Harris baits, debates Trump in feisty Philly face-off

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris face off in presidential debate

The night ended with a long-awaited endorsement from pop megastar Taylor Swift, who is voting for Kamala Harris.

(Image credit: Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images)

What happened

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris squared off last night for their first, maybe only, debate before November's presidential election. The 90-minute debate began with Harris walking up to shake Trump's hand but quickly grew combative, with the vice president frequently putting Trump on the defensive. Minutes after the debate ended, pop megastar Taylor Swift endorsed Harris, saying she had watched and "done my research," and Harris is a "steady-handed, gifted leader" who would lead "by calm and not chaos."

Who said what

"Kamala Harris planted traps," and for much of the debate, "Donald Trump stepped on them," David Weigel said at Semafor. Trump "had a bad night," Fox News analyst Brit Hume said, rising "to the bait repeatedly when she baited him, something I'm sure his advisers begged him not to do." The "attack line that seemed handcrafted by a team of Trumpologists to enrage him" was about crowds "leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom," Matt Flegenheimer said at The New York Times. That was when Trump "seemed to lose his way — the temptation he could not resist."

Yes, "Trump took the bait — over and over again," Politico said, but at a cost for Harris, "leaving her with less time to introduce herself to unfamiliar voters" on her biggest stage. "On paper," the Harris campaign "got exactly what it wanted" and "Trump was terrible," Jim Geraghty said at The National Review. But he has been like this "year after year," so it isn't a given "the poll numbers shift at all." A CNN-SSRS snap poll found that 63% of registered voters who watched the debate thought Harris won.

What next?

Harris campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon said immediately after the debate that "Harris is ready for a second debate," adding, "is Donald Trump?" Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity he would "think about it." Tim Walz and J.D. Vance are scheduled to meet Oct. 1 for a vice-presidential debate on CBS.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.