Candidates Discuss Economy, Climate Crisis, and Immigration.
Atlanta: During their debate on Thursday night, Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican rival Donald Trump exchanged attacks on abortion, immigration, and the economy, giving voters a rare direct comparison of the two oldest presidential candidates in U.S. history.
Biden, who sounded hoarse and tentative at times, stumbled over his words several times in the first half-hour. Trump, meanwhile, delivered numerous attacks, including several false claims, such as accusing migrants of causing a crime wave and alleging that Democrats support infanticide.
Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, faced pressure to demonstrate their command of issues and avoid verbal gaffes, with polls showing the race has been tight for months. Concerns about Biden’s age and sharpness have persisted, while Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric and legal troubles remain significant issues.
Two White House officials said Biden had a cold.
As the debate continued, Biden appeared to find his footing, delivering more focused attack lines. At the halfway point, he called Trump a “felon” for covering up hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump responded by bringing up the recent conviction of Biden’s son, Hunter, for lying about his drug use to buy a gun.
When asked about the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters, Trump refused to accept responsibility and claimed many of those arrested were innocent. Biden responded, “This guy has no sense of American democracy.”
Biden also blamed Trump for enabling the elimination of nationwide abortion rights by appointing conservatives to the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump retorted that Biden wouldn’t support any limits on abortions and said returning the issue to the states was the right course of action.
Trump accused Biden of failing to secure the southern U.S. border, claiming it had allowed scores of criminals into the country. Biden countered, “Once again, he’s exaggerating, he’s lying,” noting that studies show immigrants do not commit crimes at a higher rate than native-born Americans.
The debate, aired on CNN, took place far earlier than any modern presidential debate, more than four months before the November 5 Election Day. The two candidates appeared with no live audience, and their microphones automatically cut off when it wasn’t their turn to speak to avoid the chaos that derailed their first debate in 2020 when Trump repeatedly interrupted Biden.
As the debate began, the two men, who have made little secret of their mutual dislike, did not shake hands or acknowledge each other.
Economy
The first questions focused on the economy. Despite wage growth and low unemployment, polls show Americans are dissatisfied with Biden’s performance. Biden acknowledged that inflation had driven prices higher since the start of his term but said he deserves credit for “putting things back together again” following the coronavirus pandemic. Trump claimed he had overseen “the greatest economy in the history of our country” before the pandemic and said he took action to prevent the economic downturn from worsening.
The debate took place amid deep political polarization and voter anxiety about the state of American politics. A Reuters/Ipsos poll in May showed that two-thirds of voters were concerned about potential violence following the election, nearly four years after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
Trump took the stage facing multiple criminal cases, including his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The former president, who continues to falsely claim his defeat was due to fraud, has suggested he will punish his political enemies if returned to power. Biden’s challenge was to deliver a strong performance amid Republican assertions that his faculties have dulled with age.
National polls show a tied race, but Biden has trailed Trump in polls of key battleground states. This month, Biden lost his financial edge over Trump, whose fundraising surged after his criminal conviction related to the Stormy Daniels case.
Neither Biden nor Trump is particularly popular, and many Americans remain ambivalent about their choices. About a fifth of voters are undecided, leaning toward a third-party candidate, or considering sitting out the election, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll.
“They’re horrible candidates,” said Kathy Elder, a 59-year-old sales manager who voted for Trump in 2016 before switching to Biden in 2020. Elder, who planned to watch the debate, said she cringes whenever they speak for different reasons. “When it comes to Biden,” she said, “Can he speed this up and actually talk?” As for Trump, she said, “What the hell is going to come out of his mouth?”
Trump’s niece Mary Trump, who has been critical of her uncle, joined Biden’s campaign in its media spin room following the debate. Several potential contenders for Trump’s vice presidential pick, including North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and U.S. Senators J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio, traveled to Atlanta to support Trump in the post-debate spin room.
The second and final debate of this year’s campaign is scheduled for September.
