Ajay Jain Bhutoria, Deputy National Finance Chair of the Democratic Party and Cliston Brown, a political scientist, discuss the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. The discussion with Oneindia's Pankaj Mishra explores key issues, campaign strategies and voter dynamics as both candidates get set for what could be a highly competitive and polarising election. Bhutoria and Brown offer expert insights into the political landscape, shedding light on how the candidates' policies may shape America's future. Watch
#TrumpHarrisDebate #PresidentialDebate2024 #KamalaHarris #DonaldTrump #OpportunityEconomy #CostOfLivingCrisis #Election2024 #USPolitics #DebateHighlights #TrumpVsHarris #PoliticalShowdown #OpeningRemarks
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#TrumpHarrisDebate #PresidentialDebate2024 #KamalaHarris #DonaldTrump #OpportunityEconomy #CostOfLivingCrisis #Election2024 #USPolitics #DebateHighlights #TrumpVsHarris #PoliticalShowdown #OpeningRemarks
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to this special broadcast on One India.
00:03The world has just seen the high voltage debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald
00:12Trump and what a debate, what a way to begin the day within this part of the world.
00:17It has already started the chatter and no doubt the United States too is discussing
00:24everything that has been spoken in the presidential debate that happened.
00:28The second presidential debate, the first one was between Donald Trump and President
00:32Biden.
00:33But now Kamala Harris is in the race and she was the one who took on the mantle to take
00:39on Donald Trump.
00:41Ajay Jain Bhattoria, Deputy National Finance Chair, Democratic Party and Political Strategist
00:45joins us all the way from the United States.
00:48And also, Cliston Brown, Political Scientist is also there with us.
00:52Gentlemen, thank you so much for taking time out this evening.
00:56Thank you for having me.
00:59Cliston, let me begin with you first.
01:02You are a political scientist, obviously a lot of things are happening there in the United
01:05States as we speak in the run up to the elections.
01:08How big an impression do these debates leave on the psyche, on the minds of the voters
01:16in the United States?
01:19I think that typically in what you might call a normal year, they probably don't leave as
01:26much of an impression as people think.
01:28But given the circumstances that have surrounded this year's debates, what with the disastrous
01:34debate for President Biden that played a major role in forcing him from the race, I think
01:39there was a lot more attention on the debate tonight to see how Vice President Harris would
01:44do as she stepped up to the plate to compete against former President Trump.
01:51So I think that it's very likely that it probably had a very wide audience and may
01:57have really gotten some traction for the Vice President.
02:03Polling that has been out today shows that most Americans have an opinion one way or
02:09another about Donald Trump, whereas there are still a number of voters who would like
02:14to hear more about Vice President Harris.
02:17This was sort of her, in my view, her introduction to that share of the electorate that may or
02:23may not be voting for Trump, but want to see what Vice President Harris has to say before
02:29they make up their minds.
02:31So I think that it probably had a much more outsized impact than I think a debate would
02:38normally have under more normal circumstances.
02:41Right.
02:42Ajay, as Cliston puts it, an introduction of Kamala Harris to the voters on a bigger
02:48scale, definitely.
02:49You have been part of AAPI and National Finance Committee member Biden for President 2020
02:55way back in four years ago.
02:58How do you rate this debate, first of all, and secondly, the issues that were taken up?
03:03Whom would you say that had an upper hand, if I may ask?
03:07And Kamala Harris, she maintained her cool.
03:10Let me tell you that.
03:11Absolutely.
03:12I mean, tonight, Vice President Harris commanded the stage on every single issue that matters
03:16to the American people.
03:18Americans show exactly what kind of president Kamala Harris will be, one who offers a new
03:23way forward for the country, who will be a president for all Americans and who will turn
03:27the page once and for all on the darkness and division of Donald Trump.
03:32And she reminded the American people that she is the only candidate in this race ready
03:36to serve as our next commander in chief.
03:39Donald Trump was totally incoherent.
03:41He was angry and rattled.
03:43And it all began when Vice President held him accountable for his record overturning
03:47Roe v. Wade and harming women nationwide.
03:51Trump refused to say he would veto a national abortion ban.
03:54He again said he had no regrets over January 6th.
03:57And in case people missed it, he countered lies he rattled off on the stage.
04:04Trump offered zero plan for everyday needs of Americans to lower down the prices, saying
04:08only he had concepts of a plan for replacing Obamacare.
04:13That's because the only actual plan Trump has is the Project 2025, where he wants to
04:17talk about removing the education department, banning women's right for abortion, and losing
04:26our leadership around the world.
04:28Under the bright lights, the American people got to see the choice they will face at the
04:34ballot box between moving forward with Kamala Harris or going backwards with Trump.
04:39And as Vice President Kamala Harris said, we are not going back.
04:43That's what they saw tonight.
04:44And that they should be see if there's a second debate.
