BYU students joined millions around the nation on Tuesday, Sept. 10 to watch former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris face off in their first presidential debate.
The Pennsylvania debate, moderated by ABC's David Muir and Linsey Davis, came almost a month after Harris replaced President Joe Biden as Democratic candidate on the 2024 election ticket.
To help students participate, the BYU Political Society organized a debate watch party in the Tanner Building on the BYU campus. Others tuned in via live stream to watch the debate from home.
"I find the political situation that’s going on right now really fascinating," Aly Jensen, a freshman at BYU, said. "With the whole Biden dropping out and Kamala stepping in, I wanted to see what points she would have and how she would do the debate, and I also wanted to see how Trump would interact with that."
On stage, Trump and Harris debated issues including the economy, abortion legislation, the results of the 2020 election, the racial divide in America, foreign policy, climate change, immigration and crime.
Trump focused on the illegal immigration crisis and its effects on American life.
“Bad immigration is the worst thing that can happen to our economy,” he said.
Trump pressed Harris to use her power as vice president to take immediate action on the border.
“She just started by saying 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 asked in his closing statements. "She's been there for three and a half years. They've had three and a half years to fix the border. They've had three and a half years to create jobs and all the things we talked about. Why hasn't she done it?”
Focusing on the current discourse concerning abortion legislation, Harris indicated that a congressional overhaul of the overturning of Roe v. Wade was a matter of “when,” not “if.”
“I will proudly sign (Roe vs. Wade) back into law,” Harris said.
She also proposed plans for a $6,000 tax credit to young families with new children and a $50,000 tax deduction for startups across the U.S.
“My passion is small business,” she said.
In her closing remarks, Harris emphasized her desire to be a president for all American people. She pledged to make America “a lethal force” in the international field and vowed to “protect fundamental human rights, including the right of a woman to make choices about her own body.”
While each candidate made compelling cases for their election, students noted that both made various rhetorical errors that could damage their campaigns. Both engaged in name calling, incorrectly cited sources and failed to answer simple questions.
Harris repeatedly referenced Project 2025, a political action plan created by a Republican think-tank that Trump has denounced and said he has no plans to implement. She also addressed Trump’s rally efforts and encouraged voters to attend to see how “boring” they are. This is a remark made mere months after an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania Trump rally which left one dead and several, including Trump, injured.
For his part, Trump cited allegations of people entering the country illegally eating pets and local wildlife in Springfield, Ohio. The claim was made by citizens but has no current physical proof. He fumbled his explanation of former Virginia governor Ralph Northman’s stance on late-term abortion. His heightened emotions and skewed references led to ambiguity and confusion on both the stage and amongst viewers.
Additionally, moderators Davis and Muir were accused of failing to consistently pressure Harris for direct answers concerning her role in the Biden administration and interjecting as fact-checkers during the debate.
The debate left many students in attendance at the watch party disappointed. One student left the watch party early, angrily shaking her head and rolling her eyes. Others, such as Jensen, found the candidates' barbed attacks entertaining.
"I appreciated the good laugh, even though it probably wasn’t intended for that," Jensen said.
Perhaps the most important impact, however, is increased student resolve to become civically engaged. Some students reported a greater interest in fact-checking, conducting individual research about political policies and participating in group discussions to become better educated and self-determined ahead of the November election.
This is true for Austin DeMille, a political science major and long-time debate enthusiast. In addition to volunteering with bipartisan voting booths on the BYU campus later this fall, he said that student voices matter and can have a big impact on local politics.
“I’ve started some rough ideas of legislation in my head and some potential political moves that I want to make right now as just a college student, because it is possible,” DeMille said. “I would say that college students have way more political influence for good than we give ourselves credit.”