Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump had their first debate of the 2024 presidential election on Wednesday night hosted by ABC. Moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis asked both candidates questions regarding topics that are top of mind for everyone this election cycle such as fracking, the war in Gaza and Ukraine, and the current state of the economy.
For Latino voters, questions about immigration policy and reproductive rights were what drew the most attention, as well as criticism. During Biden’s presidency, Roe V Wade, the landmark case protecting a woman’s right to an abortion, was overturned by the Supreme Court. Biden also limited the number of immigrants allowed to seek asylum when the border experiences a high number of border encounters through an executive order back in June. Weeks later, he passed the “parole in place” policy allowing up to half a million undocumented residents to obtain permanent residency without having to leave the country. Now, the question amongst Latinos is whether Kamala or Trump promise a better presidency following Biden’s.
After the debate, the consensus among experts and voters was that Vice President Harris had won, but many Latinos were disappointed with the Vice President’s lack of direct answers in regard to her policy plans, including immigration reform. Trump, who has used racist rhetoric against Latinos in previous public appearances, lied frequently and was dismissive of the moderator’s live fact-checking.
Voto Latino, an organization that aims to educate and empower Latino voters, said in a press release, “It is clear that Harris won the debate. The Vice President made herself better known to Americans and presented concrete plans and proposals that will make our country stronger and our people more prosperous. … With all eyes on the debate, [Trump] once again demonized immigrants and trotted out the same old anti-Latino rhetoric.”
However, not everyone agreed that Kamala was the clear winner, and many felt the moderators went easy on Harris in both fact-checking her statements and asking tough questions.
The Republican National Hispanic Assembly, an organization that seeks to promote Hispanic-American interests within the Republican Party, believed Trump to have won as stated in a post made from their X account: “We are disappointed by the evident bias displayed by the moderators during tonight’s debate. Despite the one-sided nature of the questions, President Trump responded with strength and confidence, navigating the challenge exceptionally well. He clearly won the debate.”
Harris’ campaign is already looking for a second debate, but Trump’s has not agreed to any. Regardless of who won, the two-hour-long back and forth between both candidates did little to sway the confidence of some Latino voters.
“It felt like two kids arguing with each other. I think that’s mostly because Trump doesn’t know how to take criticism,” said Amanda Canales, a model living in Los Angeles. Before the debate, Canales hadn’t felt particularly strongly about either candidate, and the debate only further cemented her frustration with her current options. “I think Kamala won for sure, but I do think that at the end of the day, they’re both just trying to win, and I don’t really take what they say very seriously.”
One moment of the debate that stood out to many voters was Trump’s claim that Haitian immigrants were eating other people’s pets. The comment was in reference to a city in Ohio that had experienced a large influx of immigrants from Haiti within the past four years, and while police have debunked these rumors, it hasn’t stopped J.D. Vance or Trump from sharing the myth. Assembly speaker of the California Latino Caucus, Robert Rivas, shared on his X account following Trump’s statement: “Cats and dogs!? This guy is unhinged!”
Many Latinos who have heard Trump’s statements for three election cycles now, continue to feel frustrated by the same rhetoric of Trump threatening to deport millions of undocumented Latinos, attempting to get rid of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and that immigrants are surging crime rates in the country.
“[Trump] had said a lot of contradictions, a lot of lies. He said he was going to deport millions of Mexicans–millions of Latinos. How is he going to deport so many people? You take out all the Latinos, the country will cease to exist because it’s a country of immigrants.” said Rafael Quintero, a street vendor originally from Mexico.
Quintero believes having a woman for president can be promising, as he’s seen in his home country where Claudia Sheinbaum won the Mexican presidential election in June of this year. “Trump is for the rich people,” said Quintero. “[former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador] is for the poor people. [Sheinbaum] is for the poor people. And why don’t people like them? Because they are doing things in favor of everyday people, and perhaps that can happen [in the U.S.] as well.”
Reproductive rights were also among the top concerns for voters leading up to the election. Vice President Harris has promised to bring back women’s right to an abortion if she were to win the election. Meanwhile, Trump has largely kept quiet and tried to distance himself from Project 2025, a proposal made by the right-wing organization Heritage Foundation, that plans to add even more restrictions on abortions.
Trump’s comment of Democrats wanting to allow for the “execution” of babies after they are born, or allowing abortions after 9 months, garnered a lot of attention both online and within the community. He lauded his own involvement in overturning Roe V Wade, which has been met with criticism from voters on both sides and has been a pressing matter for the GOP.
During the debate, Trump reiterated that he wanted to leave it to the states to take a stance on abortion, a decision he said represents the desires of the American people. According to a study done by the Research Pew Center, however, six out of ten Americans disagree with the original overturning of Roe V Wade.
“He’s just not knowledgeable,” said Celeste Olague, who works at a car dealership. “Saying that people still have an abortion after birth, that’s obviously not possible.” Moderator Davis quickly clarified Trump’s statement as untrue, but it didn’t make the claim any less concerning. Watching the debate made Olague root for Kamala, “because [Trump] felt more like a dictator.”
Voters hoping to get better ideas of the presidential candidates’ policies will have to be satisfied with what may be the only debate of this election cycle. Both candidates did their best to garner undecided voters, including Latinos who account for about one in every seven voters. The question remains whether Latinos will be swayed by Trump’s erratic behavior as commitment to his country, or Harris’ promise of a better future as fact.