Did Kamala Harris truly floor Donald Trump in the first fiery TV debate? – Newstrends
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Did Kamala Harris truly floor Donald Trump in the first fiery TV debate?

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Did Kamala Harris truly floor Donald Trump in the first fiery TV debate?

*Read six highlights of the duel

 

Millions of viewers in the US watched Kamala Harris and Donald Trump duel for the first time, during a 90-minute debate broadcast live on many international TV stations on Tuesday night.

Others woke up to the aftermath of the presidential showdown.

In case you missed the televised spectacle, here are the some of the highlights as compiled by the BBC News.

 

1. ‘Nice to see you’

As they walked out, Harris strode across the stage to Trump as he approached his podium.

“Kamala Harris,” she said, offering a handshake as the pair met for the first time ever. “Let’s have a good debate.”

“Nice to see you. Have fun,” Trump said.

It was the first handshake in a presidential debate in eight years.

Harris spent the majority of the debate looking directly at her opponent, often smirking, laughing out loud, or shaking her head incredulously while he answered questions.

The split screen showed Trump staring mostly straight ahead as she spoke, while occasionally shaking his head.

 

2. ‘I’m talking now’

Vice-President Harris, a Democrat, went on the offensive from the outset, goading her Republican rival and assailing him over his criminal trials and his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She also accused her opponent of consistently using the issue of race to “divide the American people”.

The barb followed a question from the moderators about one recent attack in which he said Harris had “become a black person”.

Trump turned the subject repeatedly back to inflation and immigration, political vulnerabilities for Harris.

He argued that the Biden-Harris administration had “destroyed” the country, and labelled her a “Marxist”, nodding to her father, a professor of economics.

Harris poked fun at crowd sizes at his rallies. “People start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom,” she said.

Trump hit back: “People don’t go to her rallies. There’s no reason to go.”

At one stage, when Harris interrupted Trump, he said: “I’m talking now. Does that sound familiar?” He was referring to a similar riposte she made in a 2020 vice-presidential debate against Mike Pence.

Later, as Harris spoke over him, Trump said: “Quiet please.”

Trump also blamed heated Democratic rhetoric for the assassination attempt against him in July by a gunman whose motives are unknown.

“I probably took a bullet to the head because of the things they said about me,” he said.

 

3. ‘They’re eating the dogs’

In the hours before the debate, social media was filled with reports of unsubstantiated claims – repeated by JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, had been stealing pets and eating them.

Despite city officials telling the BBC there are no credible reports to support these claims, Trump brought up the matter in the debate.

“They’re eating the dogs, they’re eating the cats, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there. This is a shame,” he said.

“Talk about extreme,” Harris said of her rival.

 

4. Moderator’s abortion fact-check

Some of Harris’s most aggressive attacks on Trump came as they clashed on abortion, one of the biggest issues for Democrats since the US Supreme Court overturned a constitutional right to the procedure in 2022.

“One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government – and Donald Trump, certainly – should not be telling a woman what to do with her body,” Harris said.

She said Trump would “sign an abortion ban” if re-elected and cited conservative states that prohibit the procedure while allowing limited exceptions.

Trump, for whom the issue is a political liability, countered: “What she says is an absolute lie. I am not in favour of an abortion ban.”

Trump reiterated that he supports exceptions for cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is at risk.

At one point Trump claimed that some babies were being subjected to “executions” after birth.

One of the ABC moderators interceded to fact-check him, saying: “There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it’s born.”

 

5. Policies?

Trump said Harris had no policies, accusing her of copying some of his own ideas on the campaign trial and that he was “going to send her a Maga hat”, while also arguing she would be no different from President Biden.

“She has no policy,” he said.

“Remember this, she is Biden,” he said at another point.

Harris countered: “Clearly, I am not Joe Biden.”

Trump, who while president tried to overturn to Obamacare, was asked what would be his plan now to replace the Affordable Care Act.

He said he had “concepts of a plan” that would be “something that’s better”, if elected.

On the economy, an issue that opinion polls show favours Trump, Harris repeatedly stated: “I have a plan.”

 

6. Harris owns a gun

In the exchange that followed Harris’s insistence that she had a plan for the economy, Trump sought to depict his rival as a radical liberal who was also opposed to gun ownership.

He said: “She has a plan to defund the police. She has a plan to confiscate everyone’s guns. She has a plan to ban fracking in Pennsylvania and everywhere else.”

Harris denied all this.

“[Running mate] Tim Walz and I are both gun owners,” she said. “We’re not taking anybody’s guns away.”

She has spoken of her gun ownership in the past – but is a supporter of tougher laws.

BBC’s Anthony Zurcher reports that if debates are won and lost on which candidate best takes advantage of issues where they are strong – and defends or deflects on areas of weakness – Tuesday night tilted in favour of the vice-president.

