a study of nations·united states｜reporter’s observation: did harris really win a “good start” after the first debate?
2024-09-13
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xinhua news agency, new york, september 12 (reporter xia lin) us vice president and democratic presidential candidate harris and former president and republican presidential candidate trump held their first televised debate on the evening of september 10. many us media and some real-time polls believe that harris put trump on the defensive in the debate and won a "good start".
according to the reporter's observation, the main theme of this year's us presidential election is "change" and the core issue is the economy: whoever's "change" strategy can be more truly recognized by voters and whose economic policies can better meet the overall needs of society will have a greater chance of winning.
this live video footage shot at the philadelphia presidential debate media center on september 10 shows u.s. vice president and democratic presidential candidate harris (right) and former u.s. president and republican presidential candidate trump participating in a televised debate in philadelphia. photo by xinhua news agency reporter li ruithe economy is undoubtedly the primary issue in this year's presidential election. multiple polls show that 60% of voters still believe that the us economy is weak, prices are high, and ordinary people have a hard time living; the us federal reserve is in urgent need of cutting interest rates, but there is only footsteps and no policy in sight; the government's existing macro and micro policies are obviously not enough to effectively support people's living needs and consumption arrangements.
during the debate, harris focused on recommending the "opportunity economy," emphasizing the care for small and medium-sized enterprises and tax reduction plans; trump reiterated his "trade record," promising to significantly increase tariffs if re-elected. he also attacked harris for having no policy plan and only copying the current president biden's practices.
traditionally, the democratic party tends to take care of the middle class and ethnic minorities, while the republican party likes to take care of the interests of big companies and capitalists. however, this year is different. compared with biden, harris is obviously adjusting her strategy and moving closer to the capitalist class, and the effect is good, setting a fundraising record. trump is learning to show goodwill to ordinary voters through policy design.
customers shop at a supermarket in foster city, california, on july 11. data released by the u.s. department of labor on the same day showed that the u.s. consumer price index rose 3.0% year-on-year in june this year. xinhua news agency (photo by li jianguo)analysts believe that trump may restart the economic policies of his first term, focusing on tax cuts (especially for large companies and high-income earners) and reducing government spending to stimulate corporate investment and economic growth. harris may be inclined to increase government revenue by increasing investment in education and public health and by enabling a fairer tax system.
some specific policies worth noting include: trump proposed to formally establish a government efficiency committee led by technology tycoon musk, cut the corporate tax rate from the current 21% to 15%, and create a sovereign wealth fund. harris proposed to increase the maximum $5,000 startup expense tax deduction to $50,000, while keeping the maximum capital gains tax rate at 28% (plus 33% surtax). she promised that if elected president, she would strive to achieve 25 million additional small business applications in her first term.
this is a tesla car photographed in a parking lot in san bruno, california, usa on april 2. data released by tesla, an american electric car manufacturer, on the same day showed that in the first quarter of 2024, tesla delivered 386,810 vehicles, a decrease of 8.5% from the same period last year. xinhua news agency (photo by li jianguo)if trump wins, the industries that may benefit include manufacturing, energy and chemicals, and defense industry. if harris wins, the industries that may benefit may be clean energy and environmental technology, education and high-tech workforce training, housing and urban development.
regardless of who is elected, the technology industry will receive support at different levels. harris has consistently supported innovation and development in the technology industry, especially in the areas of protecting data privacy and cybersecurity. although trump has been critical of large technology companies in terms of data privacy and platform content management, these companies may still benefit in terms of advertising revenue and platform expansion if regulations are relaxed.
in terms of infrastructure construction, trump's presidency is good for related industries such as steel and cement, while harris may benefit companies related to engineering and green building technology. in the financial industry and the healthcare and pharmaceutical fields, trump advocates deregulation, while harris supports stricter regulation.
on december 9, 2021, in puebla, mexico, migrants trying to go north to the united states walked on a road. photo by xinhua news agency (carlos pacheco)in recent years, the number of illegal immigrants entering the united states has skyrocketed, bringing employment pressure and social management problems. how to strike a balance between absorbing the labor force and integrating new and old ethnic groups is a major test for both the democratic and republican parties.
on the topic of immigration, trump accused the democrats of allowing a large number of immigrants to enter the country, which led to the destruction of social order. he also said that immigrants took away jobs and even took away residents' pets, cats and dogs to feed themselves. harris ignored his accusations and directly poked at trump's "hard flaws", talking about his felony convictions and suspicion of inciting riots, saying that trump "is a criminal." trump was obviously angry and said that this was all a deliberate frame-up by the democrats, but he did not accept his defeat in 2020 and did not admit any connection with the "capitol hill riots."
on january 6, 2021, supporters of then-president trump held a demonstration in front of the capitol in washington, the capital of the united states. some demonstrators broke into congress and interrupted the joint meeting of the senate and house of representatives to certify democrat biden's victory in the presidential election. the riots resulted in 5 deaths and hundreds of police officers injured. photo by xinhua news agency reporter liu jiein the united states, the main criticism of harris focuses on her handling of immigration issues. it is believed that as the vice president in charge of immigration issues, she has failed to effectively deal with the immigration crisis on the southern border of the united states, failed to reduce illegal immigration or improve border facilities and management. public opinion believes that harris needs to develop and implement a long-term strategy, take comprehensive actions to address the root causes of illegal immigration, and show a tougher stance.
trump's attitude towards immigration is quite resolute. when trump was in office, he implemented the "title 42" order for the rapid deportation of illegal immigrants. another tough policy he promoted was called "remain in mexico", which forced immigrants seeking asylum in the united states to wait in mexican border cities for their asylum applications to be accepted by the us courts. trump's policies also led to the separation of children who illegally crossed the border into the united states from their parents.
on july 9, 2022, abortion rights supporters held a demonstration in washington, the capital of the united states. on june 24, the u.s. supreme court announced a ruling to overturn the roe v. wade case that established women's abortion rights at the federal level, and abolished the constitutional protection of women's abortion rights. photo by xinhua news agency reporter liu jieon the sensitive topic of abortion rights, the positions of the left and right factions in the united states are clearly divided: conservatives oppose abortion, while liberals demand autonomy. during the debate, harris, as always, supported women to "take responsibility for their own bodies." under the host's questioning, trump avoided the question and refused to rule out the possibility of signing a national abortion ban, while advocating that administrative decision-making power be returned to the states.
relevant polls show that most americans, especially young women and people of color, believe that if trump comes to power, abortion will be more strictly restricted. the democratic camp is well aware of the public psychology and has been working with anti-abortion activists to make them believe in harris's position on this issue; at the same time, it pays attention to maintaining communication and contact with moderates and independents to ensure their support. harris has repeatedly emphasized on various occasions that the supreme court's elimination of constitutional protection for abortion rights in 2022 was caused by trump.
the media generally believed that throughout the debate, trump's voice was firm and his expression was resolute, but he also looked a little old; harris pointed out his "flaws" one by one, and he made many passive counterattacks. harris's speech was a little messy at the beginning, and her voice occasionally trembled, but her self-control gradually improved in the second half. overall, harris implemented the debate strategies such as "stand firm and don't be bullied by the other side" and "the best defense is offense" quite well.
regarding the conflict between russia and ukraine and between israel and palestine, trump claimed in the debate that he could end the conflict as long as he came to power. harris said that she did not hate israel in response to trump's statement that "israel would disappear" if she came to power.
the final half hour of the debate focused on foreign policy and climate change, with no new rhetoric from either side, only more intense attacks. from beginning to end, the two put mutual accusations above policy presentations and explanations.
