Donald Trump, Kamala Harris clash in fiery presidential debate

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump met for their first - and possibly only - televised debate, a potential game-changer in a presidential race that has already cast the United States into historic upheaval. The Democratic vice president and Republican former president entered the venue in the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Then they shook hands - to the surprise of many - before heading to their podiums.

Harris savaged Trump as "extreme" and the friend of dictators, while the Republican branded her a "Marxist" in a bitter televised debate that poured fuel on an already explosive US presidential election.

Here are the highlights from the live debate moderated by ABC News watched by millions:

Trump says it was his 'best debate ever,' accuses moderators of bias

Donald Trump said his Tuesday showdown with Democrat Kamala Harris was his "best debate ever," and accused the ABC network moderators of working against him.

"I thought that was my best Debate, EVER, especially since it was THREE ON ONE!" Trump posted on social media.

Harris says Putin would 'eat' Trump 'for lunch'

Kamala Harris accused Donald Trump of coddling strongmen like Russia's president, saying the former US leader would "give up" in the face of pressure from Vladimir Putin, who would "eat you for lunch."

"Putin would be sitting in Kyiv with his eyes on the rest of Europe, starting with Poland," Harris said in her presidential debate with Trump, noting "how quickly you would give up for the sake of favor and what you think is a friendship with what is known to be a dictator who would eat you for lunch."

Harris accuses Trump of using race to 'divide' US

Kamala Harris accused Donald Trump of seeking to divide Americans by inflaming racial tensions as the pair locked horns in a high-stakes debate Tuesday.

"I think it's a tragedy that we have someone who wants to be president who has consistently, over the course of his career, attempted to use race to divide the American people," she said.

Trump says 'Israel will be gone' under Harris

Donald Trump accused Kamala Harris of doing little to keep US ally Israel intact, saying Tuesday that under a Harris presidency, Israel would be "gone."

"She hates Israel. If she's president, I believe that Israel will not exist within two years from now," Trump said during the presidential debate. "Israel will be gone."

The Democratic vice president shot back that Trump's accusation of her hating Israel was "absolutely not true," and that she has supported that country throughout her life and career.

Harris says Trump 'sold Us out' to China, hits out at Xi

Harris slammed Trump for not protecting American interests against China, and criticised his public praise for Chinese leader Xi Jinping during the global pandemic.

"Under Donald Trump's presidency, he ended up selling American chips to China to help them improve and modernise their military," Harris said.

"Policy about China should be making sure the United States of America wins the competition for the 21st century," Vice President Harris added, claiming that Trump "sold us out" during his time in office.

Trump says 'probably took a bullet to head' due to opponents' criticisms

Donald Trump said that he "probably took a bullet to the head" because his opponents have criticised him as being a threat to democracy.

"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 to democracy. They're the threat to democracy," Trump said during his televised debate with Democrat rival Kamala Harris, referring to an attempted assassination during a rally in Pennsylvania in July, in which he was wounded in the ear.

Harris to Trump: 'You're not running against Joe Biden'

Kamala Harris reminded her election rival Donald Trump that he was no longer running against Joe Biden, a longstanding nemesis that the Republican frequently still criticizes despite his withdrawal.

"It's important to remind the former president, you're not running against Joe Biden, you're running against me," she said after the Democratic president came up during the prime-time ABC debate.

Trump again refuses to recognise 2020 election loss

Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump refused to recognise his defeat in the 2020 election and the topic turned to his false voter fraud claims.

Trump claimed he was being sarcastic when he appeared to concede defeat recently, adding: "Look, there's so much proof. All you have to do is look at it... I got almost 75 million votes, the most votes any sitting president has ever gotten. I was told if I got 63, which was what I got in 2016, you can't be beaten the election."

Trump says 'I'm talking now' as Harris interjects in debate

Donald Trump chided Kamala Harris for talking over him in their televised debate, in an apparent reference to her own castigation of Trump's former vice president Mike Pence in a previous debate.

"Wait a minute, I'm talking now, if you don't mind, please," Trump said - adding, in a reference to the 2020 showdown: "Does that sound familiar?"

Trump repeats debunked story on migrants 'eating cats'

Donald Trump vilified immigrants, repeating debunked claims that new Haitian arrivals in US state Ohio were "eating the cats" of residents.

"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs - the people that came in - they're eating the cats, they're eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what's happening in our country," Trump said, contradicting the Springfield city manager, who said such accusations had no basis in fact.

Trump telling 'lies' and insults on abortion: Harris

Kamala Harris accused Donald Trump of repeatedly lying over efforts to end federal protections for abortion, saying that the Republican ex-president's policy on reproductive rights was "insulting to the women of America."

"You're going to hear a bunch of lies," Vice President Harris said. "Donald Trump hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v Wade, and they did exactly as he intended."

Harris says people leave Trump rallies from 'exhaustion and boredom'

Kamala Harris said that his rally speeches were so boring that his supporters were getting up and leaving before the end, as she sought to characterise him as self-centered and out of touch.

"You will see during the course of his rallies, he talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter. He will talk about (how) windmills cause cancer," she said during their televised ABC debate.

"And what you will also notice is that people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom. And I will tell you, the one thing you will not hear him talk about is you."

Trump brands Harris a 'Marxist'

Donald Trump falsely claimed Kamala Harris is a "Marxist" as they faced off for the first time during a heated televised.

"She's a Marxist. Everybody knows she's a Marxist. Her father is a Marxist professor in economics, and he taught her well," he said of his Democratic rival.

Harris says has cleaned up 'mess' left by Trump

Kamala Harris said that the Biden administration cleaned up the "mess" left by the Republican former president.

"Donald Trump left us the worst unemployment since the Great Depression... the worst public health epidemic in a century (and) the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War, and what we have done is clean up Donald Trump's mess," Vice President Harris said in one of the first major attacks in the showdown between the two candidates.

Trump says Harris 'copied Biden's plan' for economy

Donald Trump said that his Democratic rival had no economic plans of her own, and had copied President Joe Biden's policies.

"She doesn't have a plan. She copied Biden's plan, and it's like four sentences... four sentences that are just, 'Oh, we'll try and lower taxes.' She doesn't have a plan," he said during the prime-time showdown on ABC.