Trump complained that people haven't given him enough credit for the "great job" his administration did in response to the pandemic.

"We did a phenomenal job with the pandemic," he said, touching on providing ventilators and other supplies.

Harris is clearly trying to get under Trump's skin, albeit subtly.

She is mentioning Project 2025, whose popularity his campaign is frustrated by, and mentioned criticism of his economic plan by the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania -- Trump's alma mater, which he frequently cites as evidence of his business bona fides.

And most significantly, Harris panned his record as a "mess."

"Let's talk about what Donald Trump left us. Donald Trump left us the worst unemployment since the great depression. Donald Trump left us the worst public health epidemic in a century. Donald Trump left us the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War. And what we have done is clean up Donald Trump's mess," she said.

After a first question on the economy elicited a back-and-forth from Harris and Trump, with Trump veering the conversation toward immigration and attacking the Biden administration's record, Harris took a moment to try to rebut Trump's comments.

"But I'm going to tell you all in this debate tonight, you're going to hear from the same old tired playbook, a bunch of lies, grievances and and name-calling," she said.

Harris criticized Trump for involvement in Project 2025, a 922-page playbook of controversial policy proposals intended to guide the next conservative administration.

Trump denied again that he knows about Project 2025, despite being authored by at least two dozen members of his administration and allies.

"Everyone knows I'm an open book," he said.