Updated: Sept. 12 at 3:53 p.m. EST
In an effort to fairly assess both candidates, Maya Green, a sophomore criminal justice major, attempted to shed any previous bias going into Tuesday’s presidential debate. After observing 90 minutes of the nation’s presidential nominees facing off on this election’s hot button topics, she believes Vice President Kamala Harris outperformed former President Donald Trump.
“I just think that Trump was very unprepared,” Green said. “I was trying to be very middle ground, trying to hear both sides, but I just couldn’t, it was very difficult. Harris is just very well-spoken. She did not stutter one bit.”
With just 55 days left until Election Day, time is running out for Harris and Trump to persuade voters they’re the right pick to lead the United States. Temple students attended and hosted numerous watch parties throughout the city during the Philadelphia-hosted debate Tuesday night, eagerly awaiting the performance of each candidate. At the end of the night, many were left feeling unsure about how it will impact election results.
Students previously shared their hopes for what topics the candidates would discuss during last night’s debate, including abortion, immigration and the Israel-Hamas war. It was Trump’s claims on questions involving abortion that provoked many students.
“He said there is abortion in the ninth month, which isn’t real,” said Nduati Michuki, a freshman business management major. “And [Trump said] there is abortion after the baby’s born, which isn’t real, you can’t just kill a baby.”
ABC News Anchor and debate moderator Linsey Davis fact-checked Trump’s abortion statement live during the debate, saying there is no state where it’s legal to kill a baby after it’s born. Trump was fact-checked five times by ABC moderators in comparison to Harris, who was not fact-checked once.
During CNN’s Biden-Trump debate in June, moderators did not live fact-check either candidate. Trump and his team were displeased with the moderators after last night’s debate and said their broadcast licenses should be revoked, The Washington Post reported. Some students share a similar sentiment that Harris should have been rebutted as well.
“I know he sounds crazy saying [immigrants eat pets],” said Nicholas Crabtree, a senior information science and technology major. “But it did feel very biased, because they’re like, ‘Well, former President Trump, that’s not true.’ But then Kamala could sneak something in and they didn’t have much to say.”
Harris was not rebutted nearly as much as her opponent because she lied less, according to CNN’s live fact check. Trump delivered 30 false statements during Tuesday’s debate, compared to Harris’ singular false claim. Although the majority of Harris’ statements were not considered false, some lacked context or were potentially misleading.
The primary topic Harris caught slack for from Gen-Z voters was her take on the Israel-Hamas war. While she adamantly supported a ceasefire and a two-state solution, some students think her approval of Israel’s defense against Hamas ignores the amount of Palestinian casualties.
“I kind of viewed her answer as a puppet answer,” Michuki said. “She was just like ‘Israel had the right to defend itself.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, but massacring people isn’t a self-defense thing.’ That’s like someone punching me, and I just go slam their head against the curb. Like, that’s not self-defense at that point.”
Other students were disappointed by the lack of air time for certain topics received during the debate. Sam Ouellette, a junior statistics major, wasn’t pleased with Harris’ comments about fracking in Pennsylvania, saying she wants to divest in foreign oil reliance and support domestic oil resources.
“At first she was very anti-fracking and not wanting to frack at all, but now she’s coming out and saying they’ll have controlled fracking,” Ouellette said. “I don’t necessarily know what she means by controlled fracking, but at the end of the day, fracking is still fracking. I don’t support it. I don’t agree with it, and I think she’s more saying that to try to appeal to Republican voters.”
Harris faced nationwide pressure to perform well in Tuesday’s debate, especially after President Joe Biden floundered in his June debate against Trump. Many students feel she rose to the occasion, dodging Trump’s bait and laying out her plans for the future.
While the student consensus is that Harris outperformed Trump in the debate, some remain wary of the November election results. Ouellette says that although it’s shocking, he still believes Trump may secure a win come November.
“As much as it would be crazy for Trump to be elected and to win, there’s so many people that support Trump,” Ouellette said. “We don’t even realize and kind of it’s kind of crazy to think about how many people still support him and advocate for him.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly paraphrased Sam Ouellette’s comments on talking points during the debate. The story has been updated to reflect the correct information.
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