Trump Uses 'Do or Die' Debate With Kamala Harris to Rant About Immigrants 'Eating Pets' — After Accusing Rival of Supporting 'Baby Executions'
Sept. 10 2024, Published 10:00 p.m. ET
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris came out swinging in their first-ever presidential debate, but things took a bizarre turn as the former president ranted about immigrants "eating pets" and Democrats supporting "baby executions".
RadarOnline.com can reveal the GOP candidate doubled down on his baseless claims that Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, were in favor of abortions in the "ninth month" of pregnancy.
Harris, 59, laughed and shook her head as Trump, 78, said: "They even have — and you can look at the governor of West Virginia, the previous governor of West Virginia... He said the baby will be born, and we will decide what to do with the baby. In other words, we will execute the baby."
He went on to say Walz, the Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate, "says abortion in the ninth month is absolutely fine. He also says execution after birth — it's execution, no longer abortion, because the baby is born — is OK. And that's not OK with me."
After his response, co-moderator Linsey Davis pointed out: "There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it's born."
Harris then issued her response, denouncing "Trump abortion bans" put in place after she said he "hand-selected three members of the Supreme Court with the intention that they would overturn Roe v. Wade".
She added: "The government, and certainly Donald Trump, should not be telling a woman what to do with their body."
The back-and-forth between the candidates became heated almost immediately after they shook hands on the ABC News debate stage Tuesday, which marked the first time they met in person.
When the topic turned to immigration, Trump pushed a strange narrative about Haitian immigrants "eating pets" in Ohio.
He declared: "They're eating the dogs, the people that came in, they're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there, and this is what's happening in our country, and it's a shame."
Co-moderator David Muir followed up by pointing out that the city manager of Springfield told ABC there were no credible reports of such behavior by the state's immigrant community.
A big question ahead of the event was whether Trump would resort to his usual personal attacks or listen to his advisers and stick to the issues.
Trump and Harris stood at podiums customized to bridge their height difference at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. The event featured no live audience, and was moderated by Davis of ABC New Live Prime and World News Tonight's David Muir.
Going into the event, the candidates were neck-and-neck in key swing states as Trump trailed Harris in fundraising for the month of August.
An NPR/CBS News/Marist poll released Tuesday morning said 70% of Americans planned to tune in to the debate, and about one-third of those surveyed predicted the showdown would influence their vote.
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