2024 Presidential Debate: Trump’s Loss

As we are days away from the Presidential Election people are finalizing their ballots and making their decisions. About a month ago, our two candidates took the stage. Both with opposing strategies but share a common goal: to sway this extremely polarized election. One candidate relies on controversy, fraudulent claims, character defamation, and more, while the other utilizes powerful diction, factual claims, and a steady assertive presence. Despite the persistent effort given by Donald Trump, Kamala Harris’ respectful but unrelenting presence onstage showed her strength and promise while highlighting Trump’s inability to provide relevant information and his lack of composure. Overall Trump’s display of false statements, failure to provide new ideas, and unclear stances directed the outcome of the debate in favor of Harris. 

Trump is notoriously known as a liar. Convicted of 34 felonies, several of them pertaining to his deceitful actions, Trump has been known to deceive and lie to further himself. Throughout the debate, Trump repeatedly lied and created false information to support his narrative. In an attempt to point out Harris’ failures at the border, he claimed that illegal immigrants were coming into the US and eating the pets of citizens in Springfield, Ohio. His blatant lie and exaggeration about the immigration situation in Springfield not only served to cast ridicule on himself but also put the safety of the Haitians in jeopardy. Another example of his fraudulent claims throughout the debate is regarding abortions. When the debate hosts prompted the topic of a nationwide abortion ban Trump launched into an alarmingly false claim about the term at which abortions occur and Harris’ support. He claimed that abortions were happening in the 9th month of pregnancy and even after the birth of the child, which he referred to as executions that Kamala fully endorsed. This grossly false statement is just one of many examples of the lies Trump has spread to support his campaign and weaponized during the debate. 

Another one of Trump’s failures during this debate was his inability to focus on current and future issues. Throughout the debate, Trump continuously referenced the 2020 election and how it was “rigged.” He repeatedly reaffirmed his claim that he lost the election because of voter fraud. While addressing the immigration issue he claimed that he lost because illegal immigrants were coming into this country and voting. Trump has expressed time and time again his failure to focus on current issues and the debate heavily showcased this. When Trump was asked what he would do regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he responded by referencing the war in Afghanistan that officially ended in 2021. Rather than providing a relevant answer, he claimed how he would have done differently and better than Biden. With no relevance to the topic at hand, this was just another display of Trump’s inability to think forward and focus on current issues.

A final important point was Trump's inconsistency in his claims. Several times throughout the debate Trump was called out for his major contradictions. When asked about a national abortion ban, Trump said he would veto any such ban. However, Trump was instrumental in overturning Roe vs Wade, which placed restrictions on women’s reproductive health. Trump has a tendency to backtrack and deny past claims to fit his current ambitions. Another instance of his inconsistencies is the result of the 2020 election. For years, Trump denied his loss and accused millions of Americans of voter fraud. During the debate, Trump was asked about a specific video of him claiming he “lost by a whisker.” When David Muir asked if he had accepted the loss Trump immediately denied this and said he was being sarcastic in the video. The sarcasm was evidently lacking from the video however Trump continued to deny his loss and backtrack on what he said to affirm his current statements. This lack of clarity and his unclear stances ultimately hurt his performance in the debate. 

The 2024 presidential debate served to highlight the difference between the two candidates and Trump's failures. His reliance on controversy, failure to introduce new ideas, and constant contradiction detract from the merit of his arguments. While calling the winner of a debate can be difficult, Trump’s failure is certain to me.