Joe Biden and Donald Trump pitted against each other in the first debate of the 2024 presidential campaign.
The format, in which everyone took turns speaking with the other’s microphone muted, was meant to prevent either candidate from leaking out and turning into a shouting match. In fact, it helped to highlight the differences in their performances.
Trump appeared confident, aggressive and self-assured, even if his claims sometimes stretched the truth to breaking points. Biden, on the other hand, was hesitant, occasionally stumbling over his words and briefly appeared frozen less than 10 minutes into the debate.
The only moment when the US president seemed capable of landing a punch was when he lost his temper and attacked Trump and his “wildcat morality”.
After the debate, politicians and commentators raised the idea of replacing Biden with the Democratic presidential candidate.
US partner channel NBC News that “it’s time to talk about an open convention and a new Democratic candidate”.
Another congressman said, “It was like a boxing champion stepping into the ring at the height of his power and throwing in the towel in his corner”, adding that he thought Biden should withdraw from the race.
David Axelrod, a senior adviser to former President Barack Obama, told CNN that “people are shocked by his attitude at the beginning of this debate”. The way his voice sounded. He sounded a little confused.
“There will be a debate about whether he should continue. It is up to him alone to decide whether to continue,” Axelrod added.
some Democrats had called Biden’s debate performance an “absolute disaster”, a “collapse” and a “slow-motion car crash”.
Changing the candidate at this stage of the campaign would be difficult and unprecedented. Unless Biden decides to step down, the delegates to the Democratic Convention would have to revolt, even if they were elected on a promise to nominate the president.
The debate moderators divided the time into several topics, starting with the economy.
President Trump claimed that the United States had “the greatest economy in the history of our country” during his presidency, but that it faltered with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden countered, saying he inherited an “economy in free fall.”
“The pandemic was so poorly managed… the economy collapsed,” he said.
“We had to put things back in order, and that’s exactly what we started to do.”
For much of the debate, President Trump was outspoken, while President Biden seemed hesitant and his voice was hoarse.
On the abortion issue, Biden seemed a little more successful, arguing for the decision to overturn Roe v. Johnson. It was scary to pick up Wade.
“What you did was horrible,” he told Trump.
The former president said it was right for states to decide their own abortion policies.
Next came immigration, which had previously been a trump card for the former president.
Biden was asked about his record.
“The Border Patrol has supported me and supported my position,” he said, addressing Trump.
“During his presidency, he separated babies from their mothers, put them in cages, made sure families were separated,” he said.
Trump responded that “most terrorists are coming to our country right now,” to which Biden said “that’s just not true.”
“There’s no data to back up what he’s saying. Again, he’s exaggerating. He’s lying.”
When asked what he would do to address the crisis, Trump said “we need to get them out,” but did not mention any specific actions.
Regarding Ukraine, Trump was the first to respond, criticizing Biden’s handling of the situation.
“When it comes to Russia and Ukraine, if we had a real president, one that Putin respected, we would never have attacked Ukraine.”
Asked what he thought about President Trump’s remarks, Biden responded:
He warned that if Putin won the war, he would risk attacking other countries, such as Poland or Belarus. But the strength of his argument was undermined by the fact that at one point he appeared to confuse Trump and Putin.
Next came the Middle East, where Biden said the United States “saved Israel,” citing the administration’s continued support and organized defense against Iran’s massive airstrikes.
But President Trump criticized his opponent’s response to the Middle East crisis.
“He has become like a Palestinian, but they don’t like him because he is a very bad Palestinian. He’s a wimp,” he said.
Next came the issue where Biden actually had a chance to land a serious blow: the Capitol riot and the string of criminal cases Trump faces.
A blow or two landed, but that was true throughout the debate – President Trump seemed responsible and sure of his own version of the truth, repeatedly saying he had done nothing wrong and insisting that any action he encouraged was necessary “peacefully and patriotically.”
Biden responded: “He encouraged people to go up to the Capitol.”
“Now he’s saying that if he loses again, he’s going to be a huge whiner, that it’s going to be a disaster basically.”
The only time Trump seemed remotely uncomfortable was when Biden pointed to him, calling him a convicted felon who was recently criminally charged.
“The only convicted felon on this stage is this guy in front of me right now,” he said of the former president.
In one of the debate’s most powerful moments, Biden said, “You have the ethics of a stray cat,” referring to Trump’s alleged sexual relationship with porn star Stormy Daniels.
The debate continued, covering racial inequality, climate change, and other topics. The opioid crisis in the United States has not actually changed much.
Trump – high chin, arrogant and confident. Biden often seemed to show his age, and only came into his own when he was infuriated by what he saw as obvious lies.
When it came to politics, the debate revealed very little substance. Podcaster and analyst Tim Miller tweeted that it was the “worst debate ever.”
The level of debate was evident as both candidates defended their intellectual abilities and discussed golf.
President Trump took aim at Biden, saying the American president “can’t hit a 50-yard ball.”
Biden responded, “I’d love to have a driving contest with him.”
The hour-and-a-half round trip probably did little harm to Trump, but it might have done President Biden some harm.
As one observer pointed out, the problem with Joe Biden and the Democratic Party is that “Trump is very good at lying and Biden is very bad at telling the truth.”