10 Viral Moments From the 2024 Debate Between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris: From Candidates' Handshake to Ex-POTUS' 'Bronzer'

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump met for the first time at their presidential debate on ABC on Tuesday, September 10. The candidates immediately sparked a viral moment when Harris extended her hand to the Republican presidential nominee.

"Kamala Harris," she said. "Let's have a good debate."

Meanwhile, The Apprentice star replied, "Nice to see you. Have fun."

Harris displayed strong body language and used her facial expressions to communicate whenever Trump made comments.

For instance, she smirked and shook her head when the ex-POTUS claimed that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were consuming pets.

"They’re eating the dogs, the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there," said Trump, echoing the since-debunked and baseless internet conspiracy theory.

After the debate, internet users shared their thoughts about Harris' expressions.

One wrote, "Throughout the debate, Kamala Harris wore that unmistakable smirk every time Trump spoke, like she was in on some joke the rest of us weren't. Her expression screamed, 'I know better,' with a dash of 'Bless your heart' energy. It was less about listening and more about silently telling the world she wasn't impressed—like she'd rather be anywhere else than humoring what she seemed to think was an obvious waste of her time."

A second noted, "There hasn’t been one second in this debate that Harris hasn’t had a smirk on her face."

"All HARRIS WAS SMIRK AND LOOK SHAKY BC she's nervous as h---," a third said.

Donald dropped a heated attack and brought up Kamala's father, Donald J. Harris, during the debate.

"She's a Marxist, everyone knows that," he said of Kamala. "When you look at what she's done to our country, when you look at these millions and millions of people that are pouring into our country monthly – I believe it's 21 million, not the 15 that people say."

He added later in the debate, "Her father is a Marxist professor in economics; he taught her well."

Kamala playfully urged viewers to join MAGA rallies when she joked about attendees leaving early "out of exhaustion and boredom."

"And I will tell you, the one thing you will not hear him talk about is you. You will not hear him talk about your needs, your dreams and your desires. And I’ll tell you, I believe you deserve a president who actually puts you first. And I pledge to you that I will," she continued.

Months after the July assassination attempt, Donald began blaming Kamala for being the reason he got "shot in the head."

"This is the one that weaponized, not me," said the 45th U.S. president. "She weaponized. I probably took a bullet to the head because of the things that they say about me. They talk about democracy, I'm a threat."

Donald sustained a minor injury when a bullet grazed his ear during a rally in Butler, Penn.

Donald and Kamala discussed hot-button issues, including inflation and immigration, but their debate over abortion became one of the night's biggest moments.

The VP started sparring with the other candidate by slamming him for appointing three Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade.

"One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government and Donald Trump certainly should not be telling a woman what to do with her body," said Kamala.

Meanwhile, Donald defended the Roe v. Wade overturning, insisting, "I’m not signing a ban and there’s no reason to sign a ban because we’ve gotten what everybody wanted."

The fierce abortion argument's highlight came when Kamala pointed out the cases where women failed to get abortions due to several issues.

"You want to talk about this is what people wanted?" Kamala said. "Pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term, suffering from a miscarriage, being denied care in an emergency room because the health care providers are afraid they might go to jail, and she’s bleeding out in a car in the parking lot – she didn’t want that."

At one point during the debate, Donald claimed the VP "is [Joe] Biden," prompting Kamala to laugh before reminding him: "Clearly, I am not Joe Biden and I am certainly not Donald Trump. And what I do offer is a new generation of leadership for our country."

Kamala reiterated the fact to pivot the focus back on her and her candidacy, telling Donald, "First of all, I think it’s important to remind the former president, you’re not running against Joe Biden. You’re running against me."

Donald generally looked forward as Kamala spoke during the debate, leading viewers to assume his rival successfully triggered him.

One said on X, "Trump will NOT look at his opponent! Weak!!"

A second wrote, "#DonaldTrump won’t even look at #KamalaHarris zero eye contact!!"

"Donald cannot look at her. Whew, shit is mad disrespectful," a third added.

Viewers brutally mocked Donald's face for appearing "a bit too orange" during the presidential debate.

One stated, "Trump is giving us pumpkin foundation what the f is that orange skin complexion #Debate2024."

A second wrote, "Trumps makeup artists did him dirty 😂 why u got white ears and a orange face 😂," while a third added, "Trump in 2024 sporting his yam-colored 'natural' orange face, and a bad dye job that missed a lot of white hair."

A fourth shared, "Donald Trump needs to fire his suntan person. The sides of his face and around his eyes ain't orange like the rest of his face #Debate2024."