During an hour-and-a-half-long prime-time debate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday night, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump laid out starkly different visions for the country in what could be the only debate before the November general election. 

Harris and Trump sparred on issues like abortion and immigration, but also delved into more personal attacks. Harris sought to get under Trump’s skin by attacking him on his claims that the 2020 election was stolen, his criminal convictions, and the size of his rally crowds. The criticisms sent Trump into a stream of freewheeling personal attacks and digressions toward Harris and his former opponent President Joe Biden. 

Harris, by all accounts, far exceeded  Biden’s June 27 debate performance when the 81-year-old president appeared confused and was at times incoherent. Biden’s display led to a switch at the top of the Democratic ticket more than one month ago when he dropped out of the race due to plummeting poll numbers and endorsed Harris to take his place. 

Harris and Trump have laid out very different plans for the country on abortion. Harris has sought to protect access to abortion and has committed to signing legal protections for abortions. 

“I pledge to you when Congress passes a bill to put back in place

the protections of Roe v. Wade, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law,” Harris said. “I think the American people believe that certain freedoms, in particular the freedom to make decisions about one’s own body, should not be made by the government.” 

Trump has celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade, a landmark Supreme Court case that protected the right to abortion in all 50 states, which turned the decision to the states. Trump has attempted to distance himself from claims that he would sign a national abortion ban as he works to remain moderate on the issue to dissuade Democratic attacks. 

“It’s the vote of the people,” Trump said, referring to sending abortion back to the states by overturning Roe v. Wade. “Now it’s not tied up in the federal government. I did a great service in doing it. It took courage to do it, and the Supreme Court great courage in doing it, and I give tremendous credit to those six justices.” 

Trump also said that Democrats support “executing” a baby after it is born. There is no state where abortions are allowed after fetal viability. 

Harris and Trump also sparred over immigration with Harris blaming Trump for breaking up a bipartisan Senate package that would have delivered 1,500 border patrol agents and dramatically reduced the number of asylum applications among other border reforms. Trump reportedly told Senate Republicans to tank the deal because he didn’t want to help Biden. 

“But you know what happened to that bill: Donald Trump got on the phone, called some folks in Congress, and said, ‘kill the bill,’” Harris said. “Because he preferred a run on a problem instead of fixing a problem.” 

Trump responded and said that Harris’ failure as “border czar,” a title given to her because she was assigned to address the root causes of migration, has caused a rise in “migrant crime.” Trump also claimed that immigrants were overtaking Springfield, Ohio. 

“A lot of towns don’t want to talk about it because they’re so embarrassed by it in Springfield. They’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats,” Trump said. “They’re eating — they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.” 

An analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice, a non-partisan law and policy institute, found that data does not show the U.S. is experiencing a rise in crime committed by immigrants. 

The city manager of Springfield, Ohio had confirmed to ABC News, the debate’s moderators, that there had been no credible accounts of such occurrences. 

While Trump and Harris were clashing on the debate stage, watch parties around the nation were in awe. One hosted by the Johnson County Democrats and one by the Eastern Iowa Young Republicans were held in Iowa City on Tuesday, in addition to a few held by other organizations. 

Young Republicans said debate solidified their vote

While Democrats gathered across town at Big Grove Brewery, Iowa Young Republicans gathered with pizza and drinks at The Airliner in downtown Iowa City to watch the head-to-head duel between Harris and Trump. 

The rowdy crowd of young conservatives regularly bellowed in laughter as Trump needled Harris on the Biden administration’s policies. 

Jasmyn Jordan, Iowa Young Americans for Freedom chair, said the rules of the debate allowed the audience to observe each candidate one at a time rather than back and forth. 

For the debate, candidates had two minutes to answer questions, two minutes for rebuttals, and one extra minute for follow-up, clarification, or responses. Additionally, the candidates’ microphones were live only when it was their turn to speak, and muted when the time belonged to the other candidate. 

