Trump and Harris debate – how it went and where it’s going - September 11, 2024

[Music] kamla Harris and Donald Trump meet on the debate stage they've destroyed the fabric of our country millions of people let in you adore strong men instead of caring about democracy while Secretary of State Anthony blinkin is in keev but what is meant by Victory may not be what ukrainians want what is meant by Victory is that there is a successful end to the war in which Ukraine preserves its sovereignty and the ability to defend itself and later protesters stormed the senate in Mexico tragedy strikes a Nigerian zoo and Taylor Swift has made a decision today is Wednesday September 11th and this is boa's flash point [Music] good evening I'm Steve carish with Lori London our top story on Wednesday is the Tuesday night presidential debate in Philadelphia on the Republican side former president Donald Trump through numerous and sometimes bizarre falsehoods tried to paint his Democratic opponent kamla Harris as weak on crime immigration and foreign policy while Harris used the opportunity to say that Trump's position on abortion is too extreme and that his economic plans would only benefit those who are already Rich va's Chief National correspondent Steve Herman was there and has this report standing 2 meters apart with no audience in the room the two presidential nominees who had never met before Tuesday night had their first encounter hosted by ABC News and simal cast on other broadcast networks to tens of millions of likely American voters vice president kamla Harris spoke to those voters as much as she responded to the attacks from former president Donald Trump setting much of her own course following President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the race clearly I am not Joe Biden and I am certainly not Donald Trump and what I do offer is a new generation of leadership for our country one who believes in what is possible one who brings a sense of optimism about what we can do instead of always disparaging the American people Trump blamed Harris whom he called a Marxist for a surge in illegal migration into the United States they've destroyed the fabric of our country millions of people l in Trump without evidence also blamed Harris for Russia invading Ukraine and the war in Gaza she hates Israel at the same time in her own way she hates the Arab population because the whole whole place is going to get blown up Arabs Jewish people Israel Israel will be gone for trump it was his seventh time on the presidential debate stage for Harris her first she said the Republican nominee is unfit to return to the White House and there's a consensus about that among world leaders except for the autocrats whom Trump admires you adore strong men instead of caring about democracy Trump's surrogates in the spin room such as Republican Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida said Harris failed to articulate what she would do as president kamla Harris all she did was attack him she didn't talk about the policies she didn't talk about her differentiations between her and the Biden Administration when Afghanistan came up what did she say a lot of nothing nearly a third of Voters pulled prior to the debate said they were familiar with Trump but needed to learn more about Harris the debate flushed out a clear contract between the two according to a Democratic party congressman from California Ted Leu C heres was presidential Donald Trump was weird and incoherent unless Trump and Harris debate again before election day this may have been their best opportunity to try to sway the relatively small number of undecided voters in the seven swing States expected to decide who will become the next president of the United States Steve Herman VA News Philadelphia for analysis on the debate and how it may have tilted the scale for either candidate I spoke with Christopher warshaw an expert on American politics an associate professor of political science at the George Washington University what are your thoughts well I think this was pretty high stakes this was KLA Harris's chance to introduce herself to more of the nation um she's probably ahead by a little bit in the polls right now but I think that was a fragile lead going into yesterday's debate and this gave Trump an opportunity to sort of you know knock down a little bit and I think that overall Harris came out of the debate looking pretty well I think Trump started the debate reasonably strong when they started when they talked about the economy but it pretty quickly went off the rails as I think that Harris was able to effectively bait him into talking about things he probably didn't want to talk about and that sort of strayed away from the issues and trying to Define Harris which was probably Trump's goal going into this debate was interesting too that the moderators unlike the last debate did fact check some of the things that were said yeah they did I thought they did a good job factchecking in real time while not being overly intrusive into the sort of cadence of the debate were there any moments that really stood out to you that you think people will remember I think the exchange about um abortion early in the debate was perhaps the most impactful where I think that Harris was able to I think effectively Define her position on that issue which is really in alignment with the majority of the American people who are generally in favor of Reproductive Rights and you know about in polls about 60 or 