The Gown Reports on the US Presidential Election Debate September 11th 2024

Taking a break from Belfast centered news to report for our sector of American viewers, tonight we bring you a summary and fact checking source made simple of the first Harris versus Trump debate.

The debate began at 2:00am GMT with a number of hot button topics swinging straight into view of the million of individuals across the world tuning in. Importantly, for the first time in quite a while, the debate began with Harris emphasizing the importance of the handshake before the debate.

The moderators started on the topic of economic policy. Some highlights of this portion include:

• Harris proposing $6000 tax breaks for families towards early childhood essentials and $50,000 bursaries for small businesses and assistance with $25,000 towards down payments for first time home owners
• Trump quickly pivots to immigration and jobs lost due to immigration in the US
• Trump claims inflation is the highest of all time under the Biden administration

Lets break it down. According to tradingeconomics.com, inflation hit its peak in the US in 1920 at 23.7% compared to a peak of 17% during the Biden administration. It is notable however that inflation is in fact higher under the current administration then that under Trump presidency

Harris during this section moves towards discussion of Project 2025, with Trump denying all associations with said project.

The moderators swiftly steered the conversation back on issued topics moving next into abortion.

Our key highlights include:

• Trump clarifies position on abortion, stating he supports special case exceptions for incest and rape.
• Trump states that some states have 9 month abortions, and also commends the removal of Roe vs Wade, allowing states to vote on abortion
• Harris delivers emotional speech about the impact of the removal of Roe vs Wade on families and individuals
• Trump refuses to answer whether he would veto the re-installment of Roe vs Wade
• Harris clarifies that they will aim to reinstate Roe vs Wade if made president

Our primary fact check for this section is to note as mentioned by moderators that there is no state in the US that allows 9 month abortions or after birth abortions, a vitally important clarification for every voter.

The long awaited topic that Trump has put on a podium early on in this debate is next introduced – immigration.

• Harris responds to questions on the Biden administration hardening borders explaining that she supported a bill introducing 15,000 new border patrol members to reduce crime and specifically fentanyl moving over the border
• Trump was quoted saying that there was a significant problem with immigrants “eating our pets” including cats and dogs
• Trump was quoted stating “can’t speak English and don’t even know what country they’re in.”

As pointed out by the moderators the Gown team want to emphasize that these racially charged statement is not based in any factual evidence

The debate moved onward to crime in the US, springing off the back of the topic of immigration

• Harris quickly jumps on Trump’s criminal convictions, which were quickly rebutted by Trump
• Harris will not ban fracking
• Trump places blame of the January insurrection on Nancy Pelosi

We then move onto one of the most expectant topics for this debate – the Palestine/Israel issue.

• Harris defends Israels right to defense while keeping in note the safety of Palestinian individuals, calling for a ceasefire
• Trump states that Harris hates both Israeli and Arabic people

Other topics were included in this debate like identity politics and Afghanistan however we did not receive many key highlights in this section due to the repetition parroted in this sector.

Finally, the candidates discussed affordable health care with a very interesting headline from Harris stating that Trump tried to remove the affordable healthcare act 60 times, after Trump announced his plan to only remove Obamacare once a better alternative was founded, a far cry away from his 2016 election campaigning strategy upon the basis of a full removal of the act.

The night finished off with closing statements, with Harris informing the public that both candidates had very different outlooks on the trajectory of the US. Trump used his closing statement as a form of rebuttal of many of the Harris talking points and overall the debate shaped up to be an interesting show, if not lacking in substance in regards to policy details.

In short, this concludes the Gown’s report on this presidential debate, and we will continue to report on the major milestones of these elections as time continues.