Presidential nominees Kamala Harris and Donald Trump faced off in Philadelphia last night for likely their only debate before the Nov. 4 election. The encounter marked the first time the two candidates met, with Harris initiating a handshake at Trump’s podium – a gesture notably missing from the previous Biden-Trump debate in June.

Touching on some of the top issues, the economy, abortion, and immigration for example, the opponents vied for America’s votes but the good sportsmanship was off as Trump and Harris took turns answering questions from ABC moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis.

This election has been no short of memes and online rhetoric, and this debate was no exception. As expected, Americans took to social media to cast their online opinions, call out dog whistles, and make jokes in real time.

According to Google Trends, abortion, immigration, crime, economy, and inflation were in the top 10 issues searched during the debate. These searches are consistent with multiple polls conducted throughout the year. The economy has consistently been voted as the top issue across voter surveys, with only 22% Black Americans, 13% of Latinos and 18% of young adults saying they are better off financially today than they were a year ago, according to Brookings.

However, last week the New York Times released polling that revealed a growing number of voters in swing states say abortion is central to their decision and for women under 45, it surpasses the economy as their top concern.

As Trump and Harris went back and forth on some of the most pressing issues in the election, Reckon took note of who said what. Who won the debate?

We broke it down by issue starting with abortion. Since stepping off of President Biden’s campaign and launching her own, Harris has heavily appealed to reproductive rights voters. In March, she made history by becoming the first president or vice president to visit an abortion clinic when she toured a Minnesota Planned Parenthood.

Harris has continued to express wanting to pass a federal policy to protect reproductive rights. In order to pass this Harris would need the support of Congress. In July, Senate Republicans  blocked the Reproductive Freedom for Women Act, which aimed to restore some protections lost when Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Trump, in his third presidential bid, has attempted to distance himself from Project 2025, stating during the debate that he hadn’t read the conservative policy book. His stance on abortion rights has fluctuated, though he is widely credited with facilitating the overturning of Roe v. Wade by his Supreme Court appointments.

Abortion: Harris wins

Trump’s role in overturning Roe v. Wade was a topic of discussion. He defended his actions, stating, “I did a great service in doing it. It took courage to do it,” arguing that he gave Americans what they wanted by bringing the issue to the state level. However, this is false.

A 2022 Pew Research Center survey revealed that more than half of Americans, 57% disapproved of SCOTUS’ decision to overturn Roe. In May of this year, Pew reported that 63% of Americans think that abortion should be legal in all circumstances.

In what was arguably one of Harris’ strongest moments of the night, she emphasized Trump’s influence, referring to abortion restrictions as “Trump abortion bans” and vowed to sign a bill that would restore reproductive protections lost when Roe fell.

“One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government, and Donald Trump certainly, should not be telling a woman what to do with her body,” Harris said. She then provided a vivid example: “You want to talk about, ‘this is what people wanted?’ Pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term, suffering from a miscarriage being denied care in an emergency room because the health care providers are afraid they might go to jail, and she’s bleeding out in a car in the parking lot? She didn’t want that.”

However, Harris did not provide additional details on specific restrictions she would support beyond signing a bill that would offer the protections of Roe, allowing abortion until fetal viability.

Muir noted that the former president’s stance on abortion rights has shifted several times since his time in the White House. Trump stated he wouldn’t sign a national abortion ban because he “wouldn’t need to.” He also made claims about abortions in the ninth month and states executing babies after they are born, neither of which are legal in any U.S. state and have been debunked by multiple sources including the Associated Press, NPR, Salon.

How people reacted online:

The economy: Harris wins

The economy was the first issue discussed in the debate, and for good reason. According to Pew Research Center  polling released on Monday, this is the most important concern for 81% of registered voters.

Harris outlined her vision for an “opportunity economy,” proposing to support working class Americans by:

1. Extending the child tax credit from $2,000 to $6,000
   
2. Offering a $50,000 tax deduction for small business startups.
   

Trump, while not focusing on specific policies,, highlighted the tariffs he imposed during his presidency, which Biden has maintained.

“We’re doing tariffs on other countries. Other countries are going to finally, after 75 years, pay us back for all that we’ve done for the world,” Trump said.

Trump has previously said he would impose a 20% tariff on foreign imports, according to USA Today. However, experts caution that such tariffs are typically passed on to consumers rather than paid by foreign governments. Politico reports there’s no credible evidence supporting the claim that that foreign governments pay the tariff fee.

How people reacted online:

Immigration: Harris wins

An April 2024 poll by NBC found that 22% of voters listed immigration as their top issue, behind inflation and cost of living.

