Harris and Trump sparred in the high-stakes showdown.
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.
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.
Fact-check: True
Not long after the Central Park Five were arrested, Trump placed full-page ads in New York newspapers urging New York to bring back the death penalty. "These muggers and murderers" should be "forced to suffer and, when they kill, they should be executed for their crimes," said the ad, above Trump’s signature.
-PolitiFact’s Aaron Sharockman
Evoking the chaos of the Jan. 6 insurrection was key to Harris’ message on protecting democracy at the DNC and the same is true tonight. It could be a good strategy for her: Earlier this year, undecided voters in a 538/PerryUndem focus group told us Trump’s actions on that day were one of their main concerns they had about supporting the former president.
“For everyone watching who remembers what January 6 was, I say we don’t have to go back," Harris said. "And if that was a bridge too far for you, well, there is a place in our campaign for you,” she added, alluding to the Republicans who’ve vocally supported her due to their disapproval of Trump’s actions that day.
—538's Tia Yang
Fact Check: False.
This is not accurate, as $83 billion is an estimate of the entire amount spent by the US in security assistance in Afghanistan since 2001.
Still, the Defense Department’s Inspector General estimates $7.12 billion worth of U.S.-funded equipment was seized by the Taliban when the U.S. withdrew. According to the government watchdog, that amount includes 78 aircraft, some 9,500 air-to-ground munitions, 40,000 vehicles, 300,000 weapons and nearly all night-vision, surveillance, communications and biometric equipment provided to Afghanistan forces.
"Clearly I am not Joe Biden, and I am certainly not Donald Trump," she said. "And what I do offer is a new generation of leadership for our country, one who believes in what is possible, one who brings a sense of optimism about what we can do instead of always disparaging the American people."
This is an animating theme of Harris' campaign -- that she is offering the American people something new after a lack of enthusiasm for a Biden-Trump rematch.
