US Election Debate: Harris and Trump slam each other on economic policies
The first US presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania is underway and has failed to trigger any significant market reaction so far. The debate is conducted and televised by ABC News.
The debate began with the critical question about the economy, inflation and economic policies. Donald Trump said, "we have a terrible economy. We have inflation that is probably the worst in the history. This has been a disaster for people.”
Harris slammed Trump by responding, "Trump left us the worst employment since the great depression. He left us the worst attack on democracy since civil war. The former president intends to implement the detailed and dangerous plan called Project 2025.”
"I have nothing do with Project 2025. Everybody knows I'm an open book and what I'm gonna do," rebuttals Donald Trump.
Donald Trump attacked Kamala Harris and the Biden administration over illegal migration into the US. Trump said: "She is destroying this country. We will become Venezuela on steroids if she becomes president.”
On Middle East conflict between Gaza and Hamas, Trump said the conflict would have "never started" if he were still president. "I will get that settled and fast," he says, adding that the Russia-Ukraine war will also end when he is re-elected.
Harris responded, "This war must end.” "It must end immediately,” she added. Harris goes on to call for a ceasefire, and eventually, a two-state solution to "rebuild Gaza".
Both candidates were asked about foreign policy and the best plan for the economy. Harris said that Americans want a conversation about solutions, "instead of a conversation that's constantly about belittling and name calling".
"Let's turn the page," she added.
Trump responds: "She has a plan to defund the police. She has a plan to confiscate everyone's guns. She has a plan to ban fracking in Pennsylvania and everywhere else."
When Trump was asked about the replacement of the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, Former US President said Obamacare is "not very good today".
"If we come up with something and we are working on things," he added. "We're going to replace it."
Closing statements from the candidates also seemed unimpressive.
Harris noted that “Trump and I have two very different visions for America.” She repeated that she is focused on the future and Trump is focused on the past.
"We're not going back. We can chart a new way forward, she said.
Meanwhile, Trump said “we can't sacrifice our country for the sake of bad vision.” "We're a failing nation. We're a nation that's in serious decline. We're being laughed at all over the world," he said.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump appear to be neck-and-neck, with the latest polls showing Trump leading Harris 48% to 47% nationally.
US Dollar meets fresh supply
The US Dollar has come under fresh selling pressure against its major currency rivals, mainly driven by the USD/JPY slide following BoJ Nagakawa’s comments. The debate seems to have a little to no impact on the FX space. At the time of writing, the US Dollar Index is down 0.19% on the day to trade near 101.45.
US Dollar PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the weakest against the Japanese Yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.17% | -0.10% | -0.51% | -0.06% | -0.07% | 0.03% | -0.28% | |
| EUR | 0.17% | 0.08% | -0.33% | 0.13% | 0.16% | 0.20% | -0.10% | |
| GBP | 0.10% | -0.08% | -0.43% | 0.04% | 0.02% | 0.12% | -0.18% | |
| JPY | 0.51% | 0.33% | 0.43% | 0.48% | 0.45% | 0.53% | 0.24% | |
| CAD | 0.06% | -0.13% | -0.04% | -0.48% | -0.02% | 0.08% | -0.23% | |
| AUD | 0.07% | -0.16% | -0.02% | -0.45% | 0.02% | 0.04% | -0.20% | |
| NZD | -0.03% | -0.20% | -0.12% | -0.53% | -0.08% | -0.04% | -0.30% | |
| CHF | 0.28% | 0.10% | 0.18% | -0.24% | 0.23% | 0.20% | 0.30% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
Author
Dhwani Mehta
FXStreet
Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.
