Kamala Harris and Donald Trump spar over fracking, immigration, and race in debate; protesters detained in Center City; Harris visits Philly watch party

The most highly anticipated 90 minutes of the presidential campaign are over and the mics are off — for good.

Harris went on the offensive from the beginning of the night, casting the former president as the extreme candidate and baiting him by talking about issues known to irk him, like supporters leaving his rallies early, world leaders calling him a “disgrace,” and noting the numerous criminal cases against him.

On several occasions, Trump took the bait and lashed out, even with his mic muted (though the moderators turned his mic on nearly every time he interjected).

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Harris reached voters in swing states during the debate Tuesday night by presenting “a strong case for someone who wants to take a new path forward.”

Cooper, the governor of a swing state himself, noted Harris’ answers to questions on reproductive access, a top issue during the 2024 election.

“Donald Trump just came unglued in the answer to whether he would veto or sign an abortion ban,” Cooper said.

Gov. Josh Shapiro says he will not be letting up on the campaign trail for the Harris-Walz ticket anytime soon as Election Day inches closer.

"I'm going to continue to go out and talk about the person I've known for nearly 20 years, a person I think, who is incredibly well-prepared to serve as the 47th president of the United States, someone who's going to be great for Pennsylvania," Shapiro said, then utilizing his catchphrase "GSD," noting that President Joe Biden and Harris have been "great teammates" in "getting stuff done."

Shapiro also believes that Harris can reach undecided and Republican voters and to "keep doing exactly what she's doing" in visiting areas like Wilkes-Barre or Johnstown, towns that Shapiro says are "oftentimes ignored and left behind and forgotten" among national candidates.

Former President Donald Trump unexpectedly walked into the spin room late Tuesday, claiming it was his “best debate yet” and that Vice President Kamala Harris was requesting a second debate “because she lost.”

The impromptu spin room appearance sent a crush of reporters away from the surrogates milling about the room and toward Trump, who was difficult to hear as he walked from one end of the gaggle to the other claiming victory.

“She wants a second debate because she lost,” Trump said. “They immediately called for a second debate because they lost. So we’ll think about that.”

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance said former President Donald Trump “reminded Pennsylvania” that Vice President Kamala Harris wants to ban fracking, a popular Trump campaign talking point especially in their visits to the commonwealth.

Vance accused Harris of “running away from her record” on the topic. Harris has flip-flopped on fracking over the years, originally being in favor of a ban on the oil drilling practice that is a popular industry in Pennsylvania.

But over the years, Harris’ position had shifted and she says she now opposes a ban and has double down on that perspective, including at tonight’s debate.

Few things could compete with the newsworthiness of the first and possibly only presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

Those things include an endorsement from Taylor Swift.

The Pennsylvania-native pop megastar endorsed Harris in an Instagram post shortly after the debate ended.

John McAuley, 36, of Mount Airy would give former President Donald Trump’s debate performance a “B.”

“I’ve seen him do better,” said McAuley, who thought Trump focused too much on the border at the expense of issues that impact everyone, such as the economy.

McAuley, who is Black, thought Trump should’ve stayed true to the comments about Vice President Kamala Harris at the National Association of Black Journalists conference.

Gov. Josh Shapiro lauded Vice President Kamala Harris’ debate performance in the spin room Tuesday night crediting her with reminding Americans of the “chaos” of Donald Trump.

“After Kamala Harris prosecuted the case against Donald Trump tonight, they remember,” Shapiro said. “They remember the chaos. They remember the way he ripped away people's fundamental freedoms, particularly women's freedoms in this country.”

Speaking to a crush of reporters in the Pennsylvania Convention Center beside a skinny blue “SHAPIRO” banner marking his place in the crowd of surrogates, Shapiro argued Trump did little to win over undecided voters.

Immediately after the debate concluded, Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign announced she was game for another round of sparring with former President Donald Trump before the Nov. 5 election.

“That was fun. Let’s do it again in October,” Harris campaign spokesperson Brian Fallon posted on X.

Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon reiterated the invitation.

The debate concluded just before 10:45 p.m. and the candidates left the stage after nearly two hours of tense exchanges.

