SAN ANTONIO – Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will meet in their first debate of this election on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 8 p.m. You can watch the debate on KSAT 12 and all KSAT digital platforms.

Topics of the debate are expected to include a wide variety of topics including the economy, immigration, Project 2025 and likely some personal attacks.

KSAT spoke with Jon Taylor, a political science professor and chair of the Department of Political Science and Geography at UTSA.

The political observer broke down three main topics viewers can anticipate during the Tuesday debate, which is being held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania is expected to be pivotal in the outcome of the election.

Immigration

Immigration is constantly a divisive topic in American politics, especially here in Texas. Since taking office in 2021, President Joe Biden has called on Congress to secure the border. Some actions the administration has taken include:

• Implementing executive actions to bar migrants who cross the border unlawfully from receiving asylum when encounters are high.

• Deploying record numbers of law enforcement personnel, infrastructure, and technology to the Southern border.

• Seizing record amounts of fentanyl at ports of entry.

• Revoking the visas of CEOs and government officials outside the U.S. who profit from migrants entering the U.S. unlawfully.

• Expanding efforts to dismantle human smuggling networks and prosecuting individuals who violate immigration laws.

During the debate, Taylor said he expects Trump to criticize these policies and pin them on Harris.

“(The vice presidents) big thing is actually to work with the party and to do certain policy tasks that are asked of them by the president,” Taylor said.

Harris duties as vice president, as they relate to the border, focus on dealing with the situations of people moving from Central American countries and Mexico to the United States.

When Trump was president, he vowed to build a border wall. That process started under his term, but it is nowhere near completion. In July, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the border wall in Texas will take around 30 years and $20 billion to build.

We can expect both Harris and Trump to attack each other on border policies in their respective administrations.

Economy

Everyone pays attention to the economy. Since the pandemic, the U.S. has seen an increase in inflation and the cost of housing. In 2021 and 2022, inflation skyrocketed and the rate reached as high as 7%. According to the U.S. Inflation Calculator, the annual inflation rate in our country was 2.9% from July 2023 to July 2024, a much healthier figure according to economists like those in the Federal Reserve.

Despite those numbers in 2021, Taylor says Democratic administrations trend higher when it comes to adding jobs to our market, compared to Republican administrations.

“Republicans tend to actually have a worse economy statistically and historically versus Democrats, at least since the 1930s and ‘40s,” Taylor said.

Over the past couple of months, we have seen a downward trend in gas and grocery store prices.

“Some of this pressure is coming from the Biden administration regarding competition and regarding price gouging,” Taylor said.

When it comes to the housing market, Redfin states the median price of a home for July 2024 was $438,837. Comparing rates at the same time in July 2020, home rates were at a median average of $349,000.

In July 2024, there were 1,835,669 homes for sale. Redfin says that is up 19.2% year over year. Additionally, there were 574,901 homes newly listed in July, up 5.3% year over year.

“The average voter is looking at pocketbook issues. They’re looking at, you know, prices — are looking at such things as home mortgages,” Taylor said.

Project 2025

Something that has come to light this year during the election is Project 2025. There are a lot of rumors and speculation circling about what exactly Project 2025 is. Taylor helped break it down.

“Project 2025 essentially parallels what’s called ‘Agenda 47,’ which is the Trump campaign’s agenda for 2025 and beyond,” Taylor said.

Project 2025 was created by The Heritage Foundation. This foundation has created mandates for leadership for Republican and conservative candidates for the past 40 years.

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Personal Attacks

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