All eyes will be on Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as millions tune in to watch the highly anticipated presidential candidate debate. Tuesday night’s 6 PM PST debate will be the first and only time Former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris will debate one another in the lead-up to the November 5th General Election.
The two candidates will participate in a moderated debate with no public audience and no pre-written notes or material for the first time. Each candidate will have a set time limit to answer questions, provide a rebuttal to their opponent’s statements, and deliver closing remarks. In an effort to maintain decorum, candidate microphones will be muted when the other is speaking.
With the election looming and an increased pressure to mobilize eligible voters of all demographics, the Latino vote could be a decisive factor for either party. Latinos make up 15% of total eligible voters this year with over 36 million Latinos ready to cast their ballots. Issues on the top of Latinos’ minds range from costs of living to economic growth and stability.
Some of the most important issues for Latino voters include inflation and the rising cost of living, jobs and the economy, housing affordability, health care costs, and immigration.
Live Updates:
7:50 p.m.: As the debate closed out, viewers were left with more questions than answers. Both former President Trump and Vice President Harris frequently dodged questions about policy implementation. Many of these questions pertain directly to the Latino community with topics including clear plans for immigration and citizenship pathways, reproductive rights, healthcare access and job market opportunities. It is unlikely that either candidate will agree to another debate.
7:45 p.m.: Final remark given during the 2024 Presidential Debate is former President Donald Trump saying “Toughest of all is allowing millions of people to come into our country- many of them are criminals and they are destroying our country. The worst president, the worst vice-president in the history of our country [Biden-Harris administration].”
7:22 p.m.: “This is the guy that took out a full page ad calling on the execution of the Central Park five. Five innocent Black and Latino boys,” said Vice President Kamala Harris, referring to the four full-page ads in local publications Donald Trump paid $85,000 for, asking for the execution of five black and brown boys that were wrongfully accused of raping Trisha Meili.
6:59 p.m.: “I will always give Israel the ability to defend itself…but we must have a two-state solution where Gaza has the opportunity to rebuild itself,” says Harris. In March 2024, 40% of Latinos supported a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war according to a poll run by Axios.
6:52 p.m.: When David Muir asked about Trump’s 2020 election loss, he mentioned that people should never think of an election as being fraudulent and that means the need of two things. “We need two things: walls/borders and good elections. Our elections are bad and a lot of these illegal immigrants coming in, they’re trying to get them to vote, they can’t even speak English, they don’t even know what country they are in and these people are trying to get them to vote and that’s why they are allowing them to come into the country.”
6:45 p.m.: As a response to Trump referring to immigrants as criminals, Harris says “I think this is so rich coming from someone who has been prosecuted for national security crimes, economic crimes election interference, has been found liable for sexual assault, and his next big court appearance is in November at his own criminal sentencing.”
6:43 p.m.: Former President Trump continues to refer to immigrants as illegal aliens despite backlash. “Now she [VP Harris] wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens,” says Trump.
For context, when former President Donald Trump commented about Vice President Harris wanting “to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison,” Trump was referring to a 2019 American Civil Liberties Union questionnaire, where Harris supported gender-affirming care for everyone, including those in immigration detention and prison.
“It is important that transgender individuals who rely on the state for care receive the treatment they need, which includes access to treatment associated with gender transition,” said Vice President Harris.
6:35 p.m.: “Do you know that crime in Venezuela and all over the world is way down. You want to know why? Because they gave all the criminals to her [Kamala Harris]. We have a new form of crime and it’s called “migrant crime” and it’s happening at levels never thought possible”. Studies suggest that immigrants residing in the U.S. commit less crime than native-born citizens and that the increase in illegal immigration does not equal to an increase in domestic violent crime.
6:33 p.m.: Former President Trump said “We’ll end up being Venezuela on steroids,” if Vice President Kamala Harris were to win the election, most likely referring to the uproar from Venezuelan citizens following an election experts believe to have been stolen. A sentiment that aligns with Trump’s view of the 2020 presidential election despite evidence that these claims have no merit.
Former President Trump mentioned that following the Biden administration, a new type of crime which he referred to as “migrant crime” has been “happening at levels never thought possible”, according to Trump.
6:31 p.m: David Muir asked Kamala about being tasked to getting to the root cause of migration from Central America by the Biden Administration. During the Biden Administration, illegal border crossings were at a record high.
In June, when Biden enacted tough asylum restrictions those numbers dropped. Muir questioned Kamala on the reasoning of waiting six months for the Biden Administration to act on those restrictions Harris replied, “Congress came up with a border security bill which I supported. That bill would put 1500 more border agents on the border to help border agents work overtime and allow us to stem the flow of fentanyl coming into the United States. That bill would allow us to prosecute transnational criminal organizations for trafficking in guns, drugs and human beings.” Harris then explains that Donald Trump got on the phone with Congress and killed the bill.
6:30 p.m.: “I’m the only person on this stage that has prosecuted transnational criminals. The United States Congress came up with a security bill that I supported which would have put 1500 more agents to secure the border. I know there are so many families watching that have been personally affected by the surge of fentanyl,” said Harris when asked about Immigration.
Notably, on every occasion Vice President Harris has been asked about immigration, she has turned the conversation into a rebuttal against Trump.
6:23 p.m.: Trump mentioned how the Biden Administration was unable to secure the student loan forgiveness promise. 67% of Hispanic and Latino graduates left college with educational debt in 2024.
6:15 p.m.: “Many of these people coming in are criminals… they have and she [VP Harris] has destroyed our country with policies… Immigration is the worst thing that has happened to our economy.” - Trump on immigrants