Vice President Harris had a strong night on Tuesday in Philadelphia in a dramatic battle with former President Trump.
During the debate, moderated by ABC News, Ms Harris appeared calm and focused and repeatedly outshone Mr Trump, who at times seemed to fret and sulk, often forcing him onto the defensive.
ABC hosts David Muir and Lindsey Davis were far more aggressive in fact-checking Trump than CNN hosts Jake Tapper and Dana Bash were during the now-infamous debate between Presidents Trump and Biden in June.
Trump's bad night was made even worse when music mogul Taylor Swift endorsed Harris shortly after the debate ended.
“I think she is a poised and talented leader and I believe this country can accomplish so much more if led with calm instead of chaos,” Swift wrote on Instagram.
But even in a debate where Harris seemed to win hands down, each candidate had their good and bad points. Here are some of the biggest ones.
Kamala Harris' best moments
Reproductive Rights
Abortion could become the single biggest political issue for Harris and her party, as Republicans struggle on the issue since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022 as voters rebel against hardline bans.
Harris debated the issue at length and made the point, but Trump's arguments were often off topic and unclear.
“More than 20 states currently have Trump abortion bans in place,” Harris argued, linking Trump to the kind of restrictive policies he wants to distance himself from.
“The government, and certainly Donald Trump, should not be telling women what to do with their bodies,” she added.
January 6th
The storming of the Capitol is another centerpiece of Harris' campaign, a dark day that left more than 100 police officers injured and led to Trump's impeachment and later criminal charges.
But Ms Harris was particularly skilled at speaking about these events in a way that characterized Mr Trump as both authoritarian and deeply anxious.
“Donald Trump has been fired by 81 million Americans, so let me be very clear. And he's obviously having a very hard time accepting that,” Harris said, referring to the approximate number of votes cast for President Biden.
This phrase, which suggests psychological weakness, seems aimed at getting on Trump's nerves.
Harris went on to argue that Trump's attempts to justify his role show he “doesn't have the temperament or ability to not be confused about the facts. This is deeply disturbing, and the American people deserve to be treated better.”
View Trump as selfish
Harris often interwoven her answers on specific topics with her campaign's larger argument that Trump is only looking out for himself.
She opened by telling the audience that Trump would resort to “the same old tactics – a string of lies, complaints and aspersions”.
When it comes to the economy, she said, Trump is “more interested in taking care of himself than he is in taking care of his people.”
When it comes to international affairs, other leaders can “manipulate you with flattery and favoritism,” she said.
Each of these moments intensified her criticism of the former president.
Kamala Harris' worst moments
Fracking and her changing stance
Harris has long been dogged by questions about her credibility.
Those questions have come up again after she abandoned her previous support for a ban on fracking and weakened her support for universal health care and decriminalizing illegal border crossings.
When Davis pressed her about why her values hadn't changed as policies had changed, Harris didn't have a particularly convincing answer.
Instead, she seemed evasive and trying to deflect from the topic, even though she must have known the question was coming.
Gaza
Harris is trying to navigate a tough road on perhaps the most divisive issue within the Democratic Party: Gaza.
The danger with this approach is that it may end up satisfying no one.
She reiterated her position on Tuesday that “Israel has the right to defend its country” but that “too many innocent Palestinians have been killed.”
She said Palestinians should have “equal” security security and “the right to self-determination” with Israelis.
But big questions remain about whether Harris would actually do anything differently on policy than Biden if elected in November.
Donald Trump's best moments
Inflation and the economy
Polls consistently rank the economy as voters' top concern.
Neither Biden nor Harris have fully healed the political wounds caused by inflation hitting record levels in 2022.
President Trump has exaggerated inflation, falsely claiming it reached “21%” when it peaked at an annualized rate of 9.1%.
But Trump has drawn public frustration by discussing the issue, claiming he has “never seen a worse time” and that people are “having a hard time just going out and buying cereal, bacon, eggs, etc.”
More broadly, Trump has argued that he built a strong economy during his presidency only to have it upended by the COVID-19 pandemic — a claim that, despite derision from critics, has some merit.
Ukraine
One of the issues that has caused the deepest divide between Trump and Harris, and between Trump and some Republicans, is the war in Ukraine.
But US aid to Kiev is a divisive issue across American society: A Gallup poll earlier this year found that 36 percent of Americans believe the US is putting too much effort into aiding Ukraine.
Trump claims he just wants to “stop the war,” which may have some appeal to beleaguered Americans who think the money directed at Ukraine would be better spent at home.
“The $250 billion [dollars] “Or worse, because we're not asking the Europeans, who have a lot more to gain from solving this problem than we do,” Trump added.
Donald Trump's worst moments
“They're eating cats.”
Americans have become accustomed to Trump making outlandish claims and can still be taken aback by some of his fantasies, like when he repeated unfounded rumors on Tuesday about migrants eating livestock.
“In Springfield, they're eating dogs, they're eating people who come in there. They're eating cats. They're eating the pets of the people who live there,” he alleged.
Muir said ABC News reached out to the mayor of Springfield, Ohio, who told him there were “no credible reports of specific allegations that pets have been harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”
Trump furthered his position with his counterattack.
“I saw people on TV,” he said, “who were saying my dogs were taken and eaten.”
Harris and Race
President Trump has yet to back away from the careless remarks he made in front of the National Association of Black Journalists in late July.
In doing so, he falsely suggested Harris had recently adopted a black identity.
Asked Tuesday why he thought it was appropriate to speak out about the incident, Trump responded, “I don't think so. I don't care who she is.”
But when pressed further, he added: “All I can say is I read an article that said she's not black, I'll say that. Then I read that she's black, and that's fine.”
This controversy seems to be the rare one that Trump just can't seem to go away.
“Planning Concept”
Perhaps the most substantive damage to Trump came relatively late in the debate, on the issue of health care.
Davis took issue with Trump for promising to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, after nine years of failure to come up with a plan to replace it.
Trump did not provide specifics, but when pressed further by Davis, he made more scathing remarks.
“So it's just yes or no, no plan yet?” she asked the former president.
“I have a plan in mind,” he replied.
The phrase seems fitting for a Democratic attack ad on a subject of great personal concern to millions of Americans.
