As all eyes turn to Philadelphia for the first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, Temple’s Klein College of Media and Communication is hosting a watch party for all Temple students to attend
Klein is hosting its watch party in the Annenberg Hall atrium. The event will kick off at 8 p.m. and wrap up at 11 p.m.
The event is being led by journalism professor David Mindich, political science professor Robin Kolodny and Klein’s Assistant Dean of Community and Communications David Brown.
Follow this page for live updates as events from the watch party unfold.
Live Updates
11:22p.m. EST — “There’s nothing like watching a debate in a big crowd,” said David Mindich, a journalism professor. “It’s like, if you imagine watching a movie on your iPhone, it can be interesting but if you watch it in a theater, you really get the energy of the rest of the crowd. Watching it with 150 Temple students was a really extraordinary experience for me and for others in the room. I hope that [the debate] will energize the people who needed a little more energy to go out and vote to make their voices heard.“
10:45p.m. EST — Moderators have announced the debate has now ended. Students clap before swiftly picking up belongings and leaving.
10:44p.m. EST — While Harris directs her comments to the people, Trump takes the time to address Harris directly. He then calls the United States a failing nation. He states leaders of nations come to him directly and ask, “why?”
10:43p.m. EST — Students clap as Harris finishes her closing remarks. They have begun to start talking again when Trump begins his.
10:41p.m. EST — A break is taken during closing remarks. Some students groan as a student stands up and up and mentions that third-parties are still an option. A student shoots back with stating no vote can go to the Green Party. Another student takes the time to clarify that an abortion cannot happen in the ninth month of pregnancy. “A woman will not go through that much pain only to kill her child.”
10:34p.m. EST — Students groan in complaint as Trump once again interrupts the moderator to get in his statements.
10:33p.m. EST — As the debate continues, many students begin to funnel out of the theater.
10:30p.m. EST — TTN coverage and Obamacare conversations continue as the theater relies on the iPhone to save the debate when the projector fails.
10:26p.m. EST — Klein’s Wifi has seen better days as the live keeps buffering. A desperate student turns on YouTube and holds up their phone up with the volume on max. The others in the theater hush each other to hear the debate on a 6 inch s in screen the front row.
10:24p.m. EST — Students sit up straighter as Trump is asked the race question. He states “I don’t care what she is.” The audience throws their hands up in shock of the answer.
10:17p.m. EST — “What we see here at the debate is that [Trump] is putting on a show,” said Lawrence Trin, a freshman Public Relations major. “He is performing an act. Kamala Harris put out a point that we’ve seen this before. If you look at 2016 you have seen this before, calling people names, sleepy Joe, crooked Hilary, history repeats itself. He’s putting on the same act. However, I’m afraid that this act might work again. I’m very confident that the American people are aware of this rhetoric. Kamala Harris has done a wonderful job differentiating that this is the same Trump.”
10:03p.m. EST — Audience has gone back to regular chatter. Trump has done his usual brief about how he could completely save the Middle East and Ukraine. Harris has countered with Trump’s bromance with North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.
10:00p.m. EST — The theater has gone completely quiet as Harris answers the question. She advocates for a two-state solution and rebuilding Gaza for Palestinians.
9:57p.m. EST — Trump states the President of Hungary has personally endorsed him for president. This has gained some laughs from the theater.
9:54p.m. EST — Trump states Democrats are forcing illegal immigrants to vote. We are awaiting for the moderator’s fact check about illegal immigrants not being able to vote.
9:51p.m. EST — Trump avoids Harris’ gaze as she brings up the Proud Boys and Charlottesville. Students continue to groan at his attempts. Trump has now begun blaming his best friends at Fox News.
9:48p.m. EST — Students groan as Trump denies having any involvement in the January 6th insurrection, blaming others and Nancy Pelosi.
9:44p.m. EST — Crowd goes crazy as Trump uses Harris’s famous line from the 2020 VP debate against her.
9:42p.m. EST — Many students are skeptical about fracking laws that Harris won’t be banning. She clearly hasn’t seen the Lorax act out the end of the earth in front of Temple’s bell tower.
