PHILADELPHIA — US Vice-President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump faced off for the first time on Tuesday night in a 2024 US presidential debate in the city of Philadelphia.

The debate, hosted by ABC News, started at the National Constitution Center.

Harris shook hands with Trump after they were introduced on stage. During their over 90-minute debate, they clashed over key issues, including the economy, abortion, immigration, and US foreign policies, aiming to appeal to voters across the country.

With less than eight weeks to go before the election, and days until early voting starts in some states, the debate, the only one scheduled, offered a rare opportunity for both candidates to make their case for a television audience of tens of millions of voters.

Both Harris and Trump touted plans to strengthen the economy and bring down the cost of living. Harris vowed to build an "opportunity economy", citing plans to make housing more affordable and expand the child tax credit. Trump repeated his claim that he would impose tariffs on imports from other countries and also criticized the high inflation rates under the Biden-Harris administration.

Abortion was a vital issue for both candidates in the debate. Trump emphasized his position that abortion should be a state issue.

Harris criticized what she referred to as the "Trump abortion bans" since Roe versus Wade was overturned. She also highlighted cases where women have been unable to get abortions after being raped or struggled to get miscarriage care.

They also sparred over US foreign policies regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Trump repeatedly mentioned US President Joe Biden during the debate, and Harris reminded him, "You're not running against Joe Biden; you're running against me."

The fiery debate also included personal attacks.

"The back-and-forth at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia was riddled with false and misleading comments, including on job growth and a baseless claim about Haitian immigrants," NBC News reported.

The debate was the second presidential debate of the 2024 election, following the first one between Biden and Trump in June.

Biden bowed out of the race in July due to concerns over his age, health, and debate performance. He passed the torch to Harris, who secured the Democratic presidential nomination in August.

Tuesday's debate was critical as polls show a tight race with election day less than two months away.

Vital battleground

Pennsylvania is one of the key battleground states that could significantly impact the election. Surveys of the key battleground states show that Trump and Harris are within a few points of each other and the polls' margins of error.

Presidential debates do not necessarily change voters' minds, but they can be deeply consequential. In a contest that could again come down to tens of thousands of votes in a handful of states, even a small shift in public opinion could alter the outcome. The two candidates are effectively tied in the seven battleground states likely to decide the election, according to polling averages compiled by The New York Times.

PredictIt's 2024 presidential general election market showed Trump's likelihood of victory declining during the debate, to 47 percent from 52 percent. Harris' odds improved to 55 percent from 53 percent.

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

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

After the debate, shares of Trump's company that owns Truth Social slumped 15 percent in premarket trading on Wednesday.

Xinhua-Agencies