Trump v Harris debate LIVE: Vice president's election odds shorten after fiery US presidential clash

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump faced off in their first televised presidential election debate where they clashed on immigration, abortion and foreign policy.

Both candidates accused each other of weakness and lying in the 90-minute war of words .

Former president Trump faced awkward questions about the Republican party’s hardline stance on abortion, his involvement in the January 6 insurrection and his unfounded claims that migrants are “eating pets” in Ohio as he sought to turn the debate to immigration at every opportunity.

Meanwhile, Ms Harris had to defend her role as Vice President in Joe Biden’s administration, including the “chaotic” withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and the way the country has handled the wars in Israel and Ukraine.

A former prosecutor, Ms Harris, 59, controlled the debate from the start, getting under her rival's skin repeatedly and prompting a visibly angry Trump, 78, to deliver a series of falsehood-filled retorts.

At one point, she goaded the former president by saying that people often leave his campaign rallies early "out of exhaustion and boredom."

Trump, who has been frustrated by the size of Ms Harris’s own crowds, said: “My rallies, we have the biggest rallies, the most incredible rallies in the history of politics.”

The event, which began at 2am BST in Philadelphia, was the first time Americans got a detailed look at a campaign that’s dramatically changed since the last debate in June after which President Biden bowed out of the 2024 US election race following a disastrous performance.

Since then Trump has survived an assassination attempt and both sides chose their running mates.

Follow the latest updates below...

Key Points

• Candidates clash on abortion

• 'They're eating pets' - Trump makes wild immigration claims

• Afghanistan withdrawal 'embarrassing'

• Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris for president

Welcome to our presidential debate coverage

01:08 , Rachael Burford

Kamala Harris will take on Donald Trump in her first presidential debate in just over an hour.

She was only official announced as the Democratic candidate last month following a series of shambolic performances by President Joe Biden, 81.

Mr Biden met the 78-year-old Trump met on stage in late June, and failed to deliver any significant punches to his Republican rival.

We’ll bring you all the highlights of tonight’s showdown, due to start at 2am BST.

To catch up on how we got here, read our Deputy Political Editor Jitendra Joshi’s analysis here.

Joe Biden: 'She's cool and calm'

01:16

Joe Biden has described his vice president as "calm, cool and collected" ahead of the crucial debate.

Speaking briefly to reporters as Kamala Harris prepares to take on Donald Trump, he said he had spoken with his successor as the Democratic nominee - but would not share what advice he gave her.

He added that was heading to his granddaughter's birthday party, but would be tuning into the debate.

Trump spokesman defends running mate's pet eating comments

01:36 , Rachael Burford

A spokesman for Trump’s campaign has defended his running mate JD Vance after he made unfounded claims that immigrants were eating pets in Ohio.

The former president and his allies are amplifying false rumors that Haitian migrants have abducted animals off the streets and eaten them.

There is no evidence of the claims, officials say, but vice presidential nominee Ohio Senator Vance, along with other Republicans this week, repeated the claims.

Trump's campaign, which has criticised Joe Biden's administration on immigration, issued a press release on Monday, stating "Kamala Migrants Ravage Ohio City and Vance claimed his office had "received many inquiries" about Haitian migrants abducting pets.

Vance later acknowledged "all of these rumors will turn out to be false”.

Karoline Leavitt, from the Trump campaign, told NBC tonight that the vice presidential candidate got the information from residents in Springfield.

"Residents at a town meeting, a city meeting in Springfield, Ohio expressed their concerns about seeing Haitian illegal migrants in their community eating ducks out of a pond - it's crazy to say on television, but those are the words of these residents," Ms Leavitt said.

How will tonight work?

01:48 , Rachael Burford

There will be no studio audience during the 90-minute debate hosted by ABC news in the battleground state on Pennsylvania.

ABC news anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis will serve as moderators.

In the UK, both the BBC and Channel 4 will be showing the event.

Each candidate’s microphone will be muted when she or he is not speaking, potentially denying viewers the chance to hear Trump’s off-camera antics.

The rules, agreed upon by both sides, include:

• No opening statements, while closing statements will be just two minutes per candidate

• The pair will stand behind podiums for the duration of the debate

• Props and notes are not allowed on stage

• No topics or questions have been shared with the campaigns in advance

• Candidates are not allowed to ask questions of each other

• Trump and Harris will both have two minutes to answer questions, two minutes for rebuttals and one extra minute for follow-ups or responses

• Trump will be given the final closing remarks after winning a virtual coin toss.

Debate begins

02:03 , Rachael Burford

ABC news anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis, who are serving as moderators tonight, begin the debate.

They outline how important this first showdown is likely to be just 55 days from the Presidential election and with the candidates tied in the polls.

