Trump vs Kamala Presidential debate 10 takeaways: From historic hand shake to taxes, wars and abortion ban claims

US Presidential contenders Donald Trump and Kamala Harris had a face-off in the first presidential debate hosted by the ABC News on early Wednesday. The two candidates kicked off the debate after a hand-shake, but concluded the debate on a bitter note.   

From Trump's stance on the abortion ban to Harris changing her position on key policies – the Trump Vs Harris debate was head-on, with the two launching scathing attack son each other over a host of issues. While Kamala Harris called Donald Trump an "extreme" and friend of dictators, the Republican branded her a "Marxist" in a bitter televised debate.

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Kamala Harris is the US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate and Donald Trump is a former US President and Republican presidential candidate. The presidential debate took place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, September 11.

Here are top 10 key takeaways from the Trump-Harris Presidential debate:

1. Historic hand shake: Kamala Harris and Donald Trump shook hands at start of US presidential debate, ending an eight-year streak of no handshakes on the presidential debate stage. They, however, left without speaking to each other as they concluded the debate. This also marked the first time Harris and Trump have ever met, ABC news reported.

2. US economy: Beginning her argument, Harris said he has cleaned up 'mess' left by Trump, adding that he "left us with worst unemployment since Great Depression". She targeted Trump, saying he will provide a tax cut for “billionaires and big corporations.”

Meanwhile, Trump called the state of the US economy "a disaster, for the middle class but for every class." He said, “We have inflation that people have never seen before...”

Harris said all prospective start-up business owners will be able to take advantage of the $50,000 tax deduction she’s proposing for new small businesses. She added that Trump’s policies would result in a “Trump sales tax” that would raise prices for middle class families by about $4,000 a year.

3. Project 2025: Trump said he has “nothing to do with Project 2025." He said "I have nothing to do with Project 2025. That’s out there. I haven’t read it. I don’t want to read it, purposely. I’m not going to read it...it makes no difference. I have nothing to do. Everybody knows I’m an open book. Everybody knows what I’m going to do, cut taxes very substantially and create a great economy like I did...".

He said this after Kamala Harris warned of the "dangerous" plans of Project 2025.

4. Abortion: Trump reiterated that he does not support abortion ban. When asked about his changing stance on abortion, Trump claimed some states allow for the killing of an infant after birth. "They have abortion in the ninth month...." He claimed that the previous governor of West Virginia had once said that the baby will be born and we will decide what to do with the baby. In other words, we will execute the baby...Democrats are radial in that".

Harris denied Trump's claims and said he telling a “bunch of lies” on abortion.

5. Marxist: Trump labeled Harris a "Marxist". Harris could be seen laughing as he delivered the remark. “Everything that she believed three years ago and four years ago is out the window. She is going to my philosophy now. In fact, I was going to send her a MAGA hat.” He continued, “She is a Marxist. Everyone knows she is a Marxist. Her father is a Marxist professor in economics. He taught her well.”

6. US Supreme Court on Donald Trump: Vice President Kamala Harris said the US Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that Donald Trump would “essentially be immune from any misconduct” if he enter the White House again. “The court won’t stop him. We know JD Vance [Trump's running mate] is not going to stop him. It’s up to the American people to stop him," she said.

Highlighting Trump's legal battles, Harris said, "I think this is so rich coming from someone who has been prosecuted ... and his next big court appearance is in November at his own criminal sentencing."

7. 'Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking': Donald Trump brought Kamala Harris’ famous ‘I’m speaking’ moment back at her during the debate. As Trump claimed thar Harris supports defunding the police, she could be seen saying his statement was "not true," despite her microphone being muted. But Trump heard her. He then reacted, “I'm talking now. If you don't mind. Please. Does that sound familiar?”

Harris' viral chiding of Mike Pence during their vice presidential debate in 2020 had gone viral back then. "Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking,” she pushed back at the time.

8: Wars in Israel and Ukraine: Kamala Harris addressed the Israel-Hamas war, hostage deal, and ongoing cease-fire negotiations. She said Israel "has right to defend itself," while highlighting that Palestinian militant group Hamas "slaughtered" hundreds of Israelis. "We must have a two state solution," she said. Meanwhile, Trump said Harris “hates Israel".

Speaking on the Russia-Ukraine war, Harris sharply criticized Trump and sai, "Putin would be sitting in Kyiv with his eyes on the rest of Europe, starting with Poland,” Harris warned." She highlighted Trump’s propensity to “give up” in the face of pressure from such leaders, describing Putin as a "dictator and someone who would “eat you for lunch.”

9. Kamala's racial identity: Donald Trump said he "couldn't care less" about Kamala Harris' racial identity. "Whatever she wants to be is okay with me." Meanwhile, Harris said Trump has "consistently over the course of his career attempted to use race to divide the American people."

10. Immigrants 'eating pets': During the debate, Trump claimed rise in crimes in the country and doubled down on the false claim that migrants from Haiti are stealing and eating people's pets in Springfield, Ohio. He said, "In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats...they’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame."

When Trump made the debunked claim about migrants in Ohio eating pets, Harris responded: “What? That is unbelievable.”

Trump Vs Kamala: Closing arguments

Harris: The US Vice-President, in her closing statement, tried to draw contrast between herself and Trump, saying, "I think you've heard tonight two very different visions for our country. One that is focused on the future and the other that is focused on the past.

"I will be a president that will protect our fundamental rights and freedoms, including the right of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government tell her what to do. I’ll tell you, I started my career as a prosecutor. I was the DA, I was an attorney general, United States senator and now vice-president. I only have one client: the people," she said."

Trump: In his closing statement, the former US President took aim at the Biden-Harris administration and said, "We can't sacrifice our country for the sake of bad vision."

"She’s been there for three-and-a-half years. They’ve had three-and-a-half years to fix the border. They’ve had three-and-a-half years to create jobs and all the things we talked about. Why hasn’t she done it? She should leave right now, go down to that beautiful White House, go to the Capitol, get everyone together and do the things you want to do, but you haven’t done it and you won’t do it because you believe in things that the American people don’t believe in," Trump said.