In closing statements Harris highlighted her policy priorities while Trump went on the attack.

“I intend to be a president for all americans and focus on what we can do over the next 10 and 20 years to build back up our country by investing right now in you the american people,” Harris said.

Moses Oliva, 47, traveled from North Jersey down to Philadelphia because “it’s where the energy is.”

Oliva described the presidential debate as a closer contest than he expected, with Vice President Kamala Harris landing several zingers on former president Donald Trump, his preferred candidate.

“She was giving some really good responses,” Oliva said, commending Harris’ zinger about Trump being “fired by 81 million people.”

President Donald Trump was pressed by the moderators to articulate his plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. But after years of criticizing former President Barack Obama’s signature accomplishment and saying it should be replaced, Trump once again did not provide an alternative. 

“I have concepts of a plan. I'm not president right now,” Trump said, adding that he would only go forward with a new plan if it was more affordable than the Affordable Care Act. 

Trump also falsely stated that as president he begrudgingly “saved” Obamacare after he “inherited” it. 

Vice President Kamala Harris used a question about fighting climate change to tout the record of President Joe Biden's administration on investing in clean energy and the administration’s record on manufacturing jobs.

“I am proud that as vice president over the last four years we have invested $1 trillion dollars in a clean energy economy while we have also increased domestic gas production to historic levels,” Harris said. “We have created over 800,000 new manufacturing jobs while I have been vice president.”

She touted the endorsement of the United Auto Workers and pledged her support for investing in American manufacturing and opening auto plants.

Content creators also attended the Kamala Harris campaign watch party on Cherry Street Pier.

Kenny Screven, a Lehigh Valley-based beauty content creator whose handle is kscreven on social media, and Sophia Schiaroli, an LGBTQ-focused Philly-based influencer whose handle is soso_swag, both said they were collecting lots of content at the event.

“I’ve been making a lot of content,” said Schiaroli, 25. “I had a strategic plan before coming here. Honestly, it hasn't really been working out well, because you never really know what to expect, and you have to be flexible. But I do have some fun ideas pending, and I've started some cool videos on my phone, so I'm excited for that.”

Former President Donald Trump obfuscated when asked why he felt he had the right to question anyone’s race.

“I don’t care what she is,” he said. “I read where she was not Black that she put out, and then I read that she was Black… that’s up to her.”

The line of questioning came from a particularly shocking moment in July when Trump spoke in a panel conversation with three Black women journalists at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention. In the stunning exchange during a panel with three journalists, Trump questioned Harris’ Blackness because of her South Asian heritage.

While debating abortion policy Harris pivoted to fertility treatments.

“Couples who pray and dream of having a family are being denied IVF,” Harris said.

In-vitro fertilization is not currently banned anywhere in the country but women in Alabama briefly struggled to access the treatment after, earlier this year, the state Supreme Court ruled that embryos were children and could not be discarded.

The candidates turned to their usual talking points when asked about the Israel-Hamas war, with Vice President Kamala Harris saying the administration was working “around the clock” to reach a cease-fire deal and former President Donald Trump claiming the Oct. 7 attack on Israel would never have happened if he were president.

Harris said she supports Israel’s “ability to defend itself, in particular as it relates to Iran,” and said that she also wanted to see an “immediate” end to the suffering in Gaza caused by Israel’s invasion.

“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,” she said, later adding that Trump cozies up with dictators.

Andy Meehan, a 60-year-old Bucks County decked out in a MAGA hat and American flag polo, said he would give Donald Trump’s first half debate performance a “B-plus.”

“I don’t think he’s had a shining moment or a real zinger; but he’s been consistent in exposing” Kamala Harris, Meehan said from his front row perch at the Philadelphia Young Republicans watch party at the swanky Kimpton Hotel Monaco.

Meehan said he wished Trump would “simplify” his rhetoric when it comes to economic policy and immigration. He, however, was heartened when Harris asked viewers to attend a Trump rally, shouting “Yay” as soon as the invitation left her lips.

After four hours of largely uneventful pro-Palestine protests, tensions came to a boil between police and protesters.

