Biden, sounding hoarse and tentative at times, stumbled over his words on several occasions during the debate’s first half-hour, while Trump rattled off one attack after another that included several well-worn falsehoods, including claims that migrants have carried out a crime wave and that Democrats support infanticide.
Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican rival Donald Trump traded attacks on issues including abortion, immigration and handling of the economy in the opening minutes of Thursday night’s debate, giving voters a rare chance to see in person the two oldest candidates ever to face off against each other. Another is running for U.S. president.
Trump has repeatedly accused immigrants of driving crime waves and Democrats of supporting child murder.
Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, were under pressure to show mastery of the issues and avoid gaffes as they seek a defining moment in a race that polls have shown to be deadlocked for months. Biden in particular has been dogged by concerns about his age and tact, while Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric and wide-ranging legal challenges leave him vulnerable.
Two White House officials said Biden had a cold.
As the debate continued, Biden seemed to pick up steam and launch more pointed lines of attack. Along the way, he made his first reference to President Trump’s conviction for covering up hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels, calling him a “felon.”
In response, President Trump referred to Biden’s son Hunter’s recent conviction for lying about using drugs to buy a gun.
When asked about the storming of the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters on January 6, 2021, the former president denied responsibility and claimed many of those arrested were innocent. Biden responded by scoffing, saying, “This guy has no sense of American democracy.”
Biden also accused Trump of enabling the federal repeal of abortion rights by appointing conservatives to the Supreme Court, an issue that has dogged Republicans since 2022.
President Trump responded that Biden does not support abortion restrictions and said it is right to return the issue to the states.
President Trump said Biden has failed to secure the southern US border, allowing dozens of criminals into the country.
“I call this Biden’s immigration crime,” he said.
Biden responded, “Once again, he’s exaggerating and lying.”
Studies show that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than people born in the US. The exchange, broadcast on CNN, took place far earlier than any modern presidential debate, more than four months before the Nov. 5 election.
Both candidates appeared without an audience, with their microphones automatically turned off when it was not their turn to speak. Uncharacteristic rules for either candidate, put in place to avoid the chaos that befell the first 2020 debate, were derailed by repeated interruptions by President Trump and Biden.
When the debate began, the two made no secret of their dislike for one another, but neither shook hands or exchanged greetings.
The first question focused on the economy, as polls show Americans are dissatisfied with Biden’s performance despite rising wages and low unemployment.
Biden acknowledged that inflation has made prices much higher than they were at the beginning of his term, but said he deserves credit for “getting things back to normal” after the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Trump claimed he was running “the best economy in the history of our country” before the pandemic hit, and said he was taking steps to prevent a further economic collapse.
A Polarized Nation
The debate came amid deep polarization and deep voter anxiety about the current state of American politics. Nearly four years after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, a Reuters/Ipsos poll in May found that two-thirds of voters said they were worried violence would occur after the election.
Trump took to the stage as a felon with three criminal cases still pending, including one related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The former president, who has relentlessly falsely claimed his loss was the result of election fraud, has suggested he would punish his political opponents if he returns to power, but he will have to convince undecided voters that he is not a mortal threat to democracy, as Biden claims.
Biden’s challenge was to deliver a convincing performance after months of Republicans claiming his skills have dulled with age. National polls show a close race, but Biden trails Trump in most battleground states that traditionally decide the outcome of the presidential election. Just this month, he lost his economic advantage over Trump as his fundraising surged following his criminal conviction for trying to cover up hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels. Neither Biden nor Trump are popular, and many Americans remain deeply ambivalent about their choice. About a fifth of voters say they haven’t decided on a candidate, are leaning toward a third-party candidate or may skip the election, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll.
“They’re terrible candidates,” said Cathy Elder, a 59-year-old sales manager who voted for Trump in 2016 and switched to Biden in 2020.
Elder, who came to watch the debate, said she finds herself paralyzed every time the two men speak, for a variety of reasons.
To Biden, she said, “Can he speed up and actually talk?” she said, “What on earth is going to come out of his mouth?”
Criticizing Trump’s Niece, Mary Trump Campaign officials said her uncle plans to join the Biden campaign in the media spin room after the debate.
Several of Trump’s running mates – North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and U.S. Senators J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio – were in Atlanta to make their case for Trump in a spin room after the debate.
The second and final debate of this year’s campaign is scheduled for September. See a Reuters photo slideshow of past debates: