Abortion To Afghanistan — Key Takeaways From Harris-Trump Presidential Debate

(Bloomberg) -- Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris sparred for more than 90 minutes Tuesday in a head-to-head matchup that ended with prediction markets showing positive signs for the vice president. 

The two candidates, meeting for the first time, battled on issues ranging from abortion to Afghanistan just as early voting is set to get underway in several key states. 

Here are the key takeaways:

Trump declared it “my best debate ever,” but felt the need to defend his performance by taking the unusual step of meeting with reporters after the debate. He appeared on Fox News with Sean Hannity in the spin room and criticized the ABC News moderators as being biased against him.

Markets sent strong signals that the debate helped Harris’ odds of winning. Tuesday’s event began with the candidates getting near-even odds in the PredictIt market, and ended with a 7-point spread in Harris’ direction. Bitcoin, which had been bullish on a Trump win helping boost digital assets, slid 1%. And a number of Asian companies developing fertility and abortion drugs rose as the debate unfolded.

Abortion provided some of the most dramatic moments of the debate, with the two candidates talking over each other despite rules requiring microphones to be muted when one candidate is speaking. Trump declined to say whether he would veto a national abortion ban, while Harris refuted Trump’s claims that a return to Roe v. Wade abortion protections would result in unrestricted third-trimester abortions.

Trump began the debate with attacks on Harris’ record, but was increasingly on the defensive as the debate continued. Harris landed a series of blows that Trump struggled to parry. She called his tariff plans a national “sales tax.” She derided his past history on race, his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol, and his coziness with authoritarian leaders.

Harris defended her reversals on fracking, gun buy-back programs, decriminalizing border crossings and ending private health insurance. Trump attacked her for the US border crisis and argued wars have broken out because of Biden and Harris’ weak leadership.

The debate was the only head-to-head encounter scheduled in the campaign, but both sides expressed a desire to hold another debate before the Nov. 5 election. Trump said he would consider having another debate if it was on “a fair network,” and complained about the ABC moderators.