65% of Americans are pro-choice and so I think Trump from a public opinion point of view is sort of on the wrong side of this issue and you could sort of see that he just felt uncomfortable there and I think that was also a part of the debate that probably more Americans were watching because it was early in the evening the former president did seem relatively calm as you said you know in the beginning but it looked like he was getting a little agitated uh Harris seemed to be trying to sort of jab him quite a bit Yeah I think she was trying to sort of push his buttons a little bit to get him to go off the rails and I think that certainly she seemed to be reasonably effective at that you know it's hard always hard to determine how you know the average viewer is going to see things but it certainly looked to me like he was more agitated than he was and if you compare to the first debate where you know I think he did a good job getting President Biden to go a little bit a skew you know you didn't see that here I think here Harris stayed poised and it was definitely Trump that seemed more agitated than than she was throughout the debate do you think that it changed the equation as far as the race goes or is it hard to say because sometimes somebody can win a debate and lose the election yeah absolutely in terms of how this is going to affect the race going forward what we know from previous debates and evidence in the political science and polling literature is that most debates have a relatively small effect on the trajectory of the election obviously the Trump and Biden debate earlier this summer was an was an exception to that which did have a really large effect on this race I would expect this debate to be you know more in line with previous debates will probably have a relatively small impact but I would expect it to help Paris in the polls a little bit and given that at least in the Battleground State she seems to be narrowly ahead if this can boost her by another point or two and that boost persistent I think that could have an impact but you don't think it was like a major Game Changer in any way I don't think so I mean people have pretty Harden views of trump and you know I think this will help some people feel more comfortable with Harris you know certainly in the post- debate polls that she won in the CNN poll by about 25 points among debate viewers but what we know from previous debates is these things generally have a relatively small impact and I don't think this was is going to be as impactful as the Trump and Biden debate from earlier this summer Taylor Swift who obviously has millions and millions of followers endorsed Harris almost immediately after they left the stage do you think that could also have any kind of impact what we know from previous celebrity endorsements is it rarely changes the trajectory of the race in major ways especially in presidential elections where people's views or you know pretty well formed but what I think it could do is boost the engagement levels of young voters who may already be leaning toward Harris and get them more invested in her campaign and perhaps a little bit more likely to volunteer you know we've got a lot of very serious issues going on around the world how do you think the two candidates faired when it came to talking about foreign policy well I think it was notable that former president Trump sort of refused to say that he supported Ukraine in their war with Russia and he focused instead on emphasizing that he would seek a peace steal that may or may not be to Ukraine's advantage on trade there's big issues between them and I think it's been a really long time since we've seen such large partis differences on um foreign policy in the United States that's Christopher warshaw of George Washington University one of the most consequential moments of the night came right after the debate pop Superstar Taylor Swift told her 283 million followers on Instagram that she would be voting for vice president kamla Harris in the November election she signed it from a childless cat lady a reference to controversial remarks made by Trump's running mate JD Vin but I've got a blank space baby and I'll write your name both the presidential candidates kamla Harris and Donald Trump were in New York City on Wednesday along with President Joe Biden attending a September 11th Memorial event J J Borg Martin Michael Boris there were somber readings of the names of many of the 3,000 people who were killed 23 years ago on September 11th 2001 when terrorists hijacked commercial airliners and crashed into the New York World Trade Center Twin Towers the Pentagon and into a Pennsylvania field after passengers fought back in a Counterattack the world remembers another anniversary as well today it was one year ago a devastating earthquake struck Morocco va's Lisa Bryant takes us there days after the 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck in September a year ago tour guide Abdus samat elori showed a reporter his damaged home in Ami m a town at the foot of the high Atlas Mountains cracks covered the outside walls his family was sleeping outside fearful of another Quake parts of Amy mes were reduced to Rubble in a phone interview El gurri says his house is now being renovated it's getting more pillars and New Foundations to withstand future shocks for now his family lives in a rented apartment the situation is much better than before there are less camps people getting back to their houses somay reinforce