A snap CNN poll of voters watching said that Harris performed better and betting markets said the same.

A poll taken by the CNN shortly after the debate indicates that Harris has 63 per cent against Trump’s 37.

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American govt approves Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chip to restore vision

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38 mins ago

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September 19, 2024

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Elon Musk

American govt approves Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chip to restore vision

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that Neuralink, his brain-chip startup company, has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an experimental implant device that will “enable even those who have lost both eyes and their optic nerve to see”.

“The Blindsight device from Neuralink will enable even those who have lost both eyes and their optic nerve to see. Provided the visual cortex is intact, it will even enable those who have been blind from birth to see for the first time,” the tech billionaire tweeted early Wednesday.

In the tweet on X (formerly Twitter), Musk posted a photo of Geordi La Forge, a character from the sci-fi TV series Star Trek, who is blind from birth but uses different technological devices that allows him to see.

“To set expectations correctly, the vision will first be at low resolution, like Atari graphics, but eventually it has the potential to be better than natural vision and enable you to see in infrared, ultraviolet, or even radar wavelengths, like Geordi La Forge”.

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Co-founded by Elon Musk in 2016, Neuralink specialises in developing innovative brain-computer interfaces to transform treatments for neurological disorders.

Neuralink’s technology includes a brain implant that reads neural signals and wirelessly transmits them to external devices, including computers and mobile devices.

Business World reported that Neuralink is also developing an implant that enables paralysed individuals to control digital devices with their thoughts.

Neuralink is also reported to be conducting a clinical trial with three participants to evaluate the device’s effectiveness in aiding individuals with spinal cord injuries.

In August 2024, it was widely reported that Neuralink successfully implanted its brain-computer interface in a second patient, who is now able to control video games and create 3D designs using just their thoughts.

American govt approves Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chip to restore vision

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Major US labour union declines to endorse Harris, Trump

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2 hours ago

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September 19, 2024

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Former President Donald Trump and United States Vice President Kamala Harris

Major US labour union declines to endorse Harris, Trump

One of America’s most influential labour unions, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, has declined to issue a US presidential endorsement for the first time since 1996.

The union, which boasts some 1.3 million members across the US and Canada, said it had received “few commitments on top Teamsters issues” from either Democratic nominee Kamala Harris or Republican nominee Donald Trump.

It also claimed that polling of its rank-and-file members found “no definitive support” for either candidate, though two of its recent polls indicated lopsided support for Trump.

The move is a major blow to the Harris campaign’s efforts to win over working-class voters with less than 50 days before election night.

An endorsement had the potential to mobilise thousands of Teamsters who live, work and vote in the crucial battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Shortly after the announcement, some Teamsters regional councils representing more than half a million members in Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and California, said they would be endorsing Harris.

In a statement, the Harris campaign touted its support from “the overwhelming majority of organised labour” and noted that many Teamsters locals have gotten behind her candidacy.

“While Donald Trump says striking workers should be fired, Vice-President Harris has literally walked the picket line and stood strong with organized labour for her entire career,” campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt said.

The union’s rank-and-file – a coalition of members that includes freight drivers, warehouse workers and airline pilots – has long been considered politically diverse.

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General President Sean O’Brien has sought to build inroads with Republicans since he took over leadership of the executive board in 2022.

He has reached out to more populist figures within the party, such as US senators Josh Hawley of Missouri and JD Vance of Ohio, who is now Trump’s running mate.

Mr O’Brien also met privately with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in January, shortly before the former president attended a roundtable with the union’s board at its headquarters in Washington DC.

Following that meeting, Trump said he believed he had a “good shot” at receiving the union’s endorsement.

The board also met with President Joe Biden before he stepped aside as the Democratic nominee, as well as third-party candidates Robert F Kennedy Jr and Cornel West.

But the union alarmed Democrats when it made its first financial contribution to their opponents in years, donating $45,000 (£34,000) – the maximum allowed contribution – each to both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions in February.

Mr O’Brien also became the first Teamsters boss ever to address the Republican National Convention (RNC).

Invited to deliver a prime-time address at the event in Milwaukee, the union head praised Trump as “one tough SOB” but declined to endorse him.

He also later criticised Trump and top campaign surrogate and billionaire businessman Elon Musk over comments in which the two discussed firing workers who threaten to go on strike.

After his decision to speak at the RNC, Mr O’Brien did not receive an invitation from Democrats to address their party convention last month.

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The party instead invited rank-and-file members to represent the organisation and to speak from the convention stage.

Some members of the Teamsters have expressed anger with Mr O’Brien over his right-wing outreach.

Last month, the Teamsters National Black Caucus and six union locals defied national leadership by endorsing Harris on their own and urging members to get behind her.

On Monday, Harris met with the Teamsters board in a long-delayed roundtable that lasted an hour and a half.

A New York Times report described the sit-down as “sometimes tense”, but a Teamsters spokesperson disputed this characterisation when asked by the BBC.

