Harris and Trump at 9/11 memorial after combative debate

New York — President Joe Biden, vice-president Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump made a rare joint appearance on Wednesday at the New York site that marks the September 11 plane attacks in 2001 that killed nearly 3,000 people.

Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee and Trump, her Republican rival in the November 5 US presidential election, shook hands and exchanged a few words, despite their contentious debate the night before.

On Tuesday night, Harris had put Trump on the defensive in a combative presidential debate with a stream of attacks on his fitness for office, his support of abortion restrictions and his myriad legal woes.

A former prosecutor, Harris, controlled the debate from the start, getting under her rival’s skin repeatedly and prompting a visibly angry Trump, to deliver a series of falsehood-filled retorts.

At one point, she goaded the former president by saying that people often leave his campaign rallies early “out of exhaustion and boredom”.

Trump said: “My rallies, we have the biggest rallies, the most incredible rallies in the history of politics.”

He then pivoted to a claim about immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, that had circulated on social media and was amplified by Trump’s vice-presidential candidate, senator JD Vance.

“They’re eating the dogs” he said, as Harris laughed in disbelief. “The people that came in, they’re eating the cats! They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”

To which Harris replied: “Talk about extreme.” Her plan had always been to goad Trump into saying things that could become viral social media clips, her advisers said beforehand.

With eight weeks to go before the election, and days until early voting starts in some states, the debate — the only one scheduled — offered a rare opportunity for both candidates to make their case for a television audience of tens of millions of voters.

The candidates clashed over immigration, foreign policy and healthcare, but the debate was light on specific policy details.

Wall Street remained on edge as the closely watched debate gave investors little clarity on key policy issues, even as betting markets swung in Harris’ favour.

Instead, Harris’ forceful approach succeeded in putting the focus on Trump, leaving her allies jubilant and some Republicans acknowledging Trump’s struggles.

Trump repeated his claim that his 2020 election defeat was due to fraud, called Harris a “Marxist” and asserted that migrants had caused a violent crime spree.

“Trump missed an opportunity to stay focused prosecuting the case against Biden-Harris on the economy and border, and instead took her bait and chased down rabbit holes on election denialism and immigrants eating our pets,” Marc Short, who served as chief of staff for Trump’s former vice-president Mike Pence said.

In a boost to the Harris campaign, pop megastar Taylor Swift told her 283-million followers on Instagram after the debate that she would back Harris and her running mate Tim Walz in the November 5 election.

She signed it “childless cat lady”, a reference to controversial remarks made by Vance.

Online prediction market PredictIt’s 2024 presidential general election market showed Trump's likelihood of victory declining during the debate, to 47% from 52%. Harris’ odds improved to 55% from 53%.

In a sign of confidence in the debate's outcome, Harris’ campaign challenged Trump to a second round in October.

Trump afterwards took the rare step of going into the nearby “spin room”, a job usually left to supporters, where he told reporters: “This was my best debate.”

A group of undecided voters said they remained unconvinced she was the better candidate.

Asked about the Harris campaign seeking a second debate, Trump told Fox News: “She wants it because she lost. 

“I have to think about it, but if you won the debate, I sort of think maybe I shouldn't do it. Why should I do another debate?”

Trump, who has spent weeks launching personal attacks on Harris, largely avoided that pattern during the debate's early moments but quickly became agitated under Harris’ offensive.

Harris criticised Trump over his criminal convictions, indictments and a civil judgment finding him liable for sexual assault.

Trump has denied wrongdoing and again accused Harris and the Democrats of orchestrating all of the cases.

The debate got under way at 9pm with a surprise handshake between the two opponents, who had never met before.

Harris approached Trump at his lectern, introducing herself by name, in what was the first handshake at a presidential debate since 2016.

The encounter was particularly important for Harris, with opinion polls showing that more than a quarter of likely voters feel they do not know enough about her.

Harris entered the race only seven weeks ago after President Joe Biden's exit.

Harris delivered a lengthy attack on abortion limits, speaking passionately about women denied emergency care and victims of incest unable to terminate their pregnancies due to statewide bans that have proliferated since the US Supreme Court eliminated a nationwide right in 2022.

She also claimed Trump would support a national ban. Trump called that assertion untrue but declined to say explicitly that he would veto such a law.

Trump said falsely that Harris and Democrats support infanticide, which — as ABC News moderator Linsey Davis noted — is illegal in every state.

Harris also sought to tie Trump to Project 2025, a conservative policy blueprint that proposes expanding executive power, eliminating environmental regulations and making it illegal to ship abortion pills across state lines, among other right-wing goals. It also targets the constitution.

Trump retorted that he has “nothing to do” with Project 2025, though some of his advisers were involved in its creation.

Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist, said Trump “didn’t do himself any favours” but added that it remains unclear whether Harris' performance will change the race's dynamics.

Polls show a vast majority of Americans have made up their minds, leaving a small sliver of undecided voters up for grabs.

The candidates opened the debate by focusing on the economy, an issue that opinion polls show favours Trump.

Harris attacked Trump’s intention to impose high tariffs on foreign goods — a proposal she has likened to a sales tax on the middle class — while touting her plan to offer tax benefits to families and small businesses.

Trump criticised Harris for the persistent inflation during the Biden administration's term, though he overstated the level of price increases.

Inflation, he said, “has been a disaster for people, for the middle class, for every class”.

The candidates also exchanged barbs over the Israel-Gaza war and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, though neither offered specifics on how they would seek to end each conflict.

Harris accused Trump of being willing to abandon US support for Ukraine to curry favour with Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling Trump a “disgrace”, while Trump claimed Harris “hates” Israel — an assertion she rejected.

Presidential debates do not necessarily change voters’ minds, but they can be deeply consequential.

In a contest that could again come down to tens of thousands of votes in a handful of states, even a small shift in public opinion could alter the outcome.

The two candidates are effectively tied in the seven battleground states likely to decide the election, according to polling averages compiled by the New York Times.

Reuters