The debate between President Biden and former President Donald Trump was marked by sharp attacks and questionable claims by Trump, but may be more remembered for a shaky and at times meandering performance by Biden.
Biden struggled with a bad raspy throat and showed his 81 years at several key points in ways that might damage his standing with voters concerned about his age.
The president derided Trump as a “convicted felon” and a “sucker and loser” and said he has the “morals of an alley cat” for his alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump, who mostly kept his cool for most of the 90-minute clash, hit back by saying Biden could face criminal charges himself for mishandling the situation at the southern border.
“He could be a convicted felon as soon as he gets out of office,” Trump said to Biden. “This man is a criminal.”
The former president defended his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, suggesting he never wanted his supporters to violently storm the Capitol.
“I said [to protest] peacefully and patriotically,” said Trump, while also defending the hundreds of attackers who have been convicted in the attack. Biden shook his head in disbelief.
The televised CNN debate, which was the two men’s first meeting in nearly four years, was expected to attract the biggest single audience of the entire campaign up to Election Day in November. A second debate is set for ABC on Sept. 10.
The initial debate came as the two men are locked in a neck-and-neck race for the presidency, with polls showing a virtually deadlocked contest or a narrow lead for Trump.
Trump, 78, came out sharply on illegal immigration, blaming Biden for allowing what he called a flood of migrants across the southern border.
“What’s happened to our country is a shame,” Trump shot at Biden. “What this man has done is absolutely criminal.”
Biden bragged that border crossings have dropped by 40% since he issued an executive order cracking down on the border.
The Democratic incumbent hit his stride a half hour into the debate, slamming Trump as a “sucker and loser” for deriding veterans.
“You said our veterans were suckers and losers,” Biden said, referring to his late son, Beau. “My son was not a sucker or a loser.”
Biden also called out Trump for his conviction in the Manhattan criminal case tied to hush money payments made to Daniels.
Trump, 78, who started out on an uncharacteristic calm and even keel, lashed back at Biden, calling him a liar.
On abortion, Trump defended his controversial record of appointing conservative Supreme Court judges who overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.
Trump claimed most Americans support letting the states decide rules about abortion, even though 60% support abortion rights.
“The states control it: that’s the vote of the people,” Trump said.
But Biden struck back by calling out his Republican allies for imposing ever stricter bans in red states.
“I support Roe v. Wade,” Biden countered. “A doctor should be making that decision.”
The two men also traded barbs about the wars in Ukraine and Israel.
Trump, who has vowed to cut off military aid to Ukraine as it fights off a Russian invasion, said the U.S. shouldn’t be spending billions on a war an ocean away.
“You wanna leave NATO?” Biden asked, as Trump bit his lip. “I’ve never heard so much foolishness.”
Trump time and time again returned to immigration, blaming migrants for taking “millions of Black jobs, millions of Hispanic jobs.”
He also made several false claims about migrants, like claiming that migrants were bankrupting Social Security and Medicare.
Biden was accompanied to the debate by his wife, Jill Biden. Former First Lady Melania Trump broke with tradition by staying home at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
Trump was boosted in Atlanta by a half dozen Republican leaders said to be on the short list to be his vice presidential pick.
In a break from tradition, there was no studio audience and the candidates’ microphones were muted except when it was their turn to speak.
The debate took place nearly three months earlier in the campaign than any other presidential debate, with consequences that are mostly unknown for both campaigns and the electorate.
Trump has long bragged that he would benefit from a side-by-side event with Biden. The White House, on the other hand, wants voters to see the race as a binary choice between the incumbent and Trump, whom they view as a historically unpopular figure.
Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. didn’t win enough support in polls to qualify and hosted an alternative campaign event on social media to counter the debate.