Kamala Harris says January 6 was the ‘worst attack on democracy’ since the Civil War on the eve of 9/11
- Harris made this comment in her first response to the debate
- Moderator asked Trump about him ‘falsely claiming you won’
One of the key moments of the debate was an angry clash over January 6, following a question and interruptions by moderator David Muir.
Vice President Kamala Harris said early in the debate that Trump “has left us the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.” The topic came back later when Muir brought it up.
“I had nothing to do with it, other than they asked me to give a speech,” Trump said. He brought up the shooting of Ashli Babbitt outside the House of Representatives on Jan. 6, saying “nobody got killed on the other side.”
Harris, whose campaign is trying to reframe President Biden’s emphasis on calling Trump a threat to democracy as part of her own renewed campaign, said Trump “incited a violent mob to attack our nation’s Capitol.
Harris said Trump was “impeached and impeached for exactly that reason,” and then pivoted to her campaign message. “We don’t have to go back. Let’s not go back. We’re not going back. It’s time to turn the page.”
She also went back in time a bit, referencing Trump’s comments during a 2020 debate, in which he was asked a question about the Proud Boys. She also quoted a quote about Charlottesville, a cornerstone of Biden’s 2020 campaign.
Former President Donald Trump reiterated his claims that he won the 2020 election
She used the question to appeal to Trump critics, after previously pointing to military personnel who have broken with Trump. “There is a place in our campaign for you. To stand up for the country, to stand up for our democracy, to stand up for the rule of law.”
Trump stood by his claim that he had won the election after ABC News host Muir told him he had “falsely said you won,” in an angry exchange before the candidates were scheduled to travel to New York and Pennsylvania to commemorate the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
“They said we had no position. A formality,” Trump said of lawsuits filed against him during his attempt to overturn the election.
He also pushed back when Muir cited his recent statement that he had “lost by a hair’s breadth” – a clear admission that he had indeed lost.
“He said that sarcastically,” Trump said, days after telling podcaster Lex Fridman, “I got millions more votes and I lost by a hair.”
During Tuesday’s prime-time debate, Trump said he had received “almost 75 million votes,” which, rounded to 74 million, was “the most votes a sitting president has ever received.”
VP Kamala Harris said ‘Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people’ and said he was having a hard time processing it
“Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people. So let’s be clear about that, and it’s clear he’s having a very hard time processing that,” she said.
Trump repeatedly tried to focus on immigration and blame the influx of illegal immigrants on Harris.
“What about all these people pouring into our country and killing people she allowed to pour in? She was the border czar. Remember? She was the border czar. She doesn’t want to be called the border czar because she’s ashamed of the border,” he said.
“When are these people going to be prosecuted? When are the people who set fire to Minneapolis going to be prosecuted, or in Seattle? They went to Seattle, they took over a large percentage of the city of Seattle. When are these people going to be prosecuted?” he said.