By: Eric M. Firkel – Olean Star
This week presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris faced off in the first presidential debate since Biden left the race on July 21.
Vice-President Harris, who avoided interviews and unscripted events since obtaining the nomination, generally exceeded lower expectations on Tuesday, goading Trump into exchanges over crowd size and how “big and incredible” his rallies are, while scoring points on the issues of abortion and the Biden Administration’s support of Ukraine.
From “low-energy Jeb” (Bush) and “Lyin’ Ted Cruz”, to “Ron De-sanctimonious”, former President Trump eviscerated every Republican debate challenger since 2016. Trump’s dismantling of Joe Biden on June 27th resulted in Biden quitting the race. Expectations for Trump were high going into Tuesday’s debate against Harris.
Despite Trump’s arguments for peace in Ukraine, his warnings on the danger of nuclear war and touting the economic success of his first administration; the line we will remember from this debate is “in Springfield, they are eating the dogs, the people that came in, they are eating the cats, they are eating the pets of the people who live there.”
Trump was heavily fact-checked by the ABC moderators, while Harris was not. Specifically with respect to her claims that there are no US troops in active combat zones. US troops are currently deployed in Yemen, Libya, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, among other countries. Harris also avoided substantial questioning about her performance as border czar and whether she supports late term abortions.
With this in mind, the Olean Star turned to our local Democratic and Republican Party Chairman to get their reaction on this week’s debate.
MORGAN: HARRIS THE ONLY CANDIDATE READY TO BE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Cattaraugus County Democratic Chairman Austin Morgan, of Freedom, said, “[w]e saw two distinct visions for this country, one with her concern for the American People and another concerned for himself. Trump’s vision is to take us back to the past where we were more divided, more polarized as a country and had no regard for the rule of law, just as Trump has no regard for the rule of law. Harris on the other hand has a vision of what we can be when we come together as a people and celebrate our shared values.”
Morgan noted that Harris did an excellent job defending Biden’s record, saying on the stage it was clear one candidate, Harris, is ready to be President and the other is not. Morgan believes Trump came across as a rude, sexist old man talking down to a woman; while she handled herself brilliantly sharing her vision, hope and dreams for our country.
Morgan said Trump would not defend Ukraine and would allow the genocide in Gaza to continue. Chairman Morgan admitted that he had hoped for a stronger, more complete answer from Harris on Israel’s war on Gaza.
Turning to Cattaraugus County, Morgan believes the key issue is the economy. He noted that Biden and Harris have spent four years cleaning up Trump’s mess. He said Biden has brought down inflation while avoiding a recession and brought our country out of the pandemic better than any other developed country in the world. He said that Biden and Harris have fought for middle and upper middle class people, while another Trump administration will bring us more tax cuts for corporations and billionaires. Morgan said Harris will keep her eye on Main Street, not Wall Street.
HEBERLING: IF YOU LOVE AMERICA AND WANT AMERICA TO SUCCEED YOU WILL VOTE FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP.
Republican Chairman Mark Heberling believed “Trump did a great job, hitting on all his points while on the other hand Harris side stepped and flip flopped so much that she should have scheduled a debate against herself.”
Heberling pointed to Harris’s changing position on hydrofracking oil and gas wells and the Border Wall. He noted these are clear flip flops and pointed to a recent interview with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, where, “Sanders said that Harris is going to do and say what she thinks she has to in order to get elected, and once she wins the election her true colors will come out.”
Herberling said the American public sees through her, that she has not changed and will not change who she is. Kamala Harris, he noted, was the most liberal US Senator before she became VP and it is exactly who she will go back to if elected President.
On foreign policy, Heberling said Harris is projecting her weakness on President Trump. He said, the Biden-Harris foreign policy failed miserably. Herberling said, “[i]t is troubling to think we are three and a half years into this and there were no wars under Trump, there was great respect for Trump and our country all over the world. Leaders from around the world want Trump back and it is scary to think that someone might consider Harris as Commander in chief.
Heberling noted that Harris looked flustered, nervous and shaky while President Trump was composed and focused. He stated, “[t]he moderators did a horrible job interjecting where they shouldn’t have, they should have stayed neutral and the debate would have been much better.” It was very clear to Heberling that the moderators were trying to lead and protect Harris as much as possible.
The GOP Chairman noted, Trump did an amazing job about the Border. “He knocked it out of the park when he said to cancel the debate now, wake up Biden and sign a bill to close the border. Right then and there, Trump showed we can fix a problem affecting every American in the country.”
Heberling agreed with Morgan that the economy is the number one issue for Cattaraugus County; however, that is where their agreement ends. Heberling pointed to the strength of the economy under Trump and how inflation is affecting everyone’s lives today. He noted that he’d spoken to several business owners recently who are scared of what a Harris administration might bring. He also pointed out Harris’s $50,000 tax credit for new small businesses is not a “plan for the economy.”
Heberling summed up the race stating, “[i]n November I am confident that Americans wills see the last four years as a failure and vote for President Trump. What it is really going to come down to is: do you love America? And do you want America to succeed. If you love America you will vote for President Trump. If you do not like America and you want America to fail you will vote for Kamala Harris.”
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In 2016, Trump won Cattaraugus County with 63.80% of the vote to Hillary Clinton’s 29.79%.
In 2020, Trump won with 67.40% to Joe Biden’s 30.36%.
