In the early hours of Friday morning, U.S. President Joe Biden appeared weak, stammering and confused during significant portions of his first televised debate against Republican rival Donald Trump, ahead of their rematch in the upcoming presidential election on November 5.
As in their last face-off four years ago, the debate was marked by numerous taunts and below-the-belt jabs, including references to the conviction of Hunter Biden, the president's son, and Trump's alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels.
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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and US President Joe Biden
(Photo: AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
When asked about the Middle East, Trump repeated claims that "Israel would have never been invaded in a million years by Hamas" terrorists had he been president and attacked Biden for allowing the October 7 attack to happen under his watch.
"He's become like a Palestinian. But they don't like him because he's a very bad Palestinian. He's a weak one," Trump said of Biden.
However, Trump evaded a clear response on whether he supports or opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Meanwhile, Biden touted his cease-fire plan and declared that no one in the world had been a greater supporter of Israel than the United States. "We saved Israel," he said.
Overall, reactions to Biden's debate performance were overwhelmingly negative, with some describing the atmosphere within the Democratic Party as one of panic. Some Democrats are even considering replacing Biden with another candidate, less than five months before the election.
According to a CNN poll released shortly after the debate, there is good reason for Democratic concern: 67% of registered voters believed Trump won the debate, while only 33% thought Biden did.
The debate took place early Friday morning in Atlanta, Georgia, hosted by CNN, and lasted about 100 minutes. To prevent the chaos that characterized the first debate between Biden and Trump in the 2020 election, where they frequently interrupted each other, this event was held without an audience, and each candidate's microphone was muted when it was not their turn to speak.
The result was a more orderly and controlled debate, though the animosity between Biden and Trump was still evident, as they frequently insulted each other. Biden called Trump a "loser" and a "crybaby," while Trump labeled his opponent a "disaster." Contrary to the usual practice in most past debates, the two refrained from shaking hands upon taking the stage.
At the beginning of the debate, Biden was asked about the rise in the cost of living during his term. He responded that Trump had left him with a fragile economy that needed recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, while Trump claimed the U.S. economy under him was "the best economy in history." Biden responded incredulously, "He's the only one who thinks so."
Trump then tried to shift the discussion to the hasty withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan during Biden's first year in office, describing the event as "the most embarrassing day in our country's history."
Just ten minutes into the debate, Biden began to stammer, hesitate and veer off from discussing tax issues to health care. At one point, he made a likely erroneous statement, saying, "We beat Medicare" (a health insurance program led by the Democrats).
Throughout the debate, Biden sounded hoarse, frequently cleared his throat and coughed, and often stammered and mumbled until he found the right words. Biden's team mentioned he had a cold and clarified that a COVID-19 test showed he was not infected with the virus. Biden appeared tired and confused, especially in the early stages of the debate. As it progressed, he became sharper, but even Democratic supporters admitted that he left an overall poor impression.
On the issue of abortions, Trump boasted about securing a conservative majority in the Supreme Court during his term, which led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, allowing each state to determine its own abortion policies. Biden fired back, saying, "What you did was terrible."
The issue of immigration also came up repeatedly, with Trump accusing Biden of allowing young women to be murdered by people he lets into the country.