SAN ANTONIO – Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will meet in their first debate of this election on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 8 p.m. You can watch the ABC News Presidential Debate on KSAT 12 and all KSAT digital platforms.
Topics of the debate are expected to include a wide variety of topics including the economy, immigration, Project 2025 and likely some personal attacks.
KSAT spoke with Jon Taylor, a political science professor and chair of the Department of Political Science and Geography at UTSA.
The political observer broke down three main topics viewers can anticipate during the Tuesday debate, which is being held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania is expected to be pivotal in the outcome of the election.
Immigration
Immigration is constantly a divisive topic in American politics, especially here in Texas. Since taking office in 2021, President Joe Biden has called on Congress to secure the border. Some actions the administration has taken include:
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Implementing executive actions to bar migrants who cross the border unlawfully from receiving asylum when encounters are high.
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Deploying record numbers of law enforcement personnel, infrastructure and technology to the Southern border.
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Seizing record amounts of fentanyl at ports of entry.
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Revoking the visas of CEOs and government officials outside the U.S. who profit from migrants entering the U.S. unlawfully.
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Expanding efforts to dismantle human smuggling networks and prosecuting individuals who violate immigration laws.
During the debate, Taylor said he expects Trump to criticize these policies and pin them on Harris.
“(The vice president’s) big thing is actually to work with the party and to do certain policy tasks that are asked of them by the president,” Taylor said.
Harris’ duties as vice president, as they relate to the border, focus on dealing with the situations of people moving from Central American countries and Mexico to the United States.
When Trump was president, he vowed to build a border wall. That process started under his term, but it is nowhere near completion. In July, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the border wall in Texas will take around 30 years and $20 billion to build.
We can expect both Harris and Trump to attack each other on border policies in their respective administrations.
Economy
Everyone pays attention to the economy. Since the pandemic, the U.S. has seen an increase in inflation and the cost of housing. In 2021 and 2022, inflation skyrocketed and the rate reached as high as 7%. According to the U.S. Inflation Calculator, the annual inflation rate in our country was 2.9% from July 2023 to July 2024, a much healthier figure according to economists like those in the Federal Reserve.
Despite those numbers in 2021, Taylor says Democratic administrations trend higher when it comes to adding jobs to our market, compared to Republican administrations.
“Republicans tend to actually have a worse economy statistically and historically versus Democrats, at least since the 1930s and ‘40s,” Taylor said.
Over the past couple of months, we have seen a downward trend in gas and grocery store prices.
“Some of this pressure is coming from the Biden administration regarding competition and regarding price gouging,” Taylor said.
When it comes to the housing market, Redfin states the median price of a home for July 2024 was $438,837. Comparing rates at the same time in July 2020, home rates were at a median average of $349,000.
In July 2024, there were 1,835,669 homes for sale. Redfin says that is up 19.2% year over year. Additionally, there were 574,901 homes newly listed in July, up 5.3% year over year.
“The average voter is looking at pocketbook issues. They’re looking at, you know, prices — are looking at such things as home mortgages,” Taylor said.
Project 2025
Something that has come to light this year during the election is Project 2025. There are a lot of rumors and speculation circling about what exactly Project 2025 is. Taylor helped break it down.
“Project 2025 essentially parallels what’s called ‘Agenda 47,’ which is the Trump campaign’s agenda for 2025 and beyond,” Taylor said.
Project 2025 was created by The Heritage Foundation. This foundation has created mandates for leadership for Republican and conservative candidates for the past 40 years.
There are some concerns over the document and Trump’s relation to the creators of it.
“Trump claims that, ‘Oh, I’m backing away. I don’t know these people.’ Most of the people who wrote this document were in his previous administration,” Taylor said.
Their latest iteration is a 900-page document that spells out what could happen if a conservative or Republican administration comes into power.
“The document is wide-ranging, which is why there is so much fear and so much concern about it,” Taylor said.
Some of those things include the following:
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Schedule F: Essentially ends the requirement under the Civil Service Reform Act to maintain a non-partisan bureaucracy.
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This could lead to multiple federal employees losing their jobs.
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Reproductive rights: Most aspects of reproductive choice, like birth control and IVF, would come to an end. This would also lead to tighter laws regarding abortion.
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Immigration: The government would continue to secure the border wall, finish building the wall and deport millions of people in the U.S.
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The federal government would end support for Ukraine.
Other things to look for:
Personal Attacks
When it comes to personal attacks, Taylor said it would be best for both candidates to stray away from them, but that most likely will not happen.
We can expect both candidates to aim at each other in personal ways.
Taylor said Trump should focus on Harris’ connection to the Biden Administration, issues related to the economy, and the border.
On the latter, Taylor said Harris should focus on Trump’s approach to COVID-19, reproductive rights and the border wall, and his indictments and convictions.
Both candidates are claiming to be “changing candidates” in a “Change Election.”
Harris’ impact as vice president can be taken into account, but this is the first time she is the Democratic nominee for president.
“She might be part of the administration, but at the same time, she’s a fresh face,” Taylor said.
Trump can turn that around on Harris and blame her role within the Biden Administration.
On the other side, Trump claims he is a fresh face because he hasn’t been president in four years. However, Harris can easily turn the “fresh face” talk on Trump and bring up his connection with Project 2025 and the Jan. 6 insurrection.
As the debate ends, many people could reconsider their prior decisions or could have their decisions confirmed. Either way, voter turnout will be watched closely by all the states. Here in Texas, Taylor believes there is a better chance for the state to turn blue and has a breakdown of why that could happen.
How this could impact voter turnout
Recent polling suggests Trump has a 4.5 to 5-point lead over Harris in Texas. Taylor said this is in the margin of error.
In 2020, Biden lost Texas by 4.5%. Taylor said if voter turnout is higher than 60%, particularly in the blue areas of Texas (which are experiencing 95% growth), then there may be a potential for Texas to turn blue for this election.
“Am I saying it’s going to happen? No. I’m not going to bet that’s going to happen, but you never know,” Taylor said.
If you are not registered to vote yet, you still have time.
National Voter Registration Day is Sept. 17. The last day to register to vote in Texas for the 2024 Presidential Election is Oct. 7. Taylor recommends everyone to vote, even if they think it doesn’t matter.
“It does matter. It matters in this state in terms of the competition. It matters in terms of the national vote, but it also matters for down-ballot races,” Taylor said.
The debate is taking place at 8 p.m. and will broadcast live on KSAT 12. ABC has a breakdown of the rules that each presidential candidate will have to follow.
Rules of the debate:
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No audience in the room.
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Microphones will be live only for the candidate whose turn it is to speak.
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Microphones will be muted when the time belongs to the other candidate.
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Only the moderators will be allowed to ask questions.
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There will be no opening statements.
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Closing statements will be two minutes per candidate.
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Each candidate will be given two minutes to answer each question with a two-minute rebuttal.
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An additional minute will be given for follow-up, clarification or response.
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No pre-written notes will be allowed on stage.
Taylor said everyone should watch the debate. Whether it changes your mind or confirms your decision, it’s vital to remember one of these candidates will be president in January.