Harris 

• Abortion
  • Harris took a strong stance on abortion right when the question was asked of her. She explained that she believed no matter what your personal or religious beliefs are, the government shouldn’t control what a woman does with her body. She said that she would like to reimplement the protections that were granted by Roe v. Wade. 
• Border 
  • Harris was not entirely clear about what, if any, border policy she would implement if she was elected.  She did explain her support for the Bipartisan Border Bill that nearly passed during the Biden Administration. This bill,  which was voted down by the Senate in May, would have added 1500 border authorities. Further, it would have attempted to stop the flow of Fentanyl across the U.S.-Mexico border. She also criticized Trump for blocking the bill, saying he did it for his own good, not thinking about bettering the country. 
• Economic Policy 
  • When discussing the economic future of Americans, Harris was adamant of  her support for working class families, explaining how growing up in a middle-class background has helped her to understand the struggle that families face. She said that she would offer a $6,000 child tax credit and $50,000 deductions to help open new businesses. Overall, there wasn’t a huge discussion of Harris’s economic agenda. 
• Gun Rights 
  • Although Harris has been known to be in support of stricter gun control laws like background tests, she made it clear in the presidential debate that she will not be taking anyone’s guns away, stating that both her and running mate Tim Walz are gun owners. 
• Foreign Policy – Ukraine
  • On the topic of Ukraine, Harris repeatedly praised the Biden Administration on their handling of the war. She also explained her role in attempting to control the conflict, by speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss Russia’s intentions. Overall, she made her stance clear; that Russia was in the wrong and that Russia winning the war would have horrible connotations for the United States and  the rest of Europe. 
• Foreign Policy – Gaza
  • For the war in Gaza, Harris made her stance clear that Israel should always have the ability to defend themselves. She clarified this statement, saying it was only true to an extent and that the way Israel went about self-defense mattered. Her overall opinion was that the only way to stop the conflict was for both sides to agree to a cease fire. 

Trump 

• Abortion
  • When Trump was asked about what he would do in the area of abortion, he jumped around a lot. The idea he articulated the most was that putting the issue up to the states is a good thing. When asked about whether he would veto a national bill banning abortion, he refused to answer the question. 
• Border 
  • From the first question, Trump continued to fall back on pointing out issues that he believes are caused by a border that is too open. For example, when asked about injuries and casualties at the January six insurrection, he did not answer the question and chose to discuss claims of immigrants killing people instead. When asked why Trump killed the recent Border Bill that was passed by the Biden administration, he avoided directly answering the question. FInally, after claiming he would launch the biggest deportation operation in history, Trump failed to explain how he would actually go about doing it. 
• Economic Policy 
  • Trump began his discussion of economic policy by discussing tariffs and defending his agenda to implement more tariffs. He also failed to lay out much of a roadmap for what he would do for the economy if elected and opted to, instead, attack both Harris and Biden’s tax and social service policies
• Gun Rights
  • When the topic of guns came up in the debate, Trump’s main point was to explain that Harris and Walz would take away guns from the American people. Trump, on the other hand, claimed he is a strong 2nd amendment supporter and is a gun owner himself. 
• Foreign Policy – Ukraine
  • In terms of Ukraine, Trump pledged that he would end the conflict before he entered office, but he did not lay out a  plan for how he would accomplish this. Further, he criticized the Biden Administration’s handling of the issue, saying they have spent too much money. He also talked about his strong relationship with Putin and how he could use that to end the war. Lastly, he would not answer the question concerning whether he believed Ukraine should win the war.
• Foreign Policy – Gaza
  • For the Gaza conflict, when asked what he would do to end the conflict, Trump responded by saying that Harris hates both Israel and the Arabs. Further, he claimed that with Harris in office, Israel would not exist in two years and that Arabs are going to get blown up. Trump did not offer his own opinions or plans for how we would solve the conflict.