First question: Economy

02:15 , Rachael Burford

Kamala Harris says she wants to lift up middle class Americans and improve their lives.

“Donald Trump has no plan for you,” she says, accusing the former President of only planning to cut taxes on the most wealthy.

“What Goldman Sachs has said is that Donald Trump's plan would make the economy worse,” she says.

“Mine would strengthen the economy.”

Trump responds: “I went to the Wharton School of Finance, and many of those professors, the top professors, think my plan is a brilliant plan.

“ It's a great plan. It's a plan that's going to bring up our worth, our value as a country.”

He then accuses Harris and the Democratic campaign of not having a plan.

Trump makes unfounded immigration claims

02:19 , Rachael Burford

Trump very keen to focus on immigration from the very start of the debate.

He accuses Harris of being a “Marxist” and claims there are “millions and millions of people that are pouring” into the US every month.

“I believe it’s 21 million people, not the 15 that people say, and I think it's a lot higher than the 21,” he says.

“That's bigger than New York State pouring in, and just look at what they're doing to our country. They're criminals.”

Donald Trump 'should not be telling a woman what to do with her body'

02:28 , Rachael Burford

Harris makes an emotional intervention on abortion.

Women’s healthcare has been a key dividing line between the two campaigns and something the Democrats have been keen to focus on.

She accuses Trump of planning to “sign a national abortion ban” into law if he is reelected President.

“Donald Trump hand selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v Wade,” she says.

“They did exactly as he intended...Trump abortion bans that make no exception, even for rape and incest.

“Understand what that means... a survivor of a crime of violation to their body does not have the right to make a decision about what happens to their body next.

“That is immoral.”

'They're eating pets' - Trump makes wild immigration claims

02:34

First moderator intervention of the debate from David Muir after Trump repeats the unfounded claim that migrants are “eating pets” in Ohio.

The former President says “in Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that come in, they're eating the cats, they're eating the pets of the people that live there.”

Muir interjects to say ABC news reached out to Springfield’s city manager who told the channel that there had been no reports of pets being kidnapped and eaten.

Trump continues hardline attack on immigration

02:45 , Rachael Burford

Trump has continued his hardline attack on immigration, which he claims is destroying the fabric of the US.

But in response to his claims about "migrant crimes", Harris attacks Trump over his own criminal history.

"I think this is so rich coming from someone who has been prosecuted for national security crimes, economic crimes, election interference," she says.

Trump responds by stating the criminal cases he faces are because the Democrats "weaponised" the justice system.

"They're fake cases," he says.

Trump denies he was responsible for January 6 insurrection

02:55 , Rachael Burford

Trump denies any involvement in the violence that erupted in the US capital in the wake of the 2020 election.

Encouraged by Trump, thousands of his supporters gathered in Washington D.C on January 5 and 6 in support of his false claims that the election had been "stolen by emboldened radical-left Democrats".

The group demanded that Joe Biden's victory be overturned and five people died in the ensuing riot, including Ashli Babbitt who was shot dead by a police officer as the United States Capitol building was stormed.

"I had nothing to do with that except that they asked me to make a speech," Trump states.

Debate turns to Israel - Hamas war

03:05 , Rachael Burford

Harris says Israel has a right to defend itself, but there needs to be a path to a “two state solution” and security for Palestinians.

“I will always give Israel the ability to defend itself, in particular as it relates to Iran, and any threat that Iran and its proxies pose to Israel, but we must have a two state solution,” she adds.

Trump accuses his rival of “hating Israel”.

“If I were president, [the war] would have never started,” he claims.

Trump: 'I want Ukraine war to end'

03:20 , Rachael Burford

Following a five minute advert break the debate turns to the war in Ukraine.

Asked if he wants to see Ukraine defeat Putin’s army, Trump says: "I want the war to stop.”

He adds that he knows both Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin "very well" and repeats his claim that if he had been President Russia would never have launched its invasion.

Harris hits back, telling Trump that Putin "is a dictator who will eat you for lunch".

Afghanistan withdrawal 'embarrassing', says Trump

03:35 , Rachael Burford

The candidates are asked about the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 which saw several soldiers killed and the country fall back to the Taliban.

Asked if she feels she bears any responsibility for the "chaotic" withdrawal, Harris says she agreed with President Joe Biden's decision to pull out of the country.

Taxpayers are no longer paying $300million a day for the "endless war", she adds.

"There is not one member of the United States military who is in active duty in a combat zone in any war zone around the world for the first time this century.”

But Trump hits back saying the Biden administration “blew it” and the withdrawal was the “most embarrassing moment in history”.

After Harris says Trump invited the Taliban to a presidential retreat at Camp David, he responds: "I got involved with the Taliban because the Taliban was doing the killing.”

