Kamala Harris and Donald Trump face off in a highly anticipated televised presidential election debate.
The event, which begins at 2 a.m. ET in Philadelphia, offers Americans the most detailed look yet at a campaign that has changed dramatically since the last debate in June.
In the space of a few weeks, President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 US election race after his disastrous performance, Trump survived an assassination attempt and both parties chose their running mates.
Harris is determined to show that she can make Democrats’ case against Trump better than Biden.
Trump, meanwhile, is trying to portray his vice president as an out-of-touch liberal as he tries to win support from voters who are skeptical about his return to the White House.
The debate, broadcast on ABC News, subjects Harris, who has given only one formal interview since clinching the Democratic nomination, to a rare moment of extended questioning.
“If he does terrifically, Democrats will be pleasantly surprised and delighted,” said Ari Fleischer, a Republican communications strategist and former press secretary for President George W. Bush. “If he flops like Joe Biden did, this race could blow wide open.
“So there’s more to it.”
You can follow the latest developments below…
Trump continues his harsh attack on immigrants
02:45 , Rachael Burford
Trump continues his harsh attacks on immigration, which he claims is destroying the fabric of the United States.
But Harris is also attacking Trump’s claims of “immigrant crimes” by citing his own criminal past.
“This is a very rich thing to come from someone who has been tried for national security crimes, economic crimes and election interference,” he says.
Trump responds by saying the criminal cases against him are because Democrats have “weaponized” the justice system.
“These are fake cases,” he says.
‘They eat pets’ – Trump makes wild immigration claims
02:34
The first moderator to intervene in the debate came from David Muir, after Trump repeated his false claim that immigrants were “eating pets” in Ohio.
“In Springfield, they eat dogs, people who come in, cats, and the pets of the people who live there,” the former President says.
Muir said ABC News reached out to the Springfield city manager, who told him the station had not received any reports of pets being stolen or eaten.
Donald Trump ‘shouldn’t tell a woman what to do with her body’
02:28 , Rachael Burford
Harris makes an emotional intervention on abortion.
Women’s health was a key dividing line between the two campaigns and an issue Democrats wanted to focus on.
He claims that Trump plans to “enact a national abortion ban” if he is re-elected president.
“Donald Trump handpicked three justices of the U.S. Supreme Court with the express intention that they would dismantle the protections of Roe v. Wade,” he says.
“They did exactly as he intended…Trump’s abortion bans make no exceptions, even for rape and incest.
“Understand what this means… a person who is a victim of a bodily violation does not have the right to decide what happens to their body next.
“This is immoral.”
Trump makes false immigration claims
02:19 , Rachael Burford
Trump was keen to focus on immigration from the start of the debate.
He accuses Harris of being a “Marxist” and claims that “millions of people” are flocking to the US every month.
“I believe there are 21 million people, not the 15 million that people say, and I think it’s a lot more than 21,” he says.
“This is bigger than the influx of New York State and look at what they’ve done to our country. They’re criminals.”
Question one: Economy
02:15 , Rachael Burford
Kamala Harris says she wants to improve and uplift the lives of middle-class Americans.
“Donald Trump doesn’t have a plan for you,” he says, adding that the former president only plans to cut taxes on the wealthiest.
“What Goldman Sachs is saying is that Donald Trump’s plan will make the economy worse,” he says.
“Mine strengthens the economy.”
Trump replied: “I went to the Wharton School of Finance and most of the professors there, the best professors, think my plan is a great plan.
“It’s a great plan. It’s a plan that will increase our value and worth as a country.”
Then he accuses Harris and the Democratic campaign of not having a plan.
The debate begins
02:03 , Rachael Burford
ABC news anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis, who are moderating tonight, kick off the discussion.
They underline how important this first showdown will be, with 55 days left until the presidential election and candidates receiving equal votes in the polls.
What will tonight be like?
01:48 , Rachael Burford
There will be no studio audience for the 90-minute debate, which ABC News will host in the hotly contested state of Pennsylvania.
ABC news anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis will serve as moderators.
In the UK, both the BBC and Channel 4 will broadcast the event.
Each candidate’s microphone will be muted when they’re not speaking, eliminating the chance for viewers to hear Trump’s off-camera jokes.
The rules agreed upon by both parties are as follows:
Trump’s spokesman defends comments about vice presidential candidate’s pet eating
01:36 , Rachael Burford
Trump’s campaign spokesman defended running mate J.D. Vance, who made false claims that immigrants were eating pets in Ohio.
The former president and his allies have been spreading false rumors that Haitian immigrants are kidnapping and eating animals off the streets.
Authorities say there is no evidence to support the allegations, but vice presidential candidate Sen. Vance of Ohio echoed the allegations this week, along with other Republicans.
Trump’s campaign team, which has criticized the Joe Biden administration on immigration, issued a press release on Monday saying, “Kamala Migrants Are Devastating Ohio City and Vance claimed his office has ‘received numerous inquiries’ about Haitian migrants smuggling pets.”
Vance later admitted that “all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”
Trump campaign’s Karoline Leavitt told NBC this evening that the vice presidential candidate received the information from Springfield residents.
“At a town meeting in Springfield, Ohio, residents expressed concern about seeing illegal Haitian immigrants eating ducks from a pond in their community. It’s crazy to say that on TV, but those are the words of the residents,” Ms. Leavitt said.
Joe Biden: ‘He is calm and collected’
01:16
Joe Biden described his vice president as “calm, cool and collected” ahead of a crucial debate.
Kamala Harris told reporters briefly that she has spoken with her Democratic nominee as she prepares to take on Donald Trump, but would not share what advice he has given her.
He added that he would go to his grandson’s birthday party but would watch the debate.
Welcome to our presidential debate coverage
01:08 , Rachael Burford
Kamala Harris will face Donald Trump in the first presidential debate in an hour.
The 81-year-old was officially announced as the Democratic nominee last month after a series of poor performances by President Joe Biden.
Biden met on stage with Trump, 78, in late June and failed to land a significant punch against his Republican rival.
We will share with you all the important points of the match that will start at 02:00 Turkish time this evening.
To find out how we got to this point, read our Associate Political Editor Jitendra Joshi’s analysis here.