely-contested debate.
Both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris traded claims about each other’s record in office, as well as their plans if they emerge victorious in the election. Some of these claims required fact-checks to give a clear picture.
FACT-CHECK 1 – THE ECONOMY
Asked if Americans were better off than they were four years ago, Kamala Harris did not give a direct answer. She accused Trump of leaving Democrats “the worst unemployment since the Great Depression.” This can be seen as misleading. Joblessness spiked at 14.8 per cent in April 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the US. By the time Trump left office unemployment was 6.4 percent.
FACT-CHECK 2 – INFLATION
Kamala Harris said she would offer families a tax credit of up to $6,000 for each eligible child, as well as a $50,000 tax deduction for small businesses, if elected president. She claimed that Donald Trump would favor billionaires and corporations over anyone else, and said the former president planned a sales tax that would hurt ordinary Americans.
Trump countered this claim by saying President Joe Biden’s administration ushered in the highest inflation in US history, quoting figures of 21 per cent and as high as 60 per cent on some goods. This is false. Inflation currently stands at 2.9 percent. Inflation did hit a high of 9.1 percent under Biden in 2022. This was well below a historic high of 23.7 percent in 1920.
FACT-CHECK 3 – IMMIGRATION AND ‘MIGRANT CRIME’
Donald Trump falsely claimed that “millions and millions” of people from countries such as Venezuela “from mental institutions and insane asylums” are entering the US and committing crimes. He also re-aired a baseless viral claim that migrants are eating pets in places including Springfield, Ohio.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country.”
Police and local authorities say there are no credible reports of any such animal killings.
Violent and property crimes in the US are near their lowest levels in decades, according to FBI data from 2022, the most recent year for which figures are available.
A June 2023 study found a decline in incarceration rates among immigrants from all regions since 1960. Other research has found migrants commit fewer violent crimes than US citizens.
FBI statistics from the first three months of 2024 also show a 15 percent decrease in violent and property crime year-over-year.
Illegal immigration during Donald Trump’s administration was higher than under President Barack Obama’s two terms. Earlier this year, during the Biden administration, illegal immigration reached a historic high. It has fallen since an executive order signed in July.
Kamala Harris said Donald Trump put politics above policy by ordering Republican lawmakers this summer to kill a bipartisan bill that would have toughened policies at the southern US border.
FACT-CHECK 4 – ABORTION
Donald Trump, who appointed three conservative judges to a Supreme Court that overturned Roe vs Wade, the precedent that guaranteed abortion access, called Democrats “radical” on the issue, claiming vice presidential candidate Tim Walz supports “execution after birth – it’s execution, no longer abortion – because the baby is born is okay, and that’s not okay with me.”
This is false. No state allows a baby to be killed after it is born. This is infanticide, which is illegal across the US.
Debate moderator Linsey Davis corrected Donald Trump, saying: “There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it’s born.” Ms Harris added: “Nowhere in America is a woman carrying a pregnancy to term and asking for an abortion. That is not happening.”
Kamala Harris claimed: “If Donald Trump were to be reelected, he will sign a national abortion ban.” But the former president immediately replied: “I’m not signing a ban,” saying that the issue is with the states.
FACT-CHECK 5 – ON AFGHANISTAN
Donald Trump claimed that the United States “left $85 billion” worth of equipment in Afghanistan. This is False. The actual figure is much lower than what Trump claimed in the debate. When the Taliban toppled Afghanistan’s civilian government in 2021, it inherited US’s military hardware given to the then government. The US Congress was briefed that about $7 billion of US military equipment remained in Afghanistan and in the Taliban’s hands.
Speaking about Afghanistan, Kamala Harris said when he was president, Donald Trump had “invited the Taliban to Camp David.” This is true, reported independent fact-checking agency PolitiFact. In September, 2019, Donald Trump had said he was canceling a planned, secret meeting for peace talks with the Taliban at Camp David. In February 2020, the US government and the Taliban signed a deal to end the war in Afghanistan within 14 months.
Kamala Harris said that Donald Trump “negotiated directly with a terrorist organisation called the Taliban. The negotiation involved the Taliban getting 5,000 terrorists released.”
This is True. A 2020 agreement between the United States and the Taliban called for the release of up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners who were jailed by the Afghan government.
According to PolitiFact, News reports and statements from Afghanistan’s president indicated that the release happened. Afghanistan officials said they freed the prisoners at the request of the US.
