Highlights of the first Biden-Trump debate in 2024: Attacks, stumbling blocks and falsehoods

Trump, 78, had the edge from the start. He appeared powerful and energetic, compared to Biden, 81, who spoke with a hoarse, halting voice and coughed regularly.

Trump accused Biden of expressing himself incoherently, saying at one point: “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said.”

The White House said during the debate that the president was suffering from a cold, while a Democratic strategist who worked on Biden’s 2020 campaign called the situation a “disaster.”

Later in the debate, Biden regained ground by attacking Trump’s character. “The idea that I would apologize to you?” Biden asked incredulously at one point after Trump accused him of mistreating veterans.

“You’re the fool. You’re the loser,” Biden told Trump.

Each claimed the other was a criminal.

“The only person on this stage who is a convicted felon is the man I have in front of me right now,” Biden said, then accused Trump of having sex with porn star Stormy Daniels.

The animosity between the two men was evident from the start, as they eschewed the traditional handshake. Biden frequently referred to Trump as “that guy” and laughed at some of his opponent’s more exaggerated statements.

Sparring about the economy

Both candidates blamed the other for the most important issue for voters: inflation.

In response to the moderators’ first question about rising prices for consumers, Biden accused Trump of leaving him a “terrible” economy.

Trump responded that Biden’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic had been a “disaster” and said inflation would “absolutely kill us.”

He blamed the pandemic for ruining the economy and his chances of re-election. “Everything was great,” he said.

Currently, voters seem to agree more with Trump than with Biden, with polls showing they approve of Trump’s handling of the economy.

Biden’s challenge on Thursday was to make it clear to viewers that it was his administration that pulled the country out of the hole caused by the pandemic.

“When I became president, there was no inflation,” Biden said. “You know why? The economy was in the doldrums.”

Lose the thread

Biden seemed to lose his train of thought when answering a question about the national debt.

Biden, whose voice faltered several times, initially referred to the “billionaires” as “trillionaires” but then corrected himself.

Then, when he argued that the rich should pay more taxes, he seemed unable to finish his sentence. He took a long, awkward pause and then finished his thought in a way that sounded nonsensical.

Tax reform would free up funds to help “strengthen our health care system and make sure that we are able to enable every single person to do what I was able to do with, excuse me, with Covid, with dealing with everything we had to deal with,” Biden said before pausing.

“We finally defeated Medicare,” Biden said, likely referring to Covid-19.

Trump struck.

“He’s right. He beat Medicare. He beat it to death.”

Trump’s promise on abortion

Abortion is an issue that could help Democrats win in November. Trump campaigned on the overturning of Roe vs. Wade during the 2016 election campaign, and as president appointed three Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn the 49-year-old right to abortion.

In response to a question from the moderators, Trump vowed not to go any further if he returned to the White House. There, his administration would have the authority to ban the widely used abortion pill mifepristone.

Overturning Roe is one of Trump’s biggest political weaknesses, but on Thursday the former president claimed everyone was happy with his decision.

“As far as abortion goes, it’s back to the states,” Trump said, claiming the Founding Fathers would have been happy with the end of Roe. “Everyone wanted it brought back.”

That’s not true. Polls have shown strong opposition to overturning Roe, and voters punished Republicans for it in the last election. “The idea that the founders wanted politicians to be the ones making decisions about women’s health is ridiculous,” Biden countered.

In a unanimous decision this month, the Supreme Court secured access to mifepristone, a pill used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the United States last year.

As of Thursday, Trump had not detailed his position on access to the drug, but during the debate he indicated he supported the judges’ decision, saying, “I’m not going to block it.”

Israel-Gaza War

During a discussion of Israel’s war against Hamas, Biden walked a tightrope. The president tried to emphasize his support for Israel after the deadly Oct. 7 attack by Hamas – which the United States and European Union designate as a terrorist group – while also advocating for more restraint in Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip.

Israel’s campaign to eradicate Hamas has created a humanitarian crisis there and divided Democrats, as well as sparking criticism of Biden’s conduct of the war among young voters and progressives who make up a central part of the party’s electoral coalition.

Hamas must not be allowed to continue to exist, Biden said.

Trump said Israel must be given the opportunity to “finish the job.”

“He has become like a Palestinian, but they don’t like him because he is a very bad Palestinian, a weak one,” Trump said.

Biden replied: “I have never heard so much stupidity.”

End the Ukraine war before January

Trump blamed Biden for the war in Ukraine and called on Europe to spend more money to support Kyiv.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “would never have attacked Ukraine” if the United States “had a real president,” Trump said.

Trump again claimed that he could “end” the war if he were re-elected, even before January 20, the day he would be sworn in if he won, but he did not say how he would achieve this.

Trump also called on Biden to put pressure on European allies to spend more to support Ukraine.

When asked whether Russia’s conditions for ending the war were acceptable, Trump said no.

When it was his turn, Biden called Putin a “war criminal,” as he has done several times before. “He has killed thousands and thousands of people,” Biden said, warning that the Russian president will not stop after taking Ukraine.

Trump asked if he will accept the 2024 results

Despite being asked three times, Trump never directly confirmed that he would accept the election results, regardless of who wins.

Trump repeatedly pointed out that he would accept the result “as long as it is a fair, legitimate and good election,” but did not want to answer moderator Dana Bash’s questions with a “yes” or “no.”

These measures came after Trump recently condemned political violence as “completely unacceptable.”

After the moderator asked Trump three times whether he would accept the results of the November election, Biden replied that he doubted Trump would do so “because you’re such a whiner.”

Biden noted that there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election and that several courts had dismissed lawsuits filed by Trump’s campaign.

Golf: Who is better?

The debate also degenerated into an argument about golf skills.

“He can’t hit a ball 50 yards,” Trump said on one of the few occasions when the two men addressed each other directly.

“He challenged me to a golf match. He can’t hit a ball 50 yards.”

Trump’s own vitality is never in question, he boasted, insisting: “I am in as good shape as I was years ago.”

Biden did not want to be outdone in his putting strength and emphasized that he was fully committed on the green.

“I would love to take part in a driving competition,” he said. “When I was vice president, my handicap was reduced to six.”

Trump scoffed.

“A handicap of six?” he snorted. “I saw your swing. I know your swing.”

Reuters, dpa, Agence France-Presse and Associated Press