President Biden and former President Donald Trump met in a highly anticipated presidential debate for the 2024 election cycle, hosted by CNN in a 90-minute event on Thursday.
The podiums prepared by the news station were positioned eight feet apart, with CNN moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash directly across from them in the television studio, with no live audience. Both candidates assumed their positions behind their lecterns and started the debate without a handshake as moderators immediately began questioning without opening statements.
Biden's "Raspy" Performance Drawing Most Attention
President Joe Biden made several attempts to challenge Donald Trump during their first debate, with a raspy, hoarse voice with occasional pausing, which was countered with untrue claims about the economy, illegal immigration, and his involvement in the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.
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During one response, Biden seemed to lose his train of thought, shifting from discussing tax policy to health policy, momentarily correcting himself as he finds recalling the name of Medicare difficult, CBC News reported.
Forty-five minutes into the debate, sources familiar with the president's debate preparation revealed that the president had been evaluated by the White House doctor at Camp David due to battling a cold for several days, adding the president tested negative for COVID-19.
Biden prepared for the debate by spending a week at the Camp David presidential retreat. During this time, he introduced cans of water labeled "Dark Brandon's Secret Sauce" on his campaign website, a move seen as a playful response to Trump and his advisors' suggestions of using drugs to enhance his debate performance.
Trump's False Claims on Economy, Immigration, January Riot
Biden responded to concerns about inflation affecting Americans, attributing it to what he inherited from Trump's Administration. While Biden emphasized efforts to rebuild and lower costs, such as reducing insulin prices, Trump defended his economic record, claiming the U.S. had a strong economy under his leadership and criticized Biden's policies.
During questioning about the candidates' economic policies, Trump criticized Biden's record, remarking that America has become a "third world nation" under Biden's presidency, where the United States is no longer respected.
Trump also strongly criticized Biden over the issue of migrants crossing the border illegally, asserting that the U.S. had the "safest border" throughout his presidency. Biden punched back, claiming that only one Al Qaeda terrorist got in and killed three American soldiers. The president asserted that no data supports such assertions and characterized the claims as only exaggerations and falsehoods.
Trump also shifted blame to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for "not doing enough" when a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden, and claimed that the United States was respected globally. Still, since Biden took office, the country has been mocked.
A Disappointing Performance
Biden's delivery throughout the debate attracted more attention afterward than Trump's falsehoods.
Trump's allies promptly claimed victory, while prominent Democrats openly questioned Biden's ability to proceed effectively. David Axelrod, a longtime advisor to former President Barack Obama, commented on CNN immediately after the debate, suggesting that panic had set in regarding Biden's performance.
House Democrats are expressing concern over Biden's debate performance. They had anticipated it would propel him into the summer, but that did not happen.
The president's former White House communications director, Kate Bedingfield, voiced concern live on CNN, describing the debate performance as "really disappointing," emphasizing Biden's failure to show the American people that he had the energy and stamina in push forward.
Van Jones, another Democratic strategist, also commented on CNN, stating Biden did not perform well at all.
Asked about his performance in the debate, Biden told reporters early Friday that he believed they did well but mentioned having a sore throat. When pressed about Democratic concerns regarding his performance and suggestions that he should consider stepping aside, Biden vehemently denied it, asserting, "It's hard to debate a liar," the A.P. News reported.
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