Trump-Harris debate updates: Candidates go on attack in zinger-filled showdown

Harris and Trump sparred in the high-stakes showdown.

ByAlexandra Hutzler, Meredith Deliso, Ivan Pereira, Emily Chang, and Brittany Gaddy
Last Updated: September 11, 2024, 12:52 AM EDT

The first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump turned into a heated matchup that lasted more than 90 minutes.

The night started with a handshake initiated by Harris, but quickly escalated as the vice president bashed Trump over his policies and comments, contending that it was time to "offer is a new generation of leadership for our country."

Trump criticized Harris throughout the debate on topics such as Afghanistan and immigration issues, drawing comparisons between the vice president and President Joe Biden.

With Election Day just eight weeks away, the debate came at a critical point as polls show a neck-and-neck race between the candidates.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing:
Sep 11, 12:12 am

A transcript of the Harris-Trump debate

Harris and Trump met for their first presidential debate on Tuesday night. The consequential matchup was hosted by ABC News at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

Read a transcript of what was said in the 90-minute debate here.

Sep 10, 2024, 1:57 PM EDT

Gold Star father, retired general among those representing Harris in spin room: Official

Gold Star father Khizr Khan, whose son Humayun Khan was a Muslim Army captain who was killed during the Iraq War in 2004, will be among the surrogates supporting Harris in the spin room at the debate, a campaign official confirmed to ABC News.

Khan garnered national attention after he delivered a blistering speech attacking Trump at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

Harris will also be supported in the spin room by retired Brig. Gen. Steven M. Anderson, according to the campaign official. NBC News first reported Khan and Anderson's roles as Harris surrogates in the spin room.

PHOTO: President Joe Biden presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Khizr Khan during a ceremony to awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to seventeen recipients in the East Room of the White House, July 7, 2022 in Washington, DC.
President Joe Biden presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Khizr Khan, Gold Star father and founder of the Constitution Literacy and National Unity Center, during a ceremony to awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to seventeen recipients in the East Room of the White House, July 7, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

-Fritz Farrow, Grabriella Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie

Sep 10, 2024, 1:33 PM EDT

Trump campaign spokesperson says he’s not engaged in traditional debate prep

Trump campaign spokesperson Danielle Alvarez said Tuesday morning on ABC News Live that Trump "does not do traditional debate prep" and reiterated that he has been campaigning and engaging in policy discussions instead.

"I would say that the president does not do traditional debate prep. He's on the campaign trail constantly. We see him in key battleground states every week, joined by tens of thousands of patriots," she said. "We know that he does tough interviews, both nationally, locally."

"That's truly how he prepares for these debates, having those conversations every day. He's ready to step back into the White House," she continued. "We also know that he prefers to have those policy discussions, and he's been doing that with elected members in Congress like Matt Gaetz, with former Congress member Tulsi Gabbard and others -- very similar to what he did to prepare for that first debate against Joe Biden. He has prepared in a similar way again, just by getting out there and talking every day to voters and talking to media."

Danielle Alvarez speaks with ABC News, Sept. 10, 2024.
ABC News

-ABC News' Soorin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh

Sep 10, 2024, 1:30 PM EDT

Harris not 'underestimating' Trump ahead of debate: Source

Just hours away from the debate, a campaign source is setting expectations that Harris is not "underestimating" Trump's ability to debate, and that it would be a "mistake" to do so.

The Harris team expects Trump to be "good" at debating, stressing that Trump has done this more than anybody else, while it will be Harris's first presidential debate.

The Harris campaign is "happy to get under [Trump's] skin," and they hope that bringing former Trump officials into the spin room later this evening will accomplish this.

On a campaign call last night, a source said Harris is ready for any version of Trump that shows up -- whether it's the presidential Trump, the more mellow Trump during the Biden debate or a more aggressive version.

-ABC News' Selina Wang

Sep 10, 2024, 1:08 PM EDT

8 hours until the Harris-Trump ABC debate, here is how to watch tonight

The consequential Harris-Trump face-off will air live tonight at 9 p.m. ET on ABC and stream on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu.

ABC News Live is available on Samsung TV+, The Roku Channel, Amazon Fire TV devices, YouTube, Tubi, the ABC app, and ABC.com.

ABC News Digital and 538 will live blog the latest from the debate stage with coverage, analysis and fact checks.

SiriusXM users can listen to the debate on Channel 370.

The prime-time pre-debate special, "Race for the White House," will air at 8 p.m. ET and stream on ABC's platforms.

Read more here.