One individual who wore a horned mask lit a red flare prompting officers to detain him and then a scuffle ensued with police and protesters who demanded to know why they were taking the individual with the flare away. Some protesters threw water at police as police surrounded and outnumbered those who remained off of Fourth and Market Streets.

Soon after protesters began to peel away telling their peers to disperse and avoid arrest.

On the debate stage Tuesday Trump defiantly, and incorrectly, insisted he had won the 2020 election, perpetuating his false claims of voter fraud in Pennsylvania and other swing states.

Trump and his allies have never presented proof of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election and lost dozens of lawsuits they filed seeking to overturn the election in key states.

“That doesn’t matter because we have to solve the problem that we have right now,” Trump said.

ABC debate moderator Linsey Davis asked a question about Vice President Kamala Harris’ changing stances on a number of issues, including fracking.

The line of questioning stems from comparisons between Harris’ 2019 presidential campaign and her 2024 campaign. During a Democratic town hall in 2019, Harris said she opposed fracking. Her campaign has since said she doesn’t support a ban on the practice.

“I made that very clear in 2020,” Harris said. “I will not ban fracking.”

As the candidates sparred over immigration during the early phases of the debate, former President Donald Trump continued to invoke falsehoods, and debate moderators started to push back.

For the second time, Trump referenced false reports that immigrants were eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. ABC News moderator David Muir noted that the Springfield city manager has said there were no such documented cases of that happening.

Cheryl Taylor, a retired nurse from Philadelphia, shook her head and laughed aloud with other women in her row at the Dell Music Center at the exchange. They shouted "Yes! Yes!" when Muir fact-checked Trump's claims.

Former President Donald Trump attempted to create a viral moment by hearkening back to a time Kamala Harris had her own.

When he was discussing her evolving policy positions, Harris pushed back while he was speaking, shaking her head and suggesting he was not telling the truth.

“Wait a minute, I’m talking now,” Trump said. “Does that sound familiar?”

Harris and Trump shared a heated exchange Tuesday over abortion rights and how they would manage the issue after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Trump refused to answer questions about whether he would veto a national abortion ban, but said he believed the 2022 decision rightly returned the issue to the states and falsely claimed Democrats would push for abortions after birth.

“They’re radical, the Democrats are radical in that,” Trump said, referencing a 2019 quote from former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam about delivering an infant and allowing parents to decide what to do.

After an awkward handshake between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, who have never met, the presidential debate in Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center kicked off with the candidates answering a series of questions about the economy.

Touting her middle class upbringing, Harris contrasted herself with Trump and listed several of the economic policies her campaign has rolled out over the last few weeks.

Trump took his initial two minutes to blast President Joe Biden’s administration for American inflation and immigration.

In the first question of the debate, the candidates were asked about the economy. President Donald Trump used the opportunity to pivot to his signature issue of immigration and in his signature style: with falsehoods.

“You look at Springfield, Ohio. You look Aurora in Colorado,” Trump said. “They are taking over towns. They are taking over buildings. They are going in violently. These are the people that she and Biden let into our country.”

Trump appeared to be referencing recent conservative media narratives about immigrants taking over an apartment building in Aurora, Colo., and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. Both claims have been debunked.

U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean (D., Pa.) had a surprise interaction and conversation with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. while she was in the middle of being interviewed by NewsNation anchor Leland Vittert in the spin room.

Kennedy was walking by surrounded by reporters when Vittert called out his name and he stopped and joined Dean's interview.

"Hi, my name is Madeleine Dean. I'm a member of Congress. Your father tragically died on my ninth birthday. I'm an extraordinary fan of your father and your family. I represent suburban Philadelphia," Dean told Kennedy.

Supporters of Kamala Harris gathered in Cherry Street Pier at the official Harris campaign watch party.

The atmosphere was fun and joyful as music filled the air and caterers walked around with trays of smoked salmon, pork, and guacamole hors d'oeuvres, but the mood shifted once the debate began.

Gathered around several projection screens and TVs, attendees were solemn and frustrated as former President Donald Trump began speaking. Once Harris began speaking, the high spirits were back in the air.

