Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump hit the stage for their long-awaited presidential debate on Tuesday, September 10. Harris and Trump were joined by David Muir and Linsey Davis, moderators for ABC News.
Niles West students and staff have shared their opinions on the performances of the two candidates.
Junior Avinn Shrestha said he thought that this debate was better than President Joe Biden and Trump’s debate on June 27.
“I was very happy that it was better than the previous debate of Trump vs Biden. I think Kamala is a way better candidate. I really like Kamala Harris’ speech and debate. It definitely showed that Kamala Harris is a really good speaker. I’m sure Trump is still doing Trump and what he knows best, which is lying,” Shrestha said.
Junior Alejandro Estrada said it’s good that Harris was speaking about the major points of the upcoming election.
“I think Kamala won because I don’t think Trump knew what he was talking about. He was talking crazy about how the immigrants are eating our cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio… it’s messed up that a presidential candidate is spreading blatant misinformation. I think Kamala is really speaking to the major points of our election. She talked about how Trump killed that border bill and abortion, which is going to be a major topic in this upcoming election,” Estrada said.
Social Studies teacher Joseph Edwards’ AP Government and Politics class also had strong opinions about the debate.
Sophomore Sol Davids said he felt that both candidates’ performances were not strong.
“I was baffled by how horrible they both sounded. Trump obviously was worse since he was just lying the entire time but Kamala was dodging a lot of questions and giving contradictory responses on climate change, about how she was saying ‘we’re doing green energy’ but also increasing oil production and fracking to new and great levels. Trump obviously lost it, but I wouldn’t say Kamala won it either,” Davids said.
Sophomore Eman Ahmed had opinions about how Harris addressed the Israel-Palestine war.
“I thought it was unprofessional. When Kamala Harris was talking about the Israel-Palestine war, I was confused because she said it started on October 7, but the whole conflict has been going on for years and I feel like they should have fact-checked that to actually see if it’s true, but I thought they were both unprofessional in the debate,” Ahmed said.
Edwards believes the debate will affect voting decisions.
“I thought that Harris certainly had a plan on how to try to get under Trump’s skin, and she executed that plan. If some voters wanted to hear more about what Harris would do as president, I don’t know if she was able to give those people enough information. If there are some of those swing voters who are concerned about if she’s is presidential or not, I think some of those voters are going to be more willing to vote for her, as that’s one of their concerns,” Edwards said.
The Presidential Election will take place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Students 18 and older that have registered to vote are eligible to participate in the election.