Trump confronted on race comments

03:40 , Rachael Burford

Trump is confronted about his controversial statement that Harris only recently began to identify as a black woman.

Trump previously falsely claimed the vice-president had only emphasised her Asian-American heritage.

He replies: "I don't care what she is.”

Harris responds: “I think it’s a tragedy that we have someone who wants to be president who has consistently over the course of his career attempted to use race to divide people.”

Debate draws to a close

03:42 , Rachael Burford

Both candidates will have a two minute closing statement to end the debate.

Harris is up first after Trump won a virtual coin toss and chose to go last.

Kamala Harris: 'I will protect rights and freedoms'

03:50 , Rachael Burford

In her closing statement Harris says: “We can chart a new way forward. And the vision of that includes understanding the aspirations, the dreams, the hopes, the ambition of the American people, which is why I intend to create an opportunity economy, investing in small businesses, in new families.”

She adds: “I will be a president that will protect our fundamental rights and freedoms, including the right of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government tell her what to do.”

Donald Trump: 'We're a nation in decline'

03:54 , Rachael Burford

Trump continues his personal attacks on Harris in his closing statement, branding her the “worst vice-president in the history” of the US. "We're a failing nation,” he says.

“We're a nation that's in serious decline. We're being laughed at all over the world.”

Debate ends

03:56 , Rachael Burford

The first presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump is over.

Stay tuned for analysis of the key issues...

Taylor Swift endorses Harris

04:20 , Rachael Burford

Pop superstar Taylor Swift has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for US president after the televised debate.

In a post on Instagram the singer, who has until now been tight-lipped about who she was supporting, said: Recently I was made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site.

“It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation.

“It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter.

“The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth. I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election.”

'Unhinged': First reactions to debate

04:29 , Rachael Burford

Marc Short, a former Chief of Staff to Republican ex Vice President Mike Pence, says: "Trump missed an opportunity to stay focused prosecuting the case against Biden-Harris on the economy and border and instead took her bait and chased down rabbit holes on election denialism and immigrants eating our pets.

“Harris passed the test of looking presidential and Trump didn't expose her historically radical positions. The impact will likely extend to competitive House races."

Malcolm Kenyatta, a statewide democratic candidate in Pennsylvania, says: "Donald Trump is radically unhinged, and the entire world is witnessing a confused old man unravel before our eyes. It's time to turn the page on Trump, and tonight Vice President Harris is making it clear she's the person to do it."

Dan Eberhart, a Republican Party Donor, says: "I only saw one commander in chief on the stage. Trump looked focused, strong and in command of the issues."

'Harris got under Trump's skin', says Republican strategist

04:55 , Rachael Burford

Republican strategist Ron Bonjean: "While Harris was able to get under Trump’s skin with her well-prepared attacks, it’s still not clear that she overwhelmingly convinced these voters to finally make up their minds from this exchange.

"The question now is how much she actually moved the needle. However, Trump didn’t do himself any favors by agreeing to do this debate."

Republican strategist Amy Koch: "It is clear Trump prepped for this debate. It's the most on message - save eating dogs departure - he has ever been. He missed (an) opportunity on immigration because of dogs and he should try to bring it back at some point."

Fox News wants to hold second debate

05:38 , Rachael Burford

Fox News has proposed it hold a second presidential debate in October.

The channel sent letters to the campaigns for both Harris and Trump before Tuesday’s debate.

No second TV clash between the two candidates has yet been confirmed.

Harris camp keen for second debate

05:53 , Rachael Burford

Kamala Harris’s campaign has called for a second debate to take place before the November election.

Campaign spokeswoman Jen O'Malley Dillon suggested October for the clash.

"Vice President Harris is ready for a second debate. Is Donald Trump?” she she said in a statement. As yet there are no other altercations scheduled to take place between Trump and Harris.

But on October 1, vice-presidential candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz will face off in New York for a debate hosted by CBS News.

Who won the debate?

06:35

A quick survey of voters who watched the debate suggests most think Kamala Harris was the winner.

The CNN/SSRS poll found 63 per cent of viewers said the Vice President came out victorious.

'Harris proved she's the best choice' says Biden

06:45 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Joe Biden has praised Kamala Harris’ performance in the debate.

“America got to see tonight the leader I’ve been proud to work alongside for three and a half years,” he wrote on X.

“Wasn’t even close. VP Harris proved she’s the best choice to lead our nation forward. We’re not going back.”

Debate a 'disastrous meltdown' for Trump says Democratic senator

07:06 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Democratic senator for Connecticut Chris Murphy has told the BBC he believes the debate was a "disastrous meltdown" for Mr Trump.