04:47That's what, you know, we'll be seeing a clear choice moving forward, a clear leadership
04:52for the world as the next commander in chief, Vice President Kamala Harris.
04:56Right.
04:57Absolutely, Ajay.
04:58Absolutely.
04:59And to say that I have this hat ready, Madam President.
05:04Okay, Madam President, well, that would be something if it all happens then for the first
05:10time in the history of the United States.
05:11Good wishes to all the contenders there.
05:15Tristan, obviously, a lot was being said, and a lot also goes into the narrative building
05:22exercise.
05:24At the end of the day, do you believe that the people of the United States, the issues
05:29are lots of them?
05:32But what is there for the people of the United States in these elections that really, really
05:38change things on ground?
05:42I think that we are at a time of extreme polarization in this country, which we have not seen in
05:47a very, very long time.
05:49It has become very, very hard to move people off of their partisan preferences and to get
05:55them to consider other options.
05:57I think that we have seen a number of Republicans.
06:01I think Vice President Harris said more than 200 Republican office holders have endorsed
06:07her.
06:08But we've also seen a split in the Republican Party where the large majority of Republicans
06:15are sticking with Donald Trump.
06:17But there is this sliver of Republicans for whom Trump is a bridge too far.
06:22And I think that to that degree, those minds are already made up.
06:29And as far as undecideds go, it's a very small sliver.
06:33So we're talking about perhaps 45% of the electorate locked in to vote for whoever the
06:38Democratic candidate is, perhaps 45% of the electorate locked in to vote for whomever
06:43the Republican candidate is, and they're fighting over this maybe 10% in the middle in seven
06:49key battleground states that will decide the election.
06:53Because we don't decide the elections in the United States based on a popular vote, but
06:56rather on an antiquated electoral college system in which more than 40 of the 50 states,
07:04it's already clear which way they are going to go.
07:06And we are fighting over essentially seven states.
07:09So we're talking about a small number of people in a small number of states that will ultimately
07:13decide this election.
07:15Absolutely.
07:16Ajay, what Cliston mentions is a very thin line.
07:20And he is right when he says that, you know, even in Republicans, the support for Donald
07:27Trump is still to be tested, whether it's 100% or there's some sliver of a fraction
07:32of voices that are not with him, or possibly on a, you know, fence sitters, who knows.
07:40In today's debate, Ajay, Donald Trump tried to play a catch up, what appeared to me, to
07:47be very honest here, whether Kamala Harris can be given the credit for all the work that
07:54has been done in the last four years, or maybe she faces the brickbats remains to be seen,
07:59because Joe Biden was not there as of now in the debate.
08:03But Donald Trump's questions on gun prohibition, his question on fracking, it appeared that
08:12somewhere down the line, Donald Trump was just trying to put Kamala Harris down by these
08:16things.
08:17But eventually, the way she responded that both you and I own guns, and we are not going
08:22to change that, was an answer that I think Donald Trump had no answer to.
08:28Absolutely.
08:29I mean, what happened to Donald Trump, someone shot him was very unfortunate.
08:35But the bullet it was shot by, and the way it was shot was a result of his policies,
08:42allowing no background checks, allowing anybody to go and walk into a store, in some cases
08:49in Walmart or some cases other gun stores, and buy a gun.
08:53And that's why President Biden and Vice President Harris established the first gun control office
08:59in the White House, gun safety office in the White House.
09:02And they're leading to policies where they want more background checks.
09:06We cannot get a driver's license without passing a lot of checks and corrections.
09:10We cannot get, you know, other clearances through airport without clearances.
09:15But we can go, people can go and buy a gun, and then shoot and then say, he was a mentally
09:21mental health issue and blame it on mental health.
09:24So that is what President Biden has been always advocating and Vice President Kamala Harris
09:30is advocating.
09:31It's not taking about gun, but it's like putting safety and security about how people own gun.
09:37Today, we don't need AK-47s and AR-15s and, you know, uncontrolled amount of ammunitions can buy.
09:44Those are not needed.
09:45If you want to go and shoot, you know, for hunting, yes, you should own guns, but not
09:49for killing people.
09:51And that's what they are fighting for.
09:53And Tim Walz and Vice President Harris, they all both own guns.
09:57And that's what they're doing.
09:58But Kamala Harris, to add to that, she's also fighting to bring an opportunity economy and
10:04lower cost for families across the country.
10:07And that's what she talked about, that when everyone has a chance to compete, to succeed,
10:10whether they live in rural areas, small town or big cities, the economy should be growing
10:15and there should be opportunity for everybody.
10:17Right.
10:18Equal distribution of resources also is what she talked about.
10:23Listen, in the order of priority, or possibly in no particular order, what among these four
10:29issues of immigration, abortion, China and Russia, which issue do you think dominates
10:41the proceedings the most?
10:44I think that the two dominant issues are immigration and abortion.
10:48I think that Americans typically have been somewhat disinterested in foreign policy.
10:56It's not that much of a driver of voting behavior.
