TIME WASTED
‘Why hasn’t she done it?’ Donald Trump blasts Kamala Harris for not fixing ‘failing’ America in fiery TV debate
Trump dubbed his performance his 'best debate ever'
DONALD Trump has ripped into Kamala Harris' record as vice president and claimed the US is in "serious decline."
Trump lashed out at the vice president during his closing statement at their first presidential debate, saying her work in the White House alongside President Joe Biden has led to America being "laughed at all over the world."
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"We're a nation that's in serious decline," Trump declared, adding, "We're being laughed at all over the world."
The Republican presidential nominee, 78, attempted to smear Harris' policy promises, saying she failed to get the job done in her three-and-a-half-years as vice president.
"She's going to do this, she's going to do that, she's going to do all these wonderful things. Why hasn't she done it?" Trump said.
"She's been there for three and a half years. They've had three and a half years to fix the border.
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"They've had three and a half years to create jobs."
Trump continued, "Why hasn't she done it?
"She should leave right now, go down to that beautiful White House, go to the Capitol, get everyone together, and do the things she says she wants to do.
"She hasn't done it, and she won't do it because she believes in things that the American people don't believe in."
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Debate night highlights...
- Donald Trump and Kamala Harris engaged in a fiery debate where, at times, the former president seemed enraged and frustrated.
- Vice President Harris tried to get under Trump's skin by bringing up his ties to Project 2025, his criminal conviction in New York, his rally crowd sizes, and the various indictments he's facing.
- Trump went off script when he repeated wild conspiracies about immigrants eating dogs and cats in Springfield, Ohio.
- "They're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there," Trump said as Harris laughed and shook her head.
- In one instance, Trump seemingly threw his running mate, JD Vance, under the bus and blamed him for miscommunication about his stance on a national abortion ban.
- Despite some difficult moments, Trump dubbed his performance "his best debate ever."
- A Harris spokesperson called for a second debate in October.
The U.S. Sun's Caitlin Hornik Recaps the Presidential Debate
Meanwhile, Harris affirmed the country is looking to turn the page on the past and look towards a different future.
"So, I think you've heard tonight two very different visions for our country, one that is focused on the future, and the other that is focused on the past and an attempt to take us backward," Harris said during her closing statement.
"But we're not going back, and I do believe that the American people know we all have so much more in common than what separates us, and we can chart a new way forward, and a vision of that includes having a plan, understanding the aspirations, the dreams, the hopes, the ambition of the American people."
Harris concluded, "I intend to be a president for all Americans and focus on what we can do over the next 10 and 20 years to build back up our country by investing right now in you, the American people."
HARRY COLE: Both landed blows - but race is still too close to call
By HARRY COLE, Political Editor
AFTER a slow start from both candidates, it was only once Harris began prodding and poking at the size of Trump's rallies, that he went on the attack. Jibes about issues that hit close to home, such as his wealth, his inheritance from his father, and his businesses that the old Don of 2016 came out of his shell.
Trumpy was clearly angry. He got more orange. He got more aggressive. He hit out over taxes, illegal migrants, and eating cats and dogs.
This debate was about two camps talking mainly to their bases. As elections are largely decided on who can get their supporters out to vote, this decision to address mostly those who have already made their minds up made sense.
Harris had some particularly strong moments on abortion and healthcare - issues she already has a lead on over Trump. But she was much weaker on the economy - an area her opponent will look to bash her on.
For someone who's been in power for four years as Vice President to not be able to defend the record is a major weakness for Harris.
She dodged questions on inflation and cost of living before Trump really went on the attack.
He tried to link everything back to immigration and fracking - two of the biggest issues for the former President.
In key swing states that Trump needs to win, such as Pennsylvania, fracking is a big issue, and Kamala Harris' record on that is dubious at best.
She's saying the right things now but there wasn't a real knockout blow on either side, the bar was lower for Harris.
Biden's VP needed to prove that she could handle the debate with no notes, no scripts, and no soundbite moments - without a prompt or soft-soap interviewer to help her.
Throughout the campaign, Harris has been kept on a very tight leash, restricting her media appearances as much as possible.
Frankly, she cleared that low bar.
On the money markets, Trump started out ahead of Harris on the Betfair exchange, but by the end, his Democratic challenger had a slight edge.
November's election is still on a knife edge but Harris is gaining on Trump in the betting markets.
Trump had a very strong closing statement, hitting all his key points on immigration, Biden, the economy, and national security. But this thrilling race is still too close to call.
Watch The Sun's full debate coverage on Never Mind The Ballots.
ROUND TWO?