Jordan said most people have already decided who they’re voting for, and they decided a while ago. However, she said the debate may steer those who are on the fence toward Trump. 

“Trump has done a fantastic job reaching out to voters in all aspects,” Jordan said. “Not just certain elites or certain classes. He has a great grassroots approach to reaching people that are often neglected and not knowing their right to vote.” 

Mary Weston, chair of Iowa Young Republicans, said the debate gave a clear picture of who to vote for in November if people hadn’t already decided. Weston criticized Harris for not pursuing the policies she is running on during her vice presidency. 

“Kamala, again and again said, ‘I’m going to fix this and fix that,’” Weston said. “She had three years to fix those things, and I know she’s been vice president, she’s been in the passenger seat, but she’s had three years to fix it. She hasn’t fixed it already.” 

Weston said the debate reinforced the beliefs of the audience at The Airliner. 

“People were laughing about things that were said, and Kamala’s facial expressions were interesting, but I definitely think that people will switch sides after seeing the reports tonight and again — false promises, empty promises,” Weston said. 

Democrats hopeful it can sway undecideds 

Johnson County Democrats hosted a rowdy crowd at a watch party for the debate at Big Grove Brewery in Iowa City Tuesday.

Sitting in close groups around large wooden tables in the backroom of the brewery, more than 50 people watched as Harris and Trump discussed policy and exchanged personal attacks in the debate. 

Wearing merchandise from Harris’ campaign, the crowd whooped, clapped, and cheered as they watched the debate on a massive screen at the front of the room. 

When Trump mentioned a conspiracy theory about Haitian immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Missouri, the crowd erupted into a collective groan, many attendees dropping their heads in their hands.

The moderators frequently fact-checked Trump through the course of the debate, earning cheers from the audience. When Trump spoke outside of his turn, members of the crowd shouted “follow the rules.” 

Sitting directly under the screen, Frank Salomon of Iowa City wore a hat adorned with handwritten signs reading ‘Kamala Harris’ and a flag with ‘Tim Walz.’ 

Salomon said Harris was rational under pressure and showed Americans not to be panicked by inflammatory, untrue, and hostile remarks. 

“She was really a model of how to deal with a bully,” Salomon said. “She’s our bully stopper.” 

Salomon said he is delighted that the Democratic party has not only a viable candidate, but an interesting person who gives voters a “feeling of courage and open-ended possibility.” 

Jaden Bartlett, district organizer for Johnson County Democrats, said Harris was the very clear, decisive winner of the debate, and questioned why Trump brought up Harris’ race. 

“When you’re having a political discussion, particularly the debate, it’s really, really important that you have civility and civil discourse,” Bartlett said. “Bringing people’s identities and questioning people’s own self is really out of line, and that’s not representative of the kind of president I would want.” 

To Iowa Sen. Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, abortion was a defining issue in the debate and will continue to be prominent in the upcoming election. Weiner said Harris did a superb job of explaining why women in America should have a right to make their own decisions about their bodies and families. 

The former president has been on the political scene for almost nine years, and many people know who he is, Weiner said. The vice president, on the other hand, despite her career in public service, is not as well known. Weiner said the debate allowed millions of people to learn who Harris is and what she stands for. 

Former Iowa City City Councilor Pauline Taylor was dismayed by Trump’s statement about America going to hell, and said she hoped the debate showed people how outlandish Trump’s statements are.

“You have to love this country and not believe that you’ll have a president that feels that way,” Taylor said. 

Johnson County Democrats’ Chair and organizer of the watch party Ed Cranston said he was happy with the turnout but wasn’t surprised because Democrats in Johnson County have always cared and been active in politics. 

“I would view Trump as a performance, because he really is more of a TV reality guy,” Cranston said. “Kamala, I would view that as she’s really telling us what she’s going to do. So I don’t really view that as a performance. I view that as really just her values and how she feels.” 

Cranston said the organization plans to host a similar watch party for the vice presidential debate on October 1. 

Mia O’Connor-Thomas contributed to this report.