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 10, 2024, 3:40 PM 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:
12:12 AM EDT

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.

3:13 PM EDT

First to ABC: Sens. Chris Murphy, Laphonza Butler in spin room for Harris

Sens. Chris Murphy and Laphonza Butler will be in the spin room as surrogates supporting Harris, according to a campaign official. This news is being shared first with ABC News.

Murphy had helped negotiate the bipartisan border deal earlier this year that Trump urged his party to oppose. Harris has been pledging to work to get that deal passed if elected, while hammering Trump for killing the deal.

Butler met Harris 15 years ago when Harris was the district attorney of San Francisco and Butler also served as senior adviser on Harris' 2020 presidential campaign.

-ABC News' Selina Wang

2:27 PM EDT

Harris, Trump campaigns spin expectations ahead of ABC News debate

Harris said in an interview that aired Monday that she expects former President Donald Trump to lie during the ABC News presidential debate on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Trump campaign and surrogates continued to insinuate on Monday that the former president's strategy at the debate will be to tie Harris to what they say are her policy failures and "disasters" as a leader of the Biden-Harris administration.

With time ticking down until the two meet for the debate, both candidates are working to spin expectations in what is expected to be a key moment for both campaigns as they look to appeal to voters ahead of what's expected to be a close contest in November.

Read more here.

PHOTO: Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, speaks during a debate, Oct. 7, 2020, in Salt Lake City, left, Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a debate, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta.
In this combination photo, Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, speaks during a debate, Oct. 7, 2020, in Salt Lake City, left, Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a debate, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta.
AP

-ABC News' Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Fritz Farrow, Will McDuffie, Mary Bruce and Oren Oppenheim

3:01 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

3:02 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