Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump met for the first time Tuesday night as they faced off in a debate hosted by ABC News. With the election less than two months away, this debate was a chance for the candidates to make clear the choice between them, and the differences stood out.

‘You’re not running against Joe Biden; you’re running against me.’

Harris used much of her speaking time to reiterate previous stances on issues such as the economy, abortion rights and foreign policy concerning Ukraine and Israel while painting the election as a choice between going backward with Trump or forward with her. She condemned Trump as “extreme” and divisive, reminding the audience of his many felony convictions and criminal cases and his 2020 election loss.

“Donald Trump was fired by 81,000,000 people,” Harris declared, “and clearly he is having a very difficult time processing that.”

In one moment that has gone viral, Harris paused and appeared to stop herself from saying what she really wanted to call Trump.

While defending her record with the current administration, Harris also differentiated herself from President Joe Biden, who dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris weeks after his poor debate performance. Harris reminded Trump, “You’re not running against Joe Biden; you’re running against me.”

Conspiracy theories but few plans from Trump

Trump appeared unfocused at best during the debate, rarely staying on topic or directly answering the moderators’ questions. When asked if he had his healthcare plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, which he has pledged to repeal ever since his 2016 campaign, Trump said he had “concepts of a plan,” drawing mockery online from the Harris campaign and many other commenters.

Instead of policy, he often leaned into conspiracy theories. Trump doubled down on the false idea that he won the 2020 election, blamed Democrats for his supporters attacking the Capitol on January 6, 2021, refused to acknowledge he was wrong about calling for the execution of the Exonerated 5. Trump even repeated a recent racist conspiracy theory that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were stealing and eating their neighbors’ pets, drawing a fact-check from co-moderator David Muir and disbelief from Harris.

Muir and co-moderator Linsey Davis fact-checked Trump multiple times, such as when he repeated the lie that Democrats support abortion until the ninth month of pregnancy and even after birth.

Debate win for ‘Madam President’

Harris’ online supporters believed she won the debate, with phrases like “Madam President” trending as her backers claimed victory.

Many conservative commentators, meanwhile, went online to complain about the moderators or dismiss the debate as not mattering. Still, even Fox News pundits conceded that Harris beat Trump.

With only a few weeks between now and Election Day, we will see how the debate impacted voters. But coming out of Tuesday night, Harris’ supporters feel good about their candidate and her bid to win the presidency in November.

2024 ElectionDonald trumppresidential debateVice President Kamala Harris