9:38p.m. EST — Trump, in true Trump fashion, interrupts the moderator to give his own accounts of his trial. He states they found Joe Biden guilty on his documents. Students continue to shake their hands and laugh at the attempts.
9:38p.m. EST — Audience erupts in shock and laughter as Harris brings up Trump’s past as a felon who is still awaiting his sentencing.
9:35p.m. EST — Students have begun to engage in personal side conversations as Trump continues his usual rant on immigration, being the most voted for candidate, and allowing millions of “common street criminals like in Venezuela” into the United States.
9:32p.m. EST — Audience loudly cackles as Trump accuses the people of Springfield of eating dogs. Harris can be seen audibly reacting to this statement as well. Trump has also said Venezuela is on steroids. Moderator addresses this fact as wrong, but Trump insists they are eating them.
9:30p.m. EST — Many people in the audience continue to snap their fingers and gasp as Harris continues her responses to Trump’s rallies being filled with fictional characters and people that leave early.
9:27p.m. EST — Students put their hands on their heads as Trump, once again, states his fact about abortion in the seventh, eighth, and ninth month of pregnancy.
9:26p.m. EST — The audience laughs as Trump repeatedly asks to be allowed time to answer the question.
9:24p.m. EST — Students laugh as moderator asks Trump for a clear yes or no answer to the question.
9:22p.m. EST — The entire theater applauds as Harris finishes her speech on abortion
9:22p.m. EST — Cheers continue as Harris directly speak her statement to Trump’s podium.
9:20p.m. EST — Students cheer and clap as Linsey Davis clarifies “there is no state where it is legal to kill a baby.”
9:18p.m. EST — Students object as Trump states his 9th month abortion and execution fact.
9:18p.m. EST — Many students have sat up straighter as the topic of abortion is brought up for Trump.
9:17p.m. EST — Students laugh in shock as Trump states he will send Harris a MAGA hat and calls her a Marxist.
9:10p.m. EST — Some students chant liar as Trump denies his ties with Project 2025 and continues to tie his point back to his phenomenal efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chuckles continue as Trump claims they made ventilators for the world.
9:10p.m. EST — Clapping continues as Harris talks about the dangers about Project 2025 if Trump is re-elected, and her goals as President.
9:09p.m. EST — Students clap and agree as Harris talks about how Trump has left Americans with “the worst attack on the economy since the Civil War.”
9:08p.m. EST — Students laugh as Trump dives into his regular chant about immigrants stealing jobs from Americans.
9:03 p.m. — Tomlinson Theater counted down as there were five seconds left to the debate, cheering as the debate was started.
8:57 p.m. — Brown emphasizes going out and voting, getting your roommates and family to vote. Another shoutout to Temple Votes is made as he highlights them as the go-to guide for young voters.
8:51 p.m. — David Brown sets down the rules of the debate, bringing with how it’s decided which candidate to go first. Harris will be on the right podium due to the coin toss. Brown states this a unique debate as it is a sprint to the election in November. Brown thanks different news outlets that are in the crowd, including the New York Times.
8:48 p.m. — Robin Kolodny is speaking now about the importance of voting during an election after the news of the candidate change in June. Voter turnout, especially in battleground states such as Pennsylvania, can provide for a substantial amount of votes for a candidate. She states Pennsylvania is favored to win the Democrats their candidate.
8:45 p.m. — Mindich states they will conduct polls in the theater throughout ad breaks.
8:41 p.m. — David Mindich is now speaking about the swing states this election, and the difference of electoral votes. Mindich emphasizes the importance in outcome when Pennsylvania puts their 19 electoral college to a candidate.
8:38 p.m. — Boardman also mentioned the role of Temple Votes on campus, bringing on Maggie Lewis to explain how students can request different types of ballots and how they can receive assistance in finding this information.
8:36 p.m. — Opening remarks from the Dean of Klein, David Boardman. He stated tonight is like his Beyoncé concert. Boardman talked about the importance of watching for facts and not for a pep rally.
8:26 p.m. — Currently half of Tomlinson Theater (about 100-150 seats) is filled with students and faculty waiting for the pre-debate section.
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