Trump-Harris debate live updates: Candidates take the stage, shake hands
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are meeting for the first time on Tuesday for the ABC News presidential debate.
It is the only debate the two have scheduled and comes at a critical point as polls show a neck-and-neck race with just eight weeks until Election Day.
The two will face off on key issues and work to appeal to voters across the country. The debate is airing on ABC and streaming on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu.
Latest Developments
Sep 10, 9:06 PM
1st question on economy
The first question is on an issue that's top of mind for voters: the economy and cost of living.
Asked if she believed Americans are better off today than they were four years ago, Harris talked about her plans to help families and small businesses. She targeted Trump, saying he will provide a tax cut for "billionaires and big corporations."
Sep 10, 9:03 PM
Harris and Trump take the stage
This marks the first time Harris and Trump have ever met.
Sep 10, 9:12 PM
Harris, Trump shake hands after intro
Harris and Trump shook hands after they were introduced on stage, ending an eight-year streak of no handshakes on the presidential debate stage.
There are no rules or stipulations requiring a handshake before or after the debate.
Sep 10, 9:00 PM
High-stakes showdown begins
The ABC News presidential debate is now underway.
It is a crucial moment for both candidates with exactly eight weeks until Election Day.
Sep 10, 8:51 PM
Rep. Madeleine Dean notes the debate will be many viewers’ introduction to Harris
Rep. Madeleine Dean, a Democrat who represents Pennsylvania’s 4th District in the Philadelphia suburbs, said today’s debate is an opportunity for Harris to introduce herself to swing voters outside the political “bubble” who may not have tuned into the campaign earlier, and share her record as a prosecutor, attorney general, senator and now vice president.
“She is an able public servant, and so she has the chance to introduce that part of herself to those who are too busy to actually know all of those granular details,” Dean told reporters in the spin room.
—538’s Tia Yang
Sep 10, 8:45 PM
Debate just minutes away
The presidential debate is now just 15 minutes away.
Both candidates have arrived in Philadelphia, and their campaign surrogates are already on the ground providing spin and setting expectations for tonight's matchup.
Sep 10, 8:45 PM
Member of exonerated 'Central Park 5' in the spin room
New York City Councilman Yusef Salaam, a member of the exonerated "Central Park Five" who was wrongfully incarcerated in connection with a 1989 rape, is in the spin room.
Salaam, who spoke at the DNC, has been a staunch Trump opponent after the former president took out a full-page ad in several New York newspapers calling for the death penalty for the five suspects at the time.
Sep 10, 8:30 PM
Rep. Michael Waltz says Trump will pick back up on trade policy
Rep. Michael Waltz, a Florida Republican and veteran who serves on the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees, is one of the Trump surrogates who has been circling the spin room here in Philadelphia. He focused in on Trump's trade and foreign policy, telling reporters that in a second term, Trump would pick back up on "deals [that] were moving and then were undone" to address the trade deficit with China and "undo executive orders" like the one pausing exports of liquified natural gas.
—538's Tia Yang
Sep 10, 8:23 PM
Harris arrives at the debate
Harris has arrived at the National Constitution Center ahead of her face-off with former President Trump.
Harris' motorcade drove past a billboard on the highway that read "VOTE TRUMP," according to ABC News' Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, who is traveling with the vice president.
-ABC News' Fritz Farrow
Sep 10, 8:25 PM
The debate rules: muted microphones and more
Harris selected the right podium position on stage. The two candidates will remain standing for the 90-minute debate.
There will be no opening statements, though each candidate will get two minutes at the end to give their closing arguments to the American people. Trump will offer the last closing statement after winning the coin toss.
The candidates can't bring notes on stage. Candidates will only be given a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water. They cannot interact with their campaign staff during commercial breaks.
Their microphones will only be live when it is their turn to speak and muted otherwise. Harris and Trump will get two minutes to respond to questions by the moderators and two minutes for rebuttals. They cannot ask each other questions.