Despite going off script several times throughout the primetime clash, Trump called his performance "his best debate ever."
"I thought that was my best Debate, EVER, especially since it was THREE ON ONE!" Trump said in a Truth Social post, criticizing the ABC moderators.
Harris' campaign called for a second debate less than an hour after the conclusion of Tuesday's showdown.
"Under the bright lights, the American people got to see the choice they will face this fall at the ballot box: between moving forward with Kamala Harris or going backwards with Trump," Jen O’Malley Dillon, Harris' campaign chair, said in a statement.
"That's what they saw tonight and what they should see at a second debate in October. Vice President Kamala Harris is ready for a second debate. Is Donald Trump?"
Harris's campaign team slammed Trump as being "totally incoherent, angry, and rattled" throughout the 90-minute debate.
Trump had previously agreed to two separate debates, one from NBC News on September 25 and another from Fox News.
"[Trump] has already accepted an NBC debate and a Fox debate. It's Kamala Harris who hadn't accepted prior debates," a Trump campaign adviser told the New York Post.
Trump ally swipes that debate moderators were softer on Harris
By JACK ELSOM, Chief Political Correspondent
A PAL of Donald Trump has taken a veiled swipe at the debate moderators - suggesting they were far softer on Kamala Harris.
Raheem Kassam - the editor of the National Pulse website - said he thought the clash was a “score draw” with both candidates landing blows.
But he unloaded on the ABC hosts David Muir and Linsey Davis for asking questions more favorable to Harris, including probing Trump on the January 6 storming of the Capitol.
Appearing on Never Mind The Ballots, Kassam said: “Well, look, I don't like to blame the refs.
“You know, in advance of these debates, it was made abundantly clear to everybody who wanted to know, who runs the news division at ABC?
"That's a friend of Kamala Harris's for the last 30 years, and the best friend of her husband is that person's wife.
“Both the debate moderators have spoken glowingly of Kamala Harris, and have spoken very negatively of Donald Trump in previous years.
“But at the end of the day, you know, Trump and Trump's team agreed to the debate on those terms, so I don't think you can complain about it.
“You walk into that arena, you know who the referee's going to be, you know what the rules are.
“And, yes, they intervened more for her than they did for him. They intervened zero times on his behalf, seven times on her behalf, but that is what we've come to expect.”
Kassam - who is a close associate of the Republican candidate - said the Trump campaign team had been beefed up in recent weeks in the run-up to the November 5 election.
He said: “They've added campaign veterans such as Corey Lewandowski. They've added another layer of sort of deputies like Alex Pfeiffer, like Alex Brusewitz, like Taylor Budovich, who are all working in adjunct to the campaign.”
In the spin room with reporters, Trump responded to the Harris' challenge, saying, "They want another debate because they lost. So, we'll, you know, think about that."
However, in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, Trump seemed less eager to participate in a potential second debate.
"I sort of think maybe I shouldn't do it," the Republican presidential candidate said.
"Well, I don't know. I have to think about it, but if you won the debate, I sort of think maybe I shouldn't do it.
"Why should I do another debate? She immediately said, 'We want another.' That's, you know, what happens when you lose, you immediately want to do a rematch."
However, less than two months before the November 5 election, it's unclear if a second debate will take place.
Hours after the conclusion of Tuesday's debate, Fox News reaffirmed its status to host a second presidential showdown between Trump and Harris.
CBS News is set to host the vice presidential showdown between JD Vance and Tim Walz on October 1.
JD VANCE VS TIM WALZ
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Senator JD Vance both had full lives before becoming politicians.
Walz and Vance both served in the military. Walz was in the Army National Guard for 24 years, and JD Vance was in the US Marine Corps for four years.
The veterans both share a love for Diet Mountain Dew.
However, Walz spent most of his early adulthood as a high school teacher and taught for one year in China after graduating college.
In 1999, he was the faculty advisor for the first ever Gay Straight Alliance at the high school he worked for.
Walz didn't foray into politics until 2004 when he volunteered for John Kerry's presidential campaign.
In 2006, he ran for Congress and beat incumbent Republican Gil Gutknecht. He served until 2019, when he was elected Minnesota's governor.
Vance, meanwhile, raised himself from a tumultuous childhood in Ohio and went to college after serving in the Marines.
After graduating from Ohio State University, he attended Yale Law School, where he started writing his bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy.
Vance briefly worked in politics before moving to the technology sector in California, where he met venture capitalist Peter Thiel.
In 2016, he published his book and became a household name in popular culture.
Vance, who was once staunchly anti-Donald Trump, ran for Senate on a pro-MAGA platform in 2022 and was elected with Trump's blessing.