Harris, Trump and surrogates address the nation during presidential debate

Amid Tuesday night’s fact checks and muted microphones, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump spoke directly to the country to make their cases for president. The presidential debate, which took place in Philadelphia, featured the nominees discussing their governing records and plans for the future amid a historic election. 

While the debate took place without an audience, both campaigns sent surrogates to field questions concerning their platforms and positions. South Dakota governor Doug Burgum said before the debate it was of paramount importance that Harris be asked “real questions and tough questions.” 

“She’s a historic candidate, but for a different reason,” Burgum said. “She’s historic because she’s 55 days away from the election, and she’s done one short interview, and it’s never been a debate. And this may be the only one. And so I think America’s going to be outraged if we find out a few hours from tonight that she got through a debate and nobody asked her tough questions about her past positions.” 

Post-debate, representatives including Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro spoke to the media about the face-off between the two candidates. Shapiro discussed the young voters in Pennsylvania whose votes will play a key role in the outcome of the election.

“I think college students are right to want to kick the tires of all candidates and I appreciate the frustration that they feel about electoral politics,” Shapiro said. “They want to be heard, they want to be engaged and they want to be involved, and I think Kamala Harris will engage and involve them.”

Shapiro emphasized Harris’ position on abortion access as one that is especially attractive to young voters. 

“Particularly around the issue of abortion and freedom, something that I know is important to college students, I think she made such a clear contrast,” Shapiro said. “Donald Trump has taken away that fundamental freedom for women to be able to make decisions about their own bodies…Kamala Harris trusts women to make decisions about their own bodies.”

When asked about if the candidates did a good enough job outlining their future policy plans, senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas reaffirmed the Trump campaign’s promise to get the country back to where it was four years ago. 

“What [Trump] did the best job of is explaining that things were good when he was president, and they have not been good the past four years,” Cotton said. “You don’t have to worry about what Donald Trump is going to do. You know what he’s going to do. He did it for four years.” 

Tim Murtaugh, former communications director for the Trump 2020 campaign and current debate surrogate for the former president, spoke about what he sees as one of the most important issues for Pennsylvania voters.

“I don’t think that Kamala Harris stands a chance of winning Pennsylvania,” Murtaigh said. “The people of Pennsylvania are smart enough and they can spot a bullshit artist when they see one…fracking is such a major issue, and her record on it is crystal clear, which is why she is so desperate to try to muddy the waters on it.” 

Murtaugh referenced Harris’ statement from 2019 where she said she would ban fracking, which she walked back on in the time since. 

“There are any number of policy positions she’s taken that are completely at odds with what she has always believed in,” Murtaugh said. “Who we saw on stage tonight bears no resemblance to the person who was the VP 51 days ago.” 

Another Trump surrogate said that despite what many of his supporters are calling biased moderating, the debate was positive and showed his character.

“It is frustrating to watch President Trump have to defend himself not just from his opponent but also the moderators in the debate, but nevertheless he prevailed and it shows he’s fearless, he’s tough,” the surrogate said. 

When asked about if Vice President Harris did enough work during the debate to connect with young, oftentimes disillusioned potential voters, North Carolina governor Roy Cooper said Harris made a “convincing case that she can bring us a new way forward.” 

“I’ve been concerned about young people and voting this time because many of them feel disaffected,” Cooper said. “They’re very excited about the issues but they’re worried about the system and the candidates. I think [Harris] showed that she was presidential, that it was time to turn the page on Donald Trump.”

After the debate, Vice President Harris immediately called for a second matchup in the coming weeks. President Trump said this was because she “lost” this debate, but did not say if he would or would not participate in another debate. With less than two months until Election Day, the candidates are expected to continue campaigning around the country in the coming weeks.