Harris and Trump sparred in the high-stakes showdown.
The first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump turned into a heated matchup that lasted more than 90 minutes.
The night started with a handshake initiated by Harris, but quickly escalated as the vice president bashed Trump over his policies and comments, contending that it was time to "offer is a new generation of leadership for our country."
Trump criticized Harris throughout the debate on topics such as Afghanistan and immigration issues, drawing comparisons between the vice president and President Joe Biden.
With Election Day just eight weeks away, the debate came at a critical point as polls show a neck-and-neck race between the candidates.
From abortion to the economy, Israel and Gaza to fracking, border security to domestic crime, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump offered many plans and claims during the debate tonight.
Trump repeated a false claim that Haitian migrants are eating pets in Ohio, which the city in question has said is false. Harris claimed Trump will sign a national abortion ban if he is re-elected, which he has not said he will do.
Debate fact checker | Fact checking the Trump-Harris debate.
Harris and Trump met for their first presidential debate on Tuesday night. The consequential matchup was hosted by ABC News at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
Read a transcript of what was said in the 90-minute debate here.
Harris and Trump shook hands after they were introduced on stage, ending an eight-year streak of no handshakes on the presidential debate stage.
There are no rules or stipulations requiring a handshake before or after the debate.
The ABC News presidential debate is now underway.
It is a crucial moment for both candidates with exactly eight weeks until Election Day.
Rep. Madeleine Dean, a Democrat who represents Pennsylvania's 4th District in the Philadelphia suburbs, said today's debate is an opportunity for Harris to introduce herself to swing voters outside the political "bubble" who may not have tuned into the campaign earlier, and share her record as a prosecutor, attorney general, senator and now vice president.
"She is an able public servant, and so she has the chance to introduce that part of herself to those who are too busy to actually know all of those granular details," Dean told reporters in the spin room.
The presidential debate is now just 10 minutes away.
Both candidates have arrived in Philadelphia, and their campaign surrogates are already on the ground providing spin and setting expectations for tonight's matchup.