At the Philadelphia Young Republicans watch party — where the debate channel of choice is Fox News — jeers of “answer the question!” rang out as Vice President Harris opened her answer about the economy with an anecdote about growing up middle class

When Vice President Kamala Harris mentioned Project 2025, the watch party erupted in boos. And when former president Trump refuted his involvement in the broad sweeping plan constructed by the Heritage Project, the boos turned to whoops.

“I have nothing to do with Project 2025,” said Trump. “I have never read it. I don’t want to read it.”

Usually, Liz Madden doesn’t agree with Donald Trump’s policies. But on Tuesday night, she stood supporting him outside the National Constitution Center.

“There are a lot of parents who can’t adopt because there’s no more babies in this country,” the senior citizen said. “That’s because of abortion.”

Holding a double-sided poster of graphic photos of dismembered babies and featuring text reading “vote Democrat,” Madden came from the suburbs to join 15 protesters from the Pro-life Coalition of Pennsylvania because the mere “idea of abortion drives [her] crazy,” she said.

In front of a big, blue screen with the message "Pennsylvania for Harris Walz," several state politicians and public officials led the crowd at Dell Music Center in pre-debate pep rally.

In the audience of the event — Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker's debate watch party — people waved Harris and Kamala placards. Others read: Do Something.

"All roads to the White House go through Pennsylvania," state Sen. Vincent Hughes of Philadelphia shouted to the audience.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have taken the stage at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia for a high-stakes presidential debate that could be pivotal in determining who wins the White House.

It’s the first debate since President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race following a disastrous performance against Trump in a June debate. It’s also the first-ever debate between presidential candidates who hold their respective positions, as the sitting vice president and a former president.

One more first: Trump and Harris had never met each other before Tuesday.

“I think Trump’s going to do a smackdown,” said Ed Spofford, 34, a staunch Trump support decked out in a Make America Great Again dad hat.

Both he and his friend Rockwell Shortlidge — a self described “pro-choice libertarian” feel that Trump has a clear leg up when it comes to explaining his platform.

“We don’t know anything about what she stands for,” said Shortlidge, 34, who rolled his eyes while pointing out that the Harris campaign only recently released their platform.

As debate time neared and pro-Palestinian protesters marched through Old City, the scene in front the National Constitution Center looked like welcome week on a college campus with sections of Independence Mall offering something for everyone.

Trump supporters draped themselves in American flags, Poets for Peace penned words for passersby, and three men played music for “the people” in between both groups.

Philly resident Ivan Burashnikov, 23, said he wanted to “spread positivity and good music” in what he knew would be a highly polarized environment.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, speaking for former President Donald Trump in the spin room Tuesday night, said he thinks there’s a chance Vice President Harris comes across as too aggressive.

“I think there’s a risk both ways,” Burgum said, asked about concerns Trump may go on the attack and come across as a bully. “I think depending on the tenor of how people…interact with each other, either one of them could come off too aggressive."

Burgum, who briefly ran for the GOP presidential nomination, acknowledged he thought Trump won the last debate “by being very calm and measured.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said that while he hopes Harris is "talking to the hearts and souls of hundreds of millions of Americans," he acknowledged the importance in her speaking to voters in swing states at Tuesday’s debate.

"This is a game of inches in these swing states," Newsom said in the spin room at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Pennsylvania is one of the few major swing states, but voters in Pa. could likely determine the outcome of the election. Both the Harris and Trump campaigns have been focusing their strategies on Pennsylvania, especially in the lead up the debate in Philadelphia. Harris spent the days leading up to the debate in Pittsburgh, while Trump held a town hall with Fox News anchor Sean Hannity in Harrisburg last week.

At the Philadelphia Young Republicans watch party, spirits were high as former Senate candidate and celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz popped in while reporters from Fox Nation taped in the background.

The focus tonight, those at the party said, is not on what former President Donald Trump could do to dissuade voters, but what he could do to reintroduce himself after four years out of office, social media bans, and several criminal convictions.

“This is really an opportunity to remind voters of just the four years of remarkable accomplishments under the Trump administration,” said Jeff Bartos, another former Republican Senate candidate who cited the Abraham accords — a peace treaty between Israel and the United Arab Emirates — as Trump’s crowning achievement.

About 200 protesters converged at City Hall around 7 p.m. and made their way toward the National Constitution Center, calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

Still, a slew of perspectives on how to view the 2024 presidential election were on display.

Dozens of attendees represented the Party for Socialism and Liberation and promoted their candidate for president, while dozens more came to support the Philly Palestine Coalition directly. The latter group has yet to endorse a candidate but among the crowd, many held “Abandon Harris” signs.

Lady Soule has heard nothing from Vice President Kamala Harris that suggests the candidate's position on the war in Gaza would differ from that of President Joe Biden's administration.

So as Soule stood with her family outside City Hall surrounded by pro-Palestinian protesters, the 34 year-old hoisted a sign signaling her frustration:

"Abandon Harris '24," her sign read.

Sen. John Fetterman said he believes Vice President Kamala Harris will carry Pennsylvania, and that fracking isn’t a big policy issue to voters in the state, during an interview on CNN with Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday.

“Fracking is not going to be a defining issue in this election, and I said that exact same thing in 2020,” said Fetterman.

Wearing his signature leisurely style – this time donning a cream-colored hoodie – Fetterman sought to differentiate Harris from her opponent, former President Donald Trump. Calling Trump’s policies depraved, Fetterman emphasized that the stark differences between the two candidates is what matters to voters, rather than nuanced issues like fracking.

With several hours until the debate, around 40 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside City Hall to condemn Israel's war in Gaza and the politicians who support the country's military campaign.

Protesters chanted the familiar "Free, Free Palestine," and held signs with demands such as "Stop the genocide."

Claudia Delacruz, a leader with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, rallied attendees with pleas for the Palestinian children who have died during Israeli airstrikes.

The debate may be unfolding in America’s most coveted swing state but not many surrogates scheduled to stump for Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are from Pennsylvania.

Gov. Josh Shapiro is the lone Pennsylvanian on the lists for both campaigns. He’s slated to stop by the spin room for Harris after dropping into a watch party hosted by the Harris-Walz campaign.

Harris’ other slated spin room stumpers include Govs. Roy Cooper, of North Carolina, Michelle Lujan Grisham, of New Mexico, and Gavin Newsom, of California.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump might be getting ready for the presidential debate, but they are far from the only ones.

CNN anchor Jake Tapper, a Philadelphia native who spoke to Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker earlier Tuesday, strolled down Reading Terminal Market's halls looking for a bite ahead of the action.

Spataro’s sign was off, and Molly Malloy's had an upcoming private event. The lack of options was the price to pay for visiting the market so close to shutdown time. But Tapper persisted in his search, and By George provided.

Anthony Scaramucci, former Trump White House communications director, and Olivia Troye, former national security adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence, stopped by the spin room at the Pennsylvania Convention Center Tuesday to talk with reporters. Serving as surrogates for the Harris campaign, the ex-Trump administration officials have since been outspoken opponents of the former president.

To win over undecided and Republican voters in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, Troye said it comes down to "a vision of what you want for the future of our country" and that "it's important to really understand sort of the extremism of the agenda that Donald Trump proposes."

Troye pointed to the Project 2025 agenda, the creation of which involved many former Trump advisers, but the former president has been trying to distance himself from the conservative manifesto, which calls for extreme changes to the U.S. government, including dismantling the Department of Education.

The second floor of the Convention Center has been transformed into a cavernous hybrid media filing center and spin room about three-quarters of a mile away from the National Constitution Center.

More than 1,000 reporters and surrogates for both campaigns are expected to be here tonight.

The room, outfitted with hundreds of tables and power strips and six huge screens projecting ABC’s live coverage feed, is starting to fill in with more than four hours to go until the debate.

In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper hours before the debate, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker was asked a specific strategy question: Should Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign try to appeal more to Republican women in the suburbs, or conservative Democratic men in rural areas?

Parker called that “narrow-minded” – then showed her focus is squarely on her city.

“All roads to the White House lead through Pennsylvania, and that means Philadelphia,” said Parker, who joined Tapper on set at Independence Mall. “We have to turn out the vote in Philadelphia.”

Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D., Philadelphia and Delaware) hopes that Harris will be able to reach independent voters and anti-Trump Republican voters — groups McClinton says can "absolutely" be swayed to vote for the vice president — during her debate performance tonight.

These two groups of voters "have been wanting a strong option for some time on who they could choose in this election, did not want to see a second Trump presidency, but for a variety of reasons, perhaps, were not excited about supporting President Biden for a reelection," McClinton said.

"I think tonight will be her opportunity to not just be exciting for Democrats, but to help those who had not made up their mind," she added.

A small group of supporters of former President Donald Trump gathered at Max’s Steaks on Germantown Avenue as part of the first stop on the Black Conservative Federation’s Black Voters for Trump Philadelphia bus tour on Tuesday.

Curious passersby stopped by and spoke with U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R, Fl.) and Kwame Kilpatrick, a former Democratic mayor of Detroit whose 28-year sentence was commuted by Trump. (Kilpatrick, now an independent, is campaigning for Trump for the first time this election.)

One passerby, Sharita White, 38, praised the way Trump conducts himself. She said she doesn’t know much about politics, but supports Trump because she was better off when he was in office.

Back in Philadelphia for Tuesday’s presidential debate, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R, Fl.) said that he doesn’t regret the comments he made in June about the Jim Crow era that made waves from Philly to Washington, D.C.

“Who was actually upset was the political elites in Washington, in the Democrat Party, who are trying to find a reason to foment anger and emotions,” Donalds told The Inquirer outside of Max’s Steaks on Germantown Avenue on Tuesday. Donalds visited the cheesesteak spot as part of the Black Conservative Federation’s Black Voters for Trump bus tour through Philly.

In June, Donalds said at an event in Philly: “You see, during Jim Crow, the Black family was together. During Jim Crow, more Black people were not just conservative — Black people have always been conservative-minded — but more Black people voted conservatively.”

It's not going to be hard to find tonight's debate on television.

While ABC is hosting the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, it will also air live on all major broadcast channels (CBS, Fox, NBC, PBS) and cable news networks (C-Span, CNN, MSNBC, Fox Business, Fox News).

It will also be available to stream on a host of so-called “skinny” cable bundles, such as YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV Now, and FuboTV. The debate will also stream on both Disney+ and Hulu.

No stranger to contentious televised debates, Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) said whatever happens tonight, "it will be close."

The Democratic senator weighed in on both the debate and the election overall during an interview Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."

Fetterman called both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump good debaters.

All eastbound lanes on the Ben Franklin Bridge heading into New Jersey are now closed due to tonight's debate, the Delaware River Port Authority announced Tuesday afternoon.

The lanes, which weren't slated to close until after rush hour, will remain closed until after the debate, possibly until Wednesday morning. Travelers should use the Walt Whitman or Betsy Ross Bridges for to travel to New Jersey.

The westbound lanes of the Ben Franklin Bridge into Philadelphia are expected to remain open, but officials said they could close the highway if necessary.

» READ MORE: Presidential debate in Philly: Traffic, road closures ahead of Trump-Harris faceoff

Gov. Josh Shapiro will speak at a Harris-Walz debate watch party in Philly tonight, according to a spokesperson.

After the debate, Shapiro will be in the spin room at the Convention Center, taking questions from reporters and looking to promote Vice President Kamala Harris' performance and contrast it with former President Donald Trump's.

Other Democratic governors expected to be in Philly tonight are Roy Cooper from North Carolina, Gavin Newsom of California, and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico.

Call it the horse race of America, wagers amounting to millions of dollars are trying to predict the outcome of tonight's debate.

As of publication time, bettors on Polymarket — a cryptotrading platform — believe there's a 73% chance that Vice President Kamala Harris will win the debate according to polls.

Other popular bets are banking on what Harris and her opponent, former President Donald Trump, will say during their time on the mic.

City offices within the Center City area closed at noon Tuesday due to increased security, road closures, and other anticipated activity ahead of the presidential debate at the National Constitution Center.