In one of the most talked about moments in the debate, Trump spread false claims and dehumanizing statements against Haitian immigrants living in Springfield, Ohio: “The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating — they’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” Trump said.

Rumors of immigrants eating pets and an exaggeration of the number of Haitian immigrants in Springfield has been spreading this week, namely by Trump’s running mate, Ohio senator J.D. Vance, who tweeted that his office was receiving complaints about abducted animals. NPR reports that these claims are unfounded and  have been propagated by far-right activists, neo-Nazis and local Republicans.

Springfield’s official website states that while an exact count is impossible, estimates based on vehicle, school and healthcare data, suggest there are about 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants in the county.

“Now she wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison,” Trump said in a rant that arguably became the meme of the night.

Harris used the topic of immigration to dig at the size of Trump rallies: “You will see during the course of his rallies, he talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lector. He will talk about windmills cause cancer, and what you will also notice is that people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom,” Harris said.

It was a move to bait Trump, and according to analysts, it worked.

“Harris, by the allusion to crowd size, got Trump off the rails and this looked like an intentional strategy that worked, while she did her best to look presidential and forward looking,” Robert Y. Shapiro, a professor of political science at Columbia University, told Newsweek last night.

How people reacted online:

Student debt: Trump wins

While student debt was not a topic introduced by moderators, Trump seized the opportunity in a “gotcha” moment to call out the Biden-Harris administration’s failed attempts at student loan forgiveness.

“She said she’ll go back to Congress, she’ll never get the votes … it’s just talk,” Trump said. “You know what it reminds me of? When they say they’re going to get student loans terminated, and it ended up being a total catastrophe.”

For context, Biden campaigned heavily around forgiving at least $10,000 of student debt per borrower in the 2020 election. Several attempts at broad loan forgiveness have been blocked by legislators, with the most recent setback occurring this month.. The Department of Education reports that 4.8 million Americans, or 1 in 10 borrowers, have had their debt forgiven under the Biden-Harris administration.

Harris did not directly respond to Trump’s comments on this issue during the debate.

How people reacted online:

Healthcare: Harris wins

The debate touched on healthcare policy, with both candidates outlining their positions. Trump has long promised to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, but when asked about his plan to replace it he offered no details, stating that we would hear about it “in the not too distant future.”

Pressed for clarification by moderator Davis,  Trump responded: “I have concepts of a plan. I’m not president right now.”

Harris said she planned to expand the ACA, highlighting the Biden administration’s work to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices and cap the cost of insulin.

Neither candidate provided specific details about how they would implement or fund their healthcare proposals.

How people reacted online:

Israel-Gaza: Draw

Both candidates addressed the ongoing violence in Gaza. Harris opened her statement on the issue by bringing up Oct. 7 and once again stressing that she believes Israel has a right to defend itself against Hamas, repeating debunked claims of mass rapes by Hamas on Israeli hostages.

Harris said that there needs to be a two-state solution: security for the Israeli people and an equal measure for Palestinians. This comes in the foreground of her administration allowing the parents of an Israeli hostage to speak at last month’s Democratic National Convention, while denying a Palestinian American speaker to take the stage.

“She hates Israel. She wouldn’t even meet with Netanyahu when he went to Congress to make a very important speech. She refused to be there ‘cause she was at a sorority party,” Trump responded.

He also claimed the Ukraine-Russia war would not have happened if he were president, though he did not state how he would stop either war from continuing.

And the winner is… Harris

Pre-debate polling showed a relatively favorable view of Harris. . According to a poll published by the 19th on Tuesday, about half of registered voters said they viewed Harris favorably, including 46% of Americans 65 or older. About 42% of voters said Harris cares about the problems of people like them, compared to 40% who said the same about Trump.

Post-debate reactions by political analysts appeared to favor Harris.

A CNN poll of debate viewers found that 63% believed Harris had a better performance on stage. Her favorability rating increased from 39% before the debate to 44% after, while Trump’s favorability stood at 39%.

The night concluded with a significant endorsement from Taylor Swift, who took to Instagram to announce her support for Harris, after months of fans urging the singer to take a stance on Gaza and speak out about AI-generated images which depicted her support for Trump.

“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,” Swift wrote. “I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice. Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make.”

POLITICO national political reporter Lisa Kashinsky commented on the potential impact of Swift’s endorsement:  “Honestly, Taylor Swift endorsing Harris after the debate might do more to change the trajectory of this race than anything that happened during the debate.”

This endorsement could be particularly influential given that a 2023 Morning Consult survey found over half of U.S. Americans identify as Swift fans.

Though no additional presidential debates are scheduled, vice-presidential nominees Tim Walz and J.D. Vance are scheduled to debate on Oct. 1.