Every four years US citizens vote on who they want as our next president. There are always two candidates, generally there is one picked by the Republicans and the other picked by the Democrats. This year’s candidate for the Republican party is former president Donald John Trump, and the Democratic party’s candidate is former prosecutor and current Vice President Kamala Devi Harris. The two had a presidential debate on Wednesday, September 10th that has sparked controversy between republicans and democrats.
The main controversy is over who won the debate. Donald Trump claims to have won, both to reporters and on social media. Kamala Harris has stayed quiet on social media regarding the debate. Statistics have come out about who people think won the debate, but there hasn’t been one clear answer as some statistics are not credible.
Both candidates have been in hot water in the media regarding the false claims made and their overall unprofessionalism towards each other while debating. During the debate there were moderators fact checking their claims live and correcting any false claims made. This was a new change that the commission on presidential debates implemented. Previously, when Trump debated Joe Biden, fact checking was done after the debate. Trump was corrected at least five times during the presidential debate with Harris, with one stand out statement about immigrants in Springfield, Ohio eating cats and dogs. “They’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” he said during the debate.
People are outraged and say that the debate was unfair and the moderators favored Harris. Harris was criticized for apparently making false claims about the US military combat zones and not being corrected by the moderators. People on social media have been slandering her ruthlessly. This is not the only controversy Harris has found herself in with Republicans. She is criticized for lack of action during her vice presidency and her decisions made as district attorney of San Francisco, California. Harris passed a law in 2011 to charge parents with a misdemeanor if their children missed 10% or more of the school year without a valid reason. People were not happy about this law and Harris received much criticism from families affected.
Some people also are not happy with her vice president pick, Tim Walz former Minnesota Governor, but they don’t seem to be happy with Trump’s pick either. Trump has picked J.D. Vance, former US senator, for his vice president. J.D. Vance has been criticized by democrats and republicans for his controversial statements against women’s educational rights. Tim Walz is also under fire for not being qualified enough considering his previous job as a high school social studies teacher.
As we get closer to election day tensions are rising, both parties get at each other’s throats, the line between the truth and the fake gets blurrier, and the anticipation grows. Ultimately both candidates will make fine presidents, and the cycle will begin again.