During their meeting, the Times added, Harris told Teamsters leaders: “I’m confident I’m going to win this. I want your endorsement, but if I don’t get it, I will treat you exactly as if I had gotten your endorsement.”

Speaking to reporters after Harris had made her pitch, Mr O’Brien noted that “there wasn’t a whole lot of difference” between the answers she and her predecessor, Biden, had provided.

Biden has routinely touted himself as “the most pro-labour president ever”, pointing to policies that have made it easier for US workers to organise and that have prioritised union labour for federal government projects.

Last September, he made history as the first US president to walk a picket line, when he joined the United Autoworkers in Michigan in a strike against the Big Three US auto companies: General Motors, Ford and Stellantis.

The Biden administration also shored up the Teamsters pension fund to the tune of $36bn, which it says prevented cuts to the retirement incomes of over 600,000 members.

Mr O’Brien and other leaders have also acknowledged on several occasions that Biden has been “great for unions”.

But before he dropped out in July, some reports suggested that the Teamsters did not plan to endorse Biden’s bid for re-election.

Correction: An earlier version of this story was updated to reflect that the Teamsters are the fourth largest, not the largest, US union.

On Wednesday, ahead of its announcement that it would not endorse Harris or Trump, the union released polling data for its members.

In an electronic poll conducted after the RNC, rank-and-file Teamsters voted 59.6% for the union to endorse Trump compared to 34% for Harris.

A separate poll, commissioned in the past week, found Teamsters again backing Trump by a lopsided margin – 58% to 31%.

In spite of those results, the union said in a statement that its “extensive member polling showed no majority support for Vice President Harris and no universal support among the membership for President Trump”.

The Trump campaign quickly lauded the poll numbers on Wednesday.

“While the Teamsters Executive Board is making no formal endorsement, the hardworking members of the Teamsters have been loud and clear – they want President Trump back in the White House,” campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Major US labour union declines to endorse Harris, Trump

BBC

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20 killed, 450 injured in second wave of blasts in Lebanon

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2 hours ago

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September 19, 2024

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20 killed, 450 injured in second wave of blasts in Lebanon

BEIRUT: Explosions in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon were apparently a second wave of detonations of electronic devices, state media said on Wednesday.

The report said walkie-talkies and even solar equipment were targeted a day after hundreds of pagers blew up.

At least 20 people were killed and 450 were wounded, the Health Ministry said.

A Hezbollah official told the Associated Press that walkie-talkies used by the group exploded.

Lebanon’s official news agency reported that solar energy systems exploded in homes in several areas of Beirut and southern Lebanon, wounding at least one girl.

The new blasts hit a country thrown into confusion and anger after Tuesday’s pager bombings, which appeared to be a complex Israeli attack targeting Hezbollah members that caused civilian casualties, too.

At least 12 people were killed, including two children, and about 2,800 people were wounded as hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded wherever they happened to be — in homes, cars, at grocery stores and in cafes.

Wednesday’s blasts caused fires, injuries and a state of hysteria because some of the devices were being carried by security personnel during the funeral ceremonies for the victims of the pager explosions on Tuesday.

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Explosions were heard in the southern suburbs of Beirut and several areas in the south and the Bekaa Valley.

Many were injured outside hospitals where the wounded from Tuesday’s bombings were being treated. Several of the wounded were transferred to Baalbek hospitals.

Some devices exploded with their carriers in front of the American University Hospital in Beirut.

Four cars containing devices exploded in the town of Aabbassiyeh in the south, three people were injured when a device exploded in a car in Jdeidet Marjeyoun, and parked cars exploded in Nabatieh because there were wireless devices in them.

Ambulances rushed everywhere, and Hezbollah supporters went out on motorcycles searching for victims after abandoning all their communication devices.

The Lebanese Army Command asked citizens “not to gather in places witnessing security incidents to make way for the arrival of medical teams.”

According to initial information, the devices that exploded on Wednesday are Icom V82 models, bought in the deal for pagers last spring.

Panic increased when information circulated on social media about the explosion of solar panels connected to internet devices. There were also claims that computers exploded.

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Footage showed fires in residential apartments in the southern suburbs of Beirut and in the south, and casualties during funeral ceremonies after their devices exploded.

The Axios website reported that “Israel blew up thousands of wireless communication devices used by Hezbollah elements in a second wave.”

In the first wave of bombings, it appeared that small amounts of explosives had been hidden in the thousands of pagers delivered to Hezbollah and then remotely detonated.

The reports of further electronic devices exploding suggested even greater infiltration of boobytraps into Lebanon’s supply chain.

It also deepens concerns over the attacks in which hundreds of devices exploded in public areas, often with many bystanders, with no certainty of who was holding the rigged devices.

20 killed, 450 injured in second wave of blasts in Lebanon

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