their house and renovate some they rebuild but still we have people living in t Morocco's High Atlas region is a spectacular Place its beauty and Berber culture have drawn tourists from all over but it's also one of the poorest and most underdeveloped parts of the country the government has earmarked 11 billion in Aid to reconstruct the area while tens of thousands of earthquake affected people have gotten State support Reports say many have yet to get the full payment reports also say many residents still live in plastic tents or have been forced to re locate some have protested for more support elori says the Reconstruction is creating needed jobs but there's not much else by way of work he's uncertain about his own job in a changed region I do CER tourism you show people old houses authentic houses the way people lived like 400 or 500 years ago and now the situation is different people are building new houses with new standards a father of four elgi says he's happy the children are back at school he's less certain about the future of his town and region in the months and years to come Lisa Bryant vaa [Music] news you're listening to flasho from The Voice of America I'm Steve Kish along with Lori London in Washington tragedy in Nigeria as floodwaters wash dangerous animals from a zoo into the local community that story in minutes but now we turn our attention to Europe and the war in Ukraine US Secretary of State Anthony blinkin and British foreign secretary David Lamy are in keev on Wednesday their visit follows the recent reshuffling of President Vore zelinsky's government secretary blinkin told the new Ukrainian foreign minister Andre Sheba that they were there to continue working together we're here together uh as uh Partners to uh to listen to share ideas uh and to continue to plan the way forward uh I hope makes it very clear that there's an enduring commitment to Ukraine and to the Ukrainian people for his part David Lamy said he was in ke to begin laying the groundwork for more upcoming international events but also to reiterate support for a military Victory we have a 3 billion pound commitment to Ukraine to spend year on year until we see the result and the Russian imperialism and aggression come to an end that is why we are here and we're here to listen at this critical moment to hear and understand the issues on the battlefield the further support that you believe you need to understand that uh as we head towards critical moments in the international calendar anger particularly coming up in the United Nations um but also the G20 and other forums this year we remain United in our stand but what does a victory look like Adrien katnik is with the Atlantic Council he tells vaa that what the US and European allies are hoping to achieve actually might be different from what ukrainians are working towards I think that Europe wants consistency Europe wants a strategy and Europe in effect wants Victory but what is meant by Victory may not be what ukrainians want what is meant by Victory is that there is a successful end to the war in which Ukraine preserves its sovereignty and the ability to defend itself and I think that is what Europe is looking for for a kind of a a real formula for a lasting peace which is a Ukraine that can exist under the shadow of a dangerous Russia but with enough resources and enough Alliance support that it can sustain itself as an independent and sovereign state however he says the Biden administration's current policy will not end the hostility soon enough and he agrees with zalinsky that Ukraine needs greater capacity and Western permission to carry out more attacks inside Russian territory I think that the way the policy is is more likely to continue a protracted War I don't want to say a Forever War but there is a lot of capacity of Russia to withstand this uh set of tactics and strategies and there is a kind of a standoff right now and there has to be some way of re you know of refocusing it of reconfiguring it to allow Ukraine to win and or allow Ukraine to force Putin into a piece that is acceptable uh for the Ukrainian people and I think the only way it will work is if Ukraine has the capacity to disrupt Russia's economy by hitting its uh Power uh Power infrastructure uh and long range missiles are needed for them ultimately though he's not convinced that this trip by blinkin to keev will make a huge difference to Ukraine in the short term you know it's also a question of my own view that I don't think that secretary blinkin is as big a driver of policy as either Bill Burns uh at CIA or Jake Sullivan so I don't know if he comes back with some kind of a discussion whether he's the one who can uh push through the argument in behalf of expanded uh uh targeting for Ukraine meanwhile the Kremlin said on Wednesday that Russia would roll out what it calls an appropriate response if the United States allows Ukraine to strike deep inside Russia with long range attack's missiles a decision Moscow suspects has already been taken all this as turkey is undertaking a massive expansion of its Navy to make it one of Europe's largest naval powers the buildup IS alarming some of its neighbors but Ankara insists it's purely defensive and meant to meet turkey's growing Regional commitments Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul Turkish president Reb Ty erdan recently commissioned turkey's latest state-of-the-art submarine along with a helicopter carrier new frigs and more than a dozen other warships under