US Presidential candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump presented strong and contrasting remarks in their respective closing statements in the presidential debate in Philadelphia hosted by ABC News.
Kamala Harris, who aims to become the first woman president in US history in the polls slated later this year, expressed her intent to be the leader of “all Americans,” while her Republican rival termed the tenure of hers and of President Joe Biden as the “worst in the history.”
The Vice President said the two leaders have presented two very contrary visions for the country while asserting that America is “not going back.”
“You have heard tonight, two very different visions for this country. One that is focused on the future and one that is focused on the past,” Harris said.
“We’re not going back,” she said. “And I do believe that the American people know we all have so much more in common than what separates us, and we can chart a new way forward.”
She further emphasised on presenting a vision that helps people sustain the cost of living, build a strong military and understand the dreams and aspirations of the people.
After expressing her support for abortion rights earlier in the debate, Harris again stressed the issue, and said while pointing towards Trump, that she wants women to have the right to their own bodies instead of the US government.
“A vision of that includes having a plan, understanding the aspirations, the dreams, the hopes and ambitions of the American people…I want to create opportunity economy, invest in small businesses, new families and what we can do around in protecting seniors, bringing down the cost of living…sustaining America’s standing in the world and ensuring we have the respect, and respecting our military, ensuring we have the most lethal standing force in the world,” Harris said.
“I will be a President that will protect our fundamental rights including the right of the woman to make decisions about her own body, and not tell her government what to do. I intend to be a President for all Americans, and focus on what we can do over the next 10 and 20 years to build back our country by investing right now in you, the American people,” she further added.
Former President Donald Trump, who intends to make a comeback to the White House, after a bitter exit in 2020, attacked her Democratic rival, asking why all the promises made by Harris weren’t done by her administration so far.
“She said she would do this, do that, and all the wonderful things. Why hasn’t she done it? She has been there for 3.5 years. They had 3.5 years to fix the border, to create jobs,” Trump said.
He further termed the United States a “failing nation” and attacked the Biden-Harris administration for the ongoing conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, as well as the situation in Afghanistan.
“We are a failing nation, we are a nation that is in serious decline…we are laughed at all over the world. We have wars going in the Middle East, in Russia-Ukraine, we are gonna end up with World War III,” the former President further said.
“I rebuilt our entire military, she gave a lot of it away to Taliban, to Afghanistan, what they have done to our country…[They are] allowing millions in the country, many of them are criminals,” he said. “The worst president, the worst vice president in the history of our country.”
Both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are the official presidential candidates of their respective parties after they accepted the nomination at the conventions earlier this year.
Notably, the first presidential debate was held in June between President Biden and Trump, where the former’s performance expressed concerns over his age. Following this, Biden bowed out of the race and endorsed Harris.
The US presidential elections are scheduled to be held on November 5 this year.
