Trump and Harris face off in Philadelphia – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

This is CNBC’s live coverage of the 2024 presidential debate between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and former Republican President Donald Trump in Philadelphia on Sept. 10.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will face on Tuesday Vice President Kamala Harristhe Democratic nominee, in a prime-time debate that could alter the course of an unprecedented race for the White House.

The 90-minute debate hosted by ABC News will begin at 9 p.m. ET at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

It will also be the first time Harris and Trump have met in person, just eight weeks before the Nov. 5 election.

Polling averages indicate the race is effectively tied nationally, while polls in key battleground states show Trump and Harris within a few points of each other and well within the polls’ margins of error.

For Harris, the debate is a crucial opportunity to connect with voters who say they still need to learn more about her. The vice president launched her campaign after the president Joe Biden dropped out of the race less than two months ago.

Trump is likely to face a far more formidable opponent in Harris than in Biden, whose confused answers and hoarse voice in a presidential debate in June were fatal to his campaign.

Tuesday’s showdown could also be the only time Trump and Harris share a stage before Election Day. The two rival campaigns have yet to agree to a second debate.

CNBC reporters will cover the debate and presidential race throughout the day from Washington, Philadelphia, Englewood Cliffs, NJ and San Francisco.

Why Rand Paul’s Enthusiasm for Trump Is Waning: ‘I’m a Deficit Advocate’

Republican Senator from Kentucky. Rand Paul says he supports Trump, but that his concerns about the federal deficit have tempered his enthusiasm for the Republican presidential candidate.

“I think there’s no doubt that Donald Trump is better than Kamala Harris,” Paul said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

“But as far as my enthusiasm goes, I’m a deficit hawk,” Paul added. “The Trump administration added $8 trillion. The Biden administration is going to add $8 trillion.”

Trump approved $8.8 trillion in new borrowing during his administration, but canceled some of it along with $443 billion in deficit reduction measures, according to a report by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Trump’s net total of $8.4 trillion in spending included approximately $3.6 trillion in stimulus and Covid relief packages.

Meanwhile, Biden has approved $6.2 trillion in new borrowing in his first three years and five months in office, balanced with $1.9 trillion in deficit reduction, according to the CRFB.

— Rebecca Picciotto

Where is Tim Walz today?

As his running mate counts down the hours until her debate with Trump, Tim Walz will continue campaigning in key battleground states today.

The Minnesota governor is scheduled to speak at campaign events in Las Vegas and Phoenix on Tuesday. His final event in Phoenix is ​​scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. ET — a half-hour before the highly anticipated debate begins.

– Josephine Rozzelle

7 in 10 Americans plan to watch the debate, according to NPR poll

Nearly three-quarters of American voters say they will watch tonight’s debate, according to the latest poll from NPR, PBS News and Marist.

The debate between Trump and Biden in early June drew 51.3 million viewers, down from the record 73.1 million viewers who watched their first debate in September 2020. It was the third-most-watched debate in history, according to Statista.

–Ece Yildirim

Ohio Police Deny Vance’s Claim That Haitian Immigrants Eat People’s Pets

Police in Springfield, Ohio, deny Vance’s claim in an X post that people in the city have had their “pets kidnapped and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.”

“There have been no credible reports or specific allegations of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community,” the Springfield Police Department said in a statement. Police also denied that immigrants in the city were squatting, littering or disrupting traffic.

Vance’s campaign responded with a statement of its own, saying the Ohio senator had received “a high volume of calls and emails” about an influx of Haitian immigrants into the city.

The campaign doesn’t mention anything about pets being stolen and eaten.

– Josephine Rozzelle

Here are the rules for tonight’s showdown

As with the June presidential debate between Trump and Biden, the candidates’ microphones will be muted when they are not speaking tonight, according to rules released by ABC News.

The debate will last 90 minutes with two commercial breaks, during which Trump and Harris will not be allowed to interact with members of their staff. There will be no live audience.

Nominees will have two minutes to answer each question, two minutes for a reply and an extra minute for follow-ups, clarifications or responses.

Trump won the coin toss and got the last word. Harris chose to be on the right side of viewers’ screens tonight. Neither of them will give an opening statement.

– Josephine Rozzelle

Trump assault accuser Jessica Leeds: He’s a ‘sexual predator’

Jessica Leeds, who previously testified that Trump sexually assaulted her on an airplane in the late 1970s, calls him a “sexual predator” who doesn’t understand the “psychological damage” done to women victimized in this way.

“We cannot let this person back into the White House,” Leeds, 82, said at a news conference outside Trump Tower in Manhattan on Monday afternoon.

Leeds spoke days after Trump attacked her in connection with her testimony at his trial last year for a sexual abuse and defamation lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of raping her in a New York department store in the 1990s.

Trump called Leeds’ claim that he groped her during a flight a “totally made-up story” and said she “would not have been the one.”

On Monday, Leeds said: “He assaulted me 50 years ago and he continues to assault me ​​today.”

Asked whether she would sue Trump over the comments he made about her, while denying the allegations, Leeds said: “We are considering a number of options in light of his recent comments, but no decision has been made at this time.”

Carroll has sued Trump twice and has received more than $88 million in damages for defamation and sexual assault.

– Dan Mangan

Commerce Secretary Raimondo calls Trump’s tariff plan ‘scary’ for the private sector

Harris ally Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says the debate could turn into a battle over Trump’s proposed tariff policies.

“If I were a businessperson and I heard about a 20 percent tariff on every import, and I saw (Trump) being so erratic and unpredictable — I find that frightening,” Raimondo said on CNBC’s show. Sound box.

“Every business owner deserves predictability,” she added. Trump has proposed tariffs of 10% to 20% on imports from U.S. trading partners.

Harris’ team said she would “deploy targeted and strategic tariffs to support American workers, strengthen our economy and hold our adversaries accountable.”

– Brian Schwartz

How to watch the presidential debate

The debate will be presented by ABC News in collaboration with local affiliate WPVI-TV/6ABC.

It will air live starting at 9 p.m. ET on ABC, and the network will stream the debate live on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu. It will also be available on the ABC app and website, abc.com.

Other major networks will air the debate simultaneously, including NBC, CNN, CBS and Fox News.

— Ece Yildirim