After much speculation about whether it would actually happen, Tuesday night saw former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris take to the presidential debate stage in Philadelphia.
Amid increased tensions on college campuses, the murder of six hostages, and a thwarted antisemitic terrorist attack, Israel and Judaism have been at the forefront of political conversations across the nation.
While Harris, 59, and Trump, 78, did not spend much time talking about the war in Gaza and the surge of antisemitism in the United States, these topics were touched on during the broadcast. Here’s what they said:
Trump and Harris go head-to-head about Israel at the presidential debate
Harris was questioned on her Israel policy by ABC’s Linsey Davis, who noted that the vice president has previously urged the Jewish State to try to protect Palestinian lives. Davis recounted that Harris has consistently said that “Israel has a right to defend itself,” but “it matters how” it does that.
The moderator asked how she would balance these aspects as the war continues and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the ceasefire deal has failed. Harris mostly referenced the efforts that she and President Joe Biden have made to bring a hostage deal to fruition, reinforcing the Biden administration’s commitment to backing Israel while referencing “far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed” and the need for an eventual Palestinian state.
“What we know is that this war must end. It must end immediately, and the way it will end is we need a cease-fire deal and we need the hostages out. And so we will continue to work around the clock on that. Work around the clock also understanding that we must chart a course for a two-state solution,” Harris said, adding that the war was only started after Hamas — which she labeled as a terrorist organization — murdered and raped Israelis.
“And in that solution, there must be security for the Israeli people and Israel and in equal measure for the Palestinians. But the one thing I will assure you always, I will always give Israel the ability to defend itself, in particular as it relates to Iran and any threat that Iran and its proxies pose to Israel. But we must have a two-state solution where we can rebuild Gaza, where the Palestinians have security, self-determination and the dignity they so rightly deserve,” Harris continued.
Davis then turned her attention to Trump, asking him how he would work with Netanyahu and Hamas to bring the hostages home and stop the war in Gaza.
Trump refused to answer the question and instead focused on attacking Harris, blasting her as anti-Israel. Claiming that “she hates Israel,” Trump cited Harris’ decision not to attend Netanyahu’s speech in Congress. The Israeli prime minister met with both Trump and Harris at separate occasions later that week.
“If she’s president, I believe that Israel will not exist within two years from now. And I’ve been pretty good at predictions. And I hope I’m wrong about that one. She hates Israel. At the same time in her own way she hates the Arab population because the whole place is going to get blown up, Arabs, Jewish people, Israel. Israel will be gone,” Trump said.
At Tuesday’s presidential debate, Trump continued to repeat his claim that both the war in Ukraine and the war in Gaza would have not occurred because “Iran was broke under Donald Trump” since he had imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic, which funds multiple terrorist groups including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. While he claimed that both wars would be ended if he was elected in November, Trump did not outline any policies.
In response to Trump’s attack, Harris affirmed her support for Israel amid its war against Hamas, and accused Trump of deflecting.
“I have my entire career and life supporting Israel and the Israeli people. He knows that. He’s trying to again divide and distract from the reality, which is it is very well known that Donald Trump is weak and wrong on national security and foreign policy. It is well known that he admires dictators, wants to be a dictator on day one according to himself,” she said.
Sparring on Charlottesville protest
Moderator David Muir then asked Trump whether he had any regrets of his actions during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 2021, in which the former president said he was not responsible for the violent escalations that occurred.
The question was then repeated to Harris who blasted Trump, who she accused of fraternizing with violent insurrectionists and white supremacists. She referenced the former president’s remarks after the neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 as evidence of Jan. 6 not being “an isolated situation.”
“There was a mob of people carrying tiki torches, spewing antisemitic hate, and what did the president then at the time say? There were fine people on each side. Let’s remember that when it came to the Proud Boys, a militia, the president said, the former president said, ‘Stand back and stand by,’” she said.
Trump said that his statements about Charlottesville have been “debunked.”
Supporters of the former president often point out that during that press conference where he did call the white supremacist protesters “very fine people,” he also condemned neo-Nazis.
Originally Published Sep 11, 2024 02:46PM EDT
