Harris and Trump attend 9/11 memorial after brutal US election debate

NEW YORK – Ms Kamala Harris and Donald Trump shook hands on Sept 11 at New York’s 9/11 memorial to mark the anniversary of the attacks, briefly putting politics aside hours after they clashed in a fiery presidential debate.

The solemn display of unity was a stark contrast to the scenes from the previous evening, when the Democratic Vice-President forced the rattled Republican former president onto the defensive in

a bruising encounter in front of tens of millions of viewers.

Any sense of harmony from the commemoration of the 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks is likely to be short-lived, with the election still on a knife-edge with just two months to go, despite polls showing a crushing debate win for Ms Harris.

The 78-year-old Trump came out swinging even before the ceremony, claiming in an interview with Fox News – without evidence – that the ABC News debate in Philadelphia was “rigged” against him.

“It was a rigged deal, as I assumed it would be, because when you looked at the fact that they were correcting everything and not correcting with her,” he complained, referring to pushback from the moderators to some of his more brazenly false statements.

The debate was watched by 67 million Americans, according to final figures from ratings agency Nielsen – way up from the 51.3 million who watched the catastrophic performance in June that forced President Joe Biden out of the race.

Trump later appeared to reject the Harris campaign’s call for a second debate, comparing the 59-year-old Harris to a beaten boxer demanding another chance, and saying on social media: “Why would I do a rematch?”

‘Stand in solidarity’

The rivals kept their animosity hidden at the Ground Zero memorial, however, in an extraordinary encounter that also included President Biden, who dropped out of the race in July.

Mr Biden, 81, looked on as Ms Harris and Trump shared their second handshake in the space of a few hours – having also shaken hands at the start of the debate in an unexpected move prompted by Ms Harris.

It also marked just the second time Trump and Ms Harris have ever met in person, with their first encounter coming at the debate in Pennsylvania. Trump passed up an earlier opportunity when he refused to attend Mr Biden’s 2021 inauguration, as Trump had made false claims he had won the 2020 election.

Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared to initiate the greeting in New York, touching Ms Harris on the arm to get her attention before she and Trump shook hands and exchanged a few words.

Wearing commemorative blue ribbons, they all then watched as the names of the almost 3,000 victims of the attacks on the Twin Towers were read out.

“We stand in solidarity with their families and loved ones. We also honour the extraordinary heroism on display that fateful day by ordinary Americans helping their fellow Americans,” Ms Harris said in a statement.

Ms Harris and Mr Biden – who have appeared several times together at political events since the President bowed out following

a disastrous debate against Trump

– headed later to the site in Pennsylvania where a hijacked plane crashed on 9/11. A third was flown into the Pentagon outside Washington.

‘Largely whiffed’

The solemn atmosphere could not have been more different from the Sept 10 night-time debate, the biggest night so far of the shortest and possibly most dramatic election campaign in modern US history.

Both candidates declared victory, but it was former prosecutor Harris who landed blows on issues, including abortion, and repeatedly managed to bait convicted felon Trump into angry remarks on past grievances.

Trump also boosted a debunked claim about migrants eating pet cats and dogs in Ohio, earning a correction from the ABC moderator.

A CNN snap poll said Harris performed better than Trump by 63 per cent to 37 per cent, while a YouGov poll said Ms Harris laid out a clearer plan by 43 per cent to 32 per cent.

US media and commentators broadly agreed that Ms Harris had come out on top – but that it may not move the dial much in a deeply polarised and entrenched electorate.

Republican strategist Liam Donovan said Trump “largely whiffed” in his efforts to tie his opponent to Mr Biden. “It will surely boost morale at a time when Democrats are getting anxious,” he told AFP.

Ms Harris got another boost with US pop megastar Taylor Swift offering her backing minutes after the debate. Trump said Swift would “probably pay a price for it in the marketplace”.

But the race remains neck and neck going into the final stretch, and America’s first female, black and South Asian vice-president insists she is the underdog.

Ms Harris heads on Sept 12 to North Carolina and Trump is due onstage in Arizona, two of the half-dozen swing states expected to decide the election. AFP