Offices outside the downtown area remain open, and city workers will “be back at their desks” in Center City on Wednesday morning, according to spokesperson Joe Grace.

Certain streets and highways in and around the Constitution Center will also be closed. There will be rolling closures on I-95 and I-676 to and from the Philadelphia International Airport as Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump arrive and leave the city.

It’s been a long wait, but Philly is about to host its second presidential debate, and this time Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald J. Trump are the combatants.

It probably had nothing do with the 48-year interval that was to follow, but that first one back in 1976 didn’t go so well.

The exchanges between Republican President Gerald R. Ford and the Democratic nominee, Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter, at the Walnut Street Theatre produced no memorable moments à la “Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy,” or “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”

One of the most anticipated events of the 2024 presidential election is happening in Philly and local officials say they are prepared for protests.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel said Monday that Philadelphia’s Office of Emergency Management would be activated ahead of Tuesday’s presidential debate at the National Constitution Center, where Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are set to face off at 9 p.m. in their first debate.

State and federal law enforcement, Bethel said, will help the police department secure the area around the event. The area from Fifth Street to Seventh Street, Bethel said, will be closed off to vehicles and pedestrians.

Two Philadelphia public schools will dismiss early Tuesday because of the presidential debate happening in Center City.

McCall Elementary, at 325 S. Seventh St., and Constitution High, at 18 S. Seventh St., are closing at 12:39.

“The City of Philadelphia’s Office of Emergency Management has informed us of road closures that may affect pedestrian pathways, school bus routes, afternoon traffic, and SEPTA services,” spokesperson Christina Clark said in a statement. “To ensure our students' safety and accommodate road closures, modifications to SEPTA services, and anticipated crowd control measures, we believe it is in the best interest of our students, staff, and families at these two schools to dismiss early on this day.”

Philadelphians have always known that our city is the center of the universe. For today and the next 55 days, so will everyone else.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will meet Tuesday night for a debate that’s so historic and potentially pivotal that it’s nearly impossible to fit into one sentence just how unprecedented it is. The presidential nominees are squaring off in what may be their only debate at one of our city’s great prides, the National Constitution Center, which overlooks Independence Hall and the birthplace of American democracy.

It will be a night packed with symbolism, and is just the latest in a string of history-making political events that have taken place here. Both candidates have held rallies in Philadelphia. Their surrogates have effectively camped out in the city and its surrounding counties. Shortly after becoming the unexpected nominee, Harris introduced her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, at Temple University.

Even after Kamala Harris replaced Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee, voters expressed frustration with the political system — a sentiment that’s often especially true for undecided voters, who tend to be moderate or independent.

While both Donald Trump and Harris have served in the White House, they have each tried to present themselves as the candidate who can bring a fresh start. Some of Trump’s campaign signs read “Let’s Save America.” Harris has been vice president for nearly a term, but frequently talks to voters about “fighting for a brighter future.” As both candidates make a pitch that they’re the change the country needs, who will do it more effectively?

“He has to remember that his target audience is a swing persuadable voter,” Reilly said. “This is when the swing voter is focusing in on the race and he has to debunk the Kamala 2.0 movement for them. He needs to remind people, with facts in a calm way, that Harris was there. Harris had a long record prior to being the vice president and as vice president, she supported views of Biden’s which have turned them off.”

ABC News shared a photo Monday night of how the debate stage at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia will look when Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump take the stage tonight.

Preparations were still being completed Monday. Normally, the Commission on Presidential Debates organizes the presidential and vice presidential debates years in advance, but this year Trump and President Joe Biden bypassed the nonpartisan group and agreed on their own debate schedule.

That and uncertainty after Biden dropped out of the race put ABC News in the position of putting the event together within a tight window.

Speaking to reporters after a "Protect the Vote" event in Montgomery County on Monday Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley said former President Donald Trump should focus on the issues such as inflation and national security in Tuesday's debate.

"He needs to say that he is running to represent all Americans, that he is running to unify this country," Whatley said.

Local and national Republicans at the event projected confidence that Trump would perform well. Montgomery County Commissioner Tom DiBello noted that President Joe Biden ultimately exited the race after debating Trump.