By Randall Yip, Executive Editor
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump faced off face to face for the first time Tuesday night, presenting a clear contrast of visions for this country.
Neither broke new ground, but for Harris it was a chance to introduce herself to voters- many who in recent polls said they didn’t know enough about her.
For Trump it was a chance to slow the momentum Harris took from the Democratic Convention last month and to paint Harris as a “San Francisco liberal.” At one point, he went as far as calling Harris a “Marxist.”
Trump repeated many of the exaggerated claims he’s known for- calling the “millions and millions” crossing into the country from the southern border criminals, rapists and murderers.
At one point, he accused immigrants in Springfield, OH of eating the dogs and cats of their neighbors. Debate moderator of ABC News pointed out that the city manager of Springfield has said there’s no evidence that this is taking place.
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Trump called the Affordable Care Act too expensive, but said he would only replace it if he could come up with a better plan. When asked if he had a plan, he could only say he “has concepts” saying he is not yet president.
Vice President Kamala Harris praised the “late great senator” John McCain for refusing to vote to rescind Obamacare during Trump’s presidency. She said her plan for the economy uplifts the middle class and that she is the only candidate who understand the pains and struggles of the middle class to make ends meet.
She defended the evolution of her positions over time. In her first run for president in 2019, she said she wanted to do away with private health insurance as a way to implement Medicare for all. She has since backed off from that position and says she has been consistent in her values throughout her career in politics.
She blamed Trump for the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe V Wade saying he appointed three Supreme Court justices with the purpose of overturning that landmark decision. On the other hand, Trump said he did what the American people want, turn the power over to the states to decide the issue.
Trump tried to blame Harris for some of President Biden’s policies, prompting Harris to say “You’re not running against Joe Biden. You’re running against me.”
Republican California Assemblyman Tri Ta who represents much of Little Saigon in Southern California (R- Orange County) gave Trump high marks.
“This debate can be summed up by Trump offering common sense solutions while Kamala Harris presented unrealistic promises,” he wrote in an email to AsAmNews.
He is the only Republican who responded to requests from AsAmNews for reaction to the debate.
By contrast, the Democrats held a news conference specifically for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander media.
A half dozen politicians from the national to the state level joined in addition to representatives from groups ranging from Muslim Women for Harris, Chinese Americans for Harris and Southeast Asians for Harris.
“We are more than represented (by Harris/Walz) “We are at the table,” said Rep Jill Tokuda (D-HI) to the question from AsAmNews. “That the issues and concerns of our people, our struggles and opportunities, our issues and concerns are recognized.”
On a national level, the Democrats have clearly made an effort to outreach to the AANHPI community, although it has been criticized along with the Republicans for not reaching out to voters.
A survey by AAPI Data released in July found that 42% of Asian American voters have not been contacted by either party, including half who said they had not been contacted by Democrats and 57% indicating they had not been contacted by Republicans.
While there is much work to be done by both parties, former Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of the United States Department of Homeland Security John Tien (2021-2023) called the Democratic Party the big tent party.
“She (Harris) cares about the big tent. She cares about all of Americans. The way the Republicans think of this, they really don’t think of all Americans. They have a particular segment in mind and that’s who their base is and effectively that’s who Donald Trump was talking to tonight,” said Tien.
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