What Trump said to Kamala Harris as she walked over to shake his hand in debate opening that set the internet alight

As Kamala Harris and Donald Trump took the statement signifier Tuesday nighttime the vice president took a nonstop way consecutive to the erstwhile president with an outreached limb and awkward introduction. 

'Kamala Harris,' the vice president said, arsenic though her hostile had nary thought what her sanction was. 'Let's person a bully debate.' 

'Nice to spot you,' Trump responded, 'have fun.' 

It was the archetypal handshake astatine a statesmanlike statement since Hillary Clinton and Trump's archetypal statement successful 2016. 

Though the 2 had not met, surely the three-time statesmanlike campaigner knew what the sitting VP and his superior rival's name, 1 he's said hundreds of times.

Regardless the erstwhile president's allies and those of Harris could not judge what they saw.

'Did she truly conscionable accidental 'Kamala Harris?'' Trump's VP nominee J.D. Vance posted connected X successful absorption to the awkward meeting.

Conservative commentator Megyn Kelly likewise posted: ''I'm Kamala Harris.' Attempt to beryllium the nonrecreational 1 but really seems foolish.''

One X idiosyncratic posted: 'Gonna spell down arsenic the astir awkward handshake successful history.' 

'Trump went consecutive to his podium whereas Harris crossed the signifier to shingle his manus and present herself,' different wrote. 'Quite the metaphor for the quality of these 2 candidates.'

Some supporters of Harris believed her pursuit of the handshake was a powerfulness move.  

'Yeah...did not look similar helium had immoderate volition to shingle VP Harris' hand...but she forced his manus (sorry had to accidental it),' different X idiosyncratic said. 

'Trump didn’t adjacent privation to shingle Kamala’s manus earlier the statement started,' yet different idiosyncratic posted. 'The foolery is starting already.'

'Donald Trump wasn’t going to shingle Kamala Harris’s hand. She forced him to. Dominance. Love it,' wrote Harris state Shannon Watts. 

'Showing that Kamala Harris is simply a decent idiosyncratic and Trump is simply a rude nepo baby,' different idiosyncratic said. 

But contempt the seemingly lukewarm greeting, things got testy rapidly and the 2 began attacking each different connected argumentation and governmental positioning.

‘She’s a Marxist. Everyone knows she’s a Marxist. Her father’s a Marxist prof successful economics. He taught her well,’ Trump said. 

Her mic didn’t let a response, but the VP enactment her manus connected her chin with a look of disbelief.

That came aft Trump deed her for flip-flopping. 

‘Everything that she believed 3 years agone and 4 years agone is retired the window,’ helium said, adding ‘In information I was going to nonstop her a MAGA hat.’

Harris blasted Trump for his tweet aboriginal successful the pandemic thanking Chinese President Xi Jinping. ‘He really thanked President Xi for what helium did during covid,’ she said.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris started disconnected their statement by arguing implicit the economy.

Harris repeated what she has said galore times connected the stump, talking accelerated arsenic she got to talk archetypal successful the debate.

‘I americium really the lone idiosyncratic connected this signifier who has a program that is astir lifting up the mediate people and moving radical of America. I judge successful the ambition, the aspirations, the dreams of the American people. And that is wherefore I ideate and person really a program to physique what I telephone an accidental economy,’ she said.

Trump hammered her for her and Joe Biden's stewardship of the economy, noting the record-high ostentation during their administration.

‘She doesn't person a plan,' helium said of Harris. 'She copied Biden's plan. And it's similar 4 sentences, similar “Run spot run.”’