63% Feel Kamala Trumped Donald

Harris gets under skin of Trump on host of issues including foreign policy, illegal immigration, healthcare

Kamala Harris repeatedly got under the skin of Donald Trump in their first presidential debate, challenging him on foreign policy, economy and abortion as she sought to erase the memory of President Joe Biden's disastrous face-off earlier with the Republican candidate.

"You're not running against Joe Biden. You're running against me," Vice President Harris, who is the Democratic candidate, told the former president, when he criticised the current administration.

The matchup on TV Tuesday night began with a handshake Harris took the initiative walking up to Trump's lectern but later descended into acrimony.

To most viewers of the television debate, Harris came off better. A CNN flash poll said 63 per cent of debate watchers felt the Democratic nominee had outperformed her rival.

On Abortion: There she goes again. It’s a lie. I’m not signing a ban, and there’s no reason to sign a ban because we’ve gotten what everybody wanted. Democrats, Republicans, and everybody else and every legal scholar wanted it to be brought back into the states... the states are voting