The president of the United States, Joe Biden, and former president Donald Trump faced each other in a tense face-to-face this Thursday in the first televised debate of the 2024 elections, in which the Republican took advantage of his rival’s lapses to dominate the exchanges and impose.
The mutual animosity that both politicians profess was clear at the beginning of the debate, when they did not shake hands when they came out on stage at the CNN studio in Atlanta where the meeting was held.
Biden, at times, He seemed to lose his train of thought. and stumbled at several points, causing what some analysts described as “panic” within the Democratic Party.
Both candidates accused each other of lying on issues ranging from veterans and the border to the state of the U.S. economy and inflation.
Trump He repeatedly attacked Biden for his handling of the economy and his foreign policy record, as well as record numbers of immigrant arrivals.
Biden, for his part, pointed to Trump’s recent criminal conviction and repeated that his rival is “a threat to democracy.”
This is the second time that Biden and Trump will compete for the White House after the Republican lost the 2020 election, although Both have yet to be officially nominated by their respective parties.
After Biden’s poor performance, voices were heard from the Democratic side suggesting that the party should consider presenting another candidate, something that at this point seems highly unlikely.
Unlike previous debates, this debate was held without a live audience and also featured muted microphones for the candidates during the speaking time allotted to their opponent, preventing the chaos that characterized the first Trump-Debate. Biden in 2020.
“Biden against the ropes”
As highlighted by the BBC’s North American editor, Anthony Zurcher, especially in the first part of the debate, due to his lapses and indecisions, Biden was on the ropes in many of the exchanges, in which Topics such as the economy, immigration or the wars in Ukraine and Gaza were discussed.
According to Zurcher, Some of Biden’s answers were confusing and unclear“which will undoubtedly increase the concern of many Americans that he may be too old to be president.”
His aphonia, that made it difficult to understand some of his answers and that those responsible for his campaign attributed to a cold.
“But like a boxer on the ropes, Biden began landing big blows against his opponent in an attempt to turn the tide of the debate,” Zurcher said.
Biden, after recalling Trump’s conviction on charges stemming from an alleged relationship with adult film star Stormy Daniels, said the former president had “the morals of a stray cat.”
“I did not have sexual relations with a porn star,” Trump responded.
Trump also appeared defensive when discussing his response to the January 6, 2021, attack on the Washington Capitol.
But according to Zurcher, on the issue of the economy and immigration –the issues that American voters say in polls are most important to them– Trump was confident and clear in their attacks on Biden’s record, while the president’s rebuttals were less effective.
“I really don’t know what (Biden) said at the end of that sentence, and I don’t think he did either,” Trump joked at one point.
“A clear victory for Trump”
As Stephanie Murphy, a former Democratic congresswoman, told the BBC, there were moments when Joe Biden’s age showed. “It was difficult to understand.”
Murphy believes that, in general, the debate highlighted Biden’s old agewhile the controlled format helped Trump achieve a more measured performance.
For his part, former Republican congressman Rodney Davis said that the debate was “a clear victory for President Trump,” who established himself as the clear favorite.
“Unfortunately for Democrats across America, the format helped President Trump,” Davis said.
The age question
In recent months, many Americans have expressed concerns in polls about Joe Biden’s age and fitness for office, and according to Anthony Zurcher, this debate did not allay those concerns.
“President He came to the debate with a low bar to clear and stumbled. It was flat. He was rambling. It was not clear,” Zurcher said.
“About midway through the debate, the Biden campaign told reporters that the president had been battling a cold, in an attempt to explain his hoarse voice. That may be so, but also it seemed like an excuse“.
When Biden was asked about the age issue in the debate, he briefly mentioned that during the first half of his career he was one of the youngest politicians elected to the US Senate. He then focused on his financial history.
As BBC journalist Courtney Subramanian points out from Atlanta, It is typical for a politician to answer the question he wants rather than the one he is asked.“but Biden has been dogged by concerns about whether he can stay in office for another four years (he would be 86 at the end of a second term).
“The debate was an opportunity to provide a clear and forceful answer on why her age is an advantage and not a vulnerability and, unfortunately, It was a missed opportunity“said Subramanian.
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