construction these are part of erwan's drive to make the Turkish navy among Europe's largest s kench is a professor of international relations at kardas University in Istanbul it serves erdogan's political agenda of uh exerting influence overseas from katar to Somalia to Libya so that fits his vision for Navy that means you know a a greater role in uh the defense of the country which is redefined no longer territorial defense but forward defense you know from uh overseas turkey has military bases in Qatar Libya and Somalia with which it has a naval agreement anara says its Naval expansion is part of addressing growing Regional threats and helping meet its NATO commitments M Jan a Turkish presidential advisor is a professor of international relations at Istanbul's ye University when you're looking ongoing picture all the cic points is around the turkey in Black even though in Mediterranean and also Red Red Sea as a result we can say that the Turkish modernization of the Nal forces beneficial for the Neto and security of the West and and and last the security of the oil and also transing the the freedom of the navigation but turkey's growing Naval press is causing concern among its neighbor Greece which has a number of territorial disputes in the aan and Mediterranean Seas Israel too is expressing concern over turkey's Naval expansion and the deployment of military drones or uavs unmanned aerial vehicles in the Turkish controlled north of Cyprus Gia Linden Strauss senior researcher at The Institute for National studies in Tel Aviv I think that some of this greater Navy involvement and the greater uh military involvement in Northern Cyprus this um UAV base in Northern Cyprus some of these things will also be uh directed against Israel and doesn't mean again that there will be direct confrontation but it does mean that it's something that the Israel army has to calculate Greece too is modernizing its Navy citing the Turkish threat Turkish analysts say aner is concerned over Israel's growing Naval presence in the Eastern Mediterranean again sahat kench AAS University it's a vicious circle you know I mean because turkey uh uh built a new Navy in response to those emerging threats now its neighbors are facing threats from turkey's Naval building uh that's what we call arms arms races you know and arms races do not end very well unfortunately Turkish shipyards are working at full capacity to meet the country's growing Naval demands which analysts say will likely only add to its neighbors fears and suspicions over an's intentions Dorian Jones vaa news Istanbul elsewhere in Europe a large section of dresden's Corolla Bridge collapsed into the river El early on Wednesday morning the bridge that is used by pedestrians and cyclists also has an hourly tram service that was fortunately empty at the time according to initial reports no one was injured in the collapse it's still unclear what caused it hundreds of protesters using pipes and chains broke into Mexico's Senate on Tuesday as lawmakers wait a contentious plan to overhaul the country's Judiciary The Invasion forced the Senate to take a temporary recess and relocate Pedro Alvarez is a federal worker in Mexico and one of the protesters he says they are defending the Republic against the party of former president Andre Manuel Lopez obor who he says is trying to gain total control critics and observers say the plan put forward by obor's Moria party could threaten judicial Independence and deal a severe blow to the system of checks and balances despite unrest in recent weeks the plan easily sailed through the lower chamber of Congress last week and passed on to the Senate where Lopez oor's morina party lacked the necessary super majority to approve it until Tuesday when a member of the opposition flipped resulting in the violent protests and finally today floods bring Devastation to a northern Nigeria community and tragically to its local Zoo reuter's David Doyle has more floods in Northeastern Nigeria have killed more than 80% of animals in a large Zoo the facility set on Tuesday deadly animals such as crocodiles and snakes have also been washed into the community the sand Karimi Park Zoo in Borno State added it urged residents to take precautions the zoo which housed an array of wildlife including Lions Buffalo and ostriches was submerged in floods that began when a dam overflowed following heavy rains thousands of people have been [Music] uprooted this woman said her daughter is in hospital and that the only thing she has been left with is the clothes she is currently wearing the disaster has affected other facilities in the state capital meduri including the post office and a teaching Hospital Nigerian president Ban's office said telling people to evacuate the worst hit areas floods in the Northeast last month killed at least 49 people while one in 2022 killed over 600 that's David Doyle of Reuters reporting for [Music] us and that ends today's program there's more vaa coverage 24 hours a day on our website voanews.com and across our social media platforms on behalf of Steve carish and all of us here at vaa thank you so much for listening until tomorrow I'm Lori London [Music] [Music] [Music] for deeper Dives and expert analysis listen to vaa podcasts issues in the news explores the biggest stories every weekend while International Edition keeps you informed every weekday plus with a 5-minute newscast at the top of every hour you're always up to 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