When Kamala Harris and Donald Trump took the debate stage Tuesday night, the vice president addressed the former president directly with an outstretched arm and an awkward introduction.
“Kamala Harris,” the vice president said, as if her opponent had no idea what her name was. “Let’s have a good debate.”
“Nice to see you,” Trump replied, “have fun.”
It was the first handshake during a presidential debate since the first debate between Hillary Clinton and Trump in 2016.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump shakes hands with Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris during an ABC News presidential debate at the National Constitution Center, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Philadelphia
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Even though the two never met, the three-time presidential candidate surely knew the names of the incumbent vice president and his main rival. He had said so hundreds of times.
Despite this, the former president’s allies and Harris’s could not believe their eyes.
“Did she really just say ‘Kamala Harris?’” Trump’s vice presidential nominee, JD Vance, responded to X about the awkward encounter.
Conservative commentator Megyn Kelly wrote in a similar vein: “I am Kamala Harris.” She tries to act professional, but that actually seems foolish.”
An X user wrote: ‘This will go down as the most awkward handshake in history.’
“Trump walked straight to his podium, while Harris crossed the stage to shake his hand and introduce herself,” wrote another. “Quite a metaphor for the character of these two candidates.”
Some of Harris’s supporters believed her push for a handshake was a power grab.
It was the first handshake during a presidential debate since 2016
The vice president chased former President Trump across the debate stage to force him to shake her hand before the two began
“Yeah…it didn’t look like he was planning on shaking VP Harris’s hand…but she forced him (sorry, I had to say it),” said another X user.
“Trump wouldn’t even shake Kamala’s hand before the debate started,” posted yet another user. “The foolishness has already begun.”
“Donald Trump wouldn’t shake Kamala Harris’ hand. She made him. Dominance. Awesome,” Harris’ ally Shannon Watts wrote.
“It shows Kamala Harris is a decent human being and Trump is a rude fake baby,” another user said.
But despite the seemingly lukewarm greeting, tempers soon flared and the two began attacking each other over policies and political positions.
“She’s a Marxist. Everybody knows she’s a Marxist. Her father is a Marxist professor of economics. He taught her well,” Trump said.
Her microphone wouldn’t allow for a response, but the VP put her hand to her chin and looked at her in disbelief.
Democratic presidential candidate, US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a presidential debate hosted by ABC on Tuesday
This happened after Trump confronted her about her behavior.
“Everything she believed three and four years ago is gone,” he said, adding, “I actually wanted to send her a MAGA hat.”
Harris slammed Trump for his tweet early in the pandemic thanking Chinese President Xi Jinping. “He was basically thanking President Xi for what he did during COVID,” she said.
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris started their debate with a discussion about the economy.
Harris repeated what she had said many times on the campaign trail and spoke quickly, as she was the first to speak in the debate.
“I’m actually the only person on this stage who has a plan to lift up the middle class and working people of America. I believe in the ambition, the aspirations, the dreams of the American people. And that’s why I envision and actually have a plan to build what I call an opportunity economy,” she said.
Trump criticized her for her and Joe Biden’s policies on the economy, pointing to record-high inflation during their time in office.
“She doesn’t have a plan,” he said of Harris. “She copied Biden’s plan. And it’s about four sentences, something like, ‘Run spot run.'”