Debate clash: Harris defends Israel record as Trump says Israel won’t exist without him

Almost an hour into the presidential debate on Tuesday night, debate moderators David Muir and Lindsey Davis asked Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump how they would break through the stalemate and reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Harris answered first, saying, “Let’s understand how we got here. On October 7, Hamas, a terrorist organization, slaughtered 1,200 Israelis, many of them young people, who were simply attending a concert. Women were horribly raped.”

“And so absolutely I said then, I say now, Israel has a right to defend itself. We would,” she said. “How it does so matters, because it is also true, far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed; children, mothers. What we know is that this war must end. It must end immediately.”

The way it will end is we need a ceasefire deal and we need the hostages out, she said, repeating “We will continue to work around the clock.”

Again, similar to her nomination acceptance speech at the DNC, Harris said, “We must chart a course for a two-state solution, and in that solution, there must be security for the Israeli people and Israel and an equal measure for the Palestinians.”

“But the one thing I will assure you always, I will always give Israel the ability to defend itself, in particular, as it relates to Iran and any threat that Iran and its proxies pose to Israel,” Harris said. “But we must have a two-state solution, where we can rebuild Gaza, where the Palestinians have security, self-determination, and the dignity they so rightly deserve.”

When it was Trump’s turn to answer the question on Israel, he began by talking about Russia, saying President Putin would’ve never gone into Ukraine if he were president.

Trump then repeated a claim he made last week when addressing the Republican Jewish Coalition, that Israel would not exist under Harris.

“But when she mentions Israel, all of a sudden, she hates Israel. She wouldn’t even meet with Netanyahu when he went to Congress to make a very important speech. She refused to be there because she was at a sorority party of hers. She went to go to the sorority party,” Trump said. “She hates Israel. If she’s president, I believe that Israel will not exist within two years from now, and I’ve been pretty good at predictions.”

While Harris’s microphone was off, she could be seen mouthing, “Oh, come on,” as Trump said this.

“I hope I’m wrong about that one, she hates Israel,” Trump said. “At the same time, in her own way, she hates the Arab population, because the whole place is going to get blown up. Arabs, Jewish people, Israel, Israel will be gone. It would have never happened. Iran was broke under Donald Trump. Now, Iran has $300 billion because they took off all the sanctions that I had. Iran had no money for Hamas or Hezbollah or any of the 28 different spheres of terror. And they are spheres of terror, horrible terror.”

Trump on Iran

They were broke, now they’re a rich nation, Trump said of Iran, and now what they’re doing is they’re spreading that money around.

“Look at what’s happening with the Houthis and Yemen. Look at what’s going on in the Middle East. This would have never happened,” he said. “I will get that settled and fast, and I’ll get the war with Ukraine and Russia ended if I’m president-elect, I’ll get it done before even becoming president.”

Harris, in a rebuttal, called Trump’s claims untrue.

“I have my entire career and life [been] supporting Israel and the Israeli people. He knows that,” Harris said. “He’s trying to again, divide and distract from the reality, which is very well known that Donald Trump is weak and wrong on national security and foreign policy.”

The debate drew a wide range of reactions circulating through social media.

In the world of Jewish political groups, Harris had much support and favor following the presidential debate.“The VP’s answer on Israel/Gaza was spot on,” Jewish Council for Public Affairs CEO Amy Spitalnick wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“Kamala Harris just reaffirmed her support of Israel & its right to defend itself against Iran & its proxies. She would ‘always give Israel the right to defend itself,’” Jewish Democratic Coalition of America CEO Halie Soifer posted on X.

“Trump did not express any position on Israel. Just empty bluster, anger & lies. That’s it. That’s his policy,” she said.

JDCA said from its official X account, “We just saw why 72% of Jewish voters support Kamala Harris. This debate was the starkest contrast between two candidates in our history. Trump sounded like our crazy uncle. Harris sounded like our next president.”

In contrast, the Republican Jewish Coalition slammed Harris’s debate performance.

“Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have undermined the US-Israel relationship to unprecedented lows. Forcing a two-state solution on Israel now – after October 7 – would be a reward for the terrorists,” RJC posted from its official X account. “She would be a total disaster as Commander in Chief.”

RJCA also commented on Harris’s absence from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress to attend a sorority luncheon: “A total disgrace,” RJC said.

Harris’s running mate, Tim Walz, took to X to voice his support for Harris and make a jab at Trump, writing, “Kamala Harris is used to taking on predators, fraudsters, and corporate stooges. Come to think of it – tonight’s debate is no different.”

On the Republican side, Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, made a post on X claiming that Harris’s presidency would lead to a third world war.

“President Trump is right: what’s in our best interest is for the killing to stop. Kamala Harris’s incompetence will lead us into World War 3,” Vance wrote.