"Pay attention to Donald Trump's social media feed tonight," Mr Murphy said. "It will probably be a raging dumpster fire. Tomorrow will be another series of online meltdowns. He lost."

Debate appears to sway some swing voters towards Trump

07:20 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Kamala Harris was widely seen as dominating last night’s debate, but a group of undecided voters remain unconvinced that the Democratic vice president was the better candidate.

News agency Reuters has interviewed 10 people who were still unsure how they were going to vote in the November 5 election before they watched the debate.

Six said afterwards they would now either vote for Trump or were leaning towards backing him. Three said they would now back Harris and one was still unsure how he would vote.

Although the sample size was very small, the responses suggested Harris might need to provide more detailed policy proposals to win over voters who have yet to make up their minds.

Five said they found Harris vague during the more than 90-minute debate on how she would improve the US economy and deal with the high cost of living, a top concern for voters.

'All I do is say the truth' says Trump

07:44

Speaking to the media after the debate, Mr Trump said he was “very happy” with how it went.

“All I do is say the truth. I say the truth. If I lose votes or gain votes, I don’t care.

“But this was my best debate. I thought it was very good. I thought she was very weak on foreign policy, she was very weak on the border.”

Taylor Swift's Harris endorsement post nears 6 million likes

08:58

Pop megastar Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris shortly after the debate on Tuesday night, calling the Democratic nominee a "steady-handed, gifted leader" who could lead the country with calm rather than chaos.

Swift told her 280 million Instagram followers she would vote for Harris, marking the biggest celebrity endorsement yet for the vice president. It came as polls show the race essentially tied between the two candidates.

By Wednesday morning, Swift’s post had received more than 5.7 million likes on Instagram.

Swift was pictured with her cat in the post, which she signed as "childless cat lady," in a dig at Trump's running mate JD Vance, who in a 2021 interview called some Democrats "a bunch of childless cat ladies." He has since said it was merely a "sarcastic remark."

Trump Media slumps as Harris victory odds shorten

10:18 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group fell 17 per cent in premarket trading today, after Democratic candidate Kamala Harris extended her lead over Republican rival Mr Trump in betting odds following last night’s debate.

After the debate, pricing for a Trump victory slipped by six points to 47 per cent on online betting site PredictIt, while Harris's odds climbed to 57 per cent from 53.

Trump is the biggest shareholder in Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the parent of Truth Social app, which is popular among retail traders and is often sensitive to the former president's chances of winning the 2024 US election.

Kremlin calls on Trump and Harris to leave Vladimir Putin's name out of US political battle

11:18 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that it really did not like the way Vladimir Putin's name was bandied around in the US presidential debate, and urged the candidates to stop dragging him into their political fight.

President Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov was speaking a week after the Kremlin leader said in a teasing remark that he favoured Harris over Trump, prompting the White House to say that Putin should stop commenting on the upcoming November election.

Peskov told reporters that the Kremlin had not directly followed Tuesday night's debate, but had tracked news reports of it.

"Of course, we noticed that both candidates mentioned our president, mentioned our country. Of course, the position is quite clear - the US as a whole, no matter which party the candidates are from, maintains a negative attitude, an unfriendly attitude towards our country," he said.

"Putin's name is used as one of the instruments in the domestic political struggle in the US. We really, really don't like it, and we hope that they will leave our president's name alone."

Huge backlash as Elon Musk offers to 'give a child' to Taylor Swift

13:38 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Elon Musk has sparked huge online backlash after telling Taylor Swift “I will give you a child”, after she signed off her endorsement of Kamala Harris as a ‘Childless Cat Lady’.

Following last night’s debate, pop megastar Swift told her over 280 million Instagram followers she will vote for Kamala Harris, in the biggest celebrity endorsement yet for the Democrat vice president.

Swift was pictured with her cat in the post, which she signed as "childless cat lady," in a dig at Trump's running mate JD Vance, who in a 2021 interview called some Democrats "a bunch of childless cat ladies."

He has since said it was merely a "sarcastic remark."

Trump supporter Elon Musk responded in bizarre fashion as he posted on his social media platform X on Wednesday: “Fine Taylor … you win … I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life”.

His post has been met with a wave of criticism, with many seeing his jibe as disturbing and in poor taste, particularly given Swift’s post mentioned the importance of “a woman’s right to her own body”.

“Am I reading this right that you are offering to have a child with Taylor Swift?” wrote one user,

“You are creepy and weird,” wrote another. “Dude, that’s gross as hell,” wrote another. “Get off of Twitter.”

Read the full story here.

Live coverage ends

15:09 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

We are now ending our live coverage. Many thanks for following along.

You can read our full report on last night’s debate here.