10:59But I think certainly Vice President Harris's discussion of the abortion issue was particularly
11:06damning to Donald Trump.
11:08I thought that she handled that very, very well.
11:11I think the immigration issue is an issue that traditionally favors Republicans.
11:18And I think that that's always going to be a problem.
11:21But I think that she probably handled that issue as well as she could have as well.
11:26I don't think that she did herself any harm.
11:29Right.
11:30Right.
11:31Ajay, one final question.
11:33I know the day is about to come to a culmination there, a fruition there.
11:40Kamala Harris was cornered at one point of time during the debate when the issue of meeting
11:47with Zelensky came up and the way Donald Trump said that three days after that, the war started.
11:55For this administration, the Democrats rule there in the United States, how big an issue
12:00is the Russia-Ukraine war?
12:03And do you think that it is going to cast a long shadow also on the upcoming elections?
12:10To add to your question and to your previous question, I think it depends on whom you're
12:15asking.
12:16To some people, the economy is an issue so that they can afford the groceries who are
12:20earning the minimum wages.
12:22And to people for South Asians, immigration or green card backlog is an issue.
12:27And others, crime is an issue because of and so on.
12:33So Vice President Kamala Harris has made clear that building up the middle class will be
12:36defining goal of her presidency because she will make it a top priority to bring down
12:40cost and increase economic security for all Americans, as well as security around the
12:45globe.
12:46To your question of supporting Ukraine in a fight with Russia, Vice President Kamala
12:51Harris clearly said that she will continue to lead the NATO and support the NATO and
12:56support Ukraine to defeat and push back on Putin.
13:02As president, she will fight in domestic, she will fight to cut taxes for more than
13:06100 million working middle class Americans while lowering the cost of everyday things
13:11like health care, where President Biden and Vice President Harris has succeeded in lowering
13:16down the insulin and many other 10 drugs cost to, you know, from a few hundred dollars to
13:22$35 or less.
13:23I mean, she will bring together organized labor and workers.
13:27She has also a plan for new startups and businesses giving $50,000 incentives for the first time
13:32$25,000 or credit for a first time home buyer, $6,000 credit for child care.
13:40And she's going to support entrepreneurs and American companies to create good paying jobs
13:44and grow the economy and ensure that America continues to lead the world and handle issues
13:49around bringing an end to, you know, bring peace into the Middle East with Gaza and Israel
13:56and Hamas and also bring peace in Ukraine.
14:00Right.
14:01Kirsten, I mean, I can't help but ask you, how would you rate, how would you rank today's
14:07debate out of 10 for both of them, Harris and Trump?
14:12I think that Vice President Harris, it struck me that she started out perhaps a little nervous
14:18or amped up.
14:19I thought it was kind of a rocky beginning for her, but I thought she recovered very
14:23quickly.
14:24I think that the abortion question really put her back on the right track.
14:27I would say that on a scale of 1 to 10, I would probably give her an 8 with 10 being
14:34good and 1 being terrible.
14:37And I think that Donald Trump started out fairly coherent, even though not particularly
14:43honest.
14:45But I think that when she started needling him about his rallies, it really threw him
14:50for a loop.
14:52And after that, he just went completely over the top.
14:55He was talking about immigrants eating people's pets and all kinds of other absolutely ridiculous
15:02things.
15:03I would say that, you know, the best I could possibly give him would probably be a 3.
15:08And that's if I'm grading very generously.
15:11I thought he was completely unhinged.
15:15And really, some of the commentary I was seeing on X.com, formerly known as Twitter, even
15:21from self-identified Republicans was, this is not a good night for Donald Trump.
15:26And I tend to agree.
15:27I think he did very poorly.
15:30He wasn't able to stay on point.
15:32He started out for a couple of minutes doing all right, and then just get nosedived from
15:37there.
15:38It was outlandish.
15:39Ajay, if this is the beginning, where does it end for Democrats?
15:45The new way forward, where it ends, winning in November.
15:50But we still are underdogs and we'll be fighting to win every vote.
15:55We'll be organizing, organizing and mobilizing and getting out every vote.
16:00As for South Asians, I just released a musical video called Nacho Nacho.
16:07And I will send you the clip to, you know, we love music, Bollywood music, and to bring
16:12together 5 million South Asian voters to vote for Kamala Harris in the battleground states
16:16of Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, North Carolina, Georgia.
16:22And so there's multiple paths Vice President Harris has to win, whether it's a combination
16:27of Sun Belt or Rust Belt states, Pennsylvania is definitely very critical.
16:32And that's what we are going to, next 55 or 54 days, 56 days, we'll continue to organize
16:37and mobilize and win this election.
16:40Gentlemen, thank you so much.
16:42Absolute pleasure talking to you, Ajay, Cliston, thank you so much for taking time out.
16:46And our best wishes out there with you, your family members and your countrymen for choosing
16:51the next president of the United States.