President Joe Biden struggled to counter attacks from former President Donald Trump in a heated debate, raising concerns within the Democratic Party as polls show Trump potentially leading for the November election
Biden, 81, struggled to deliver his points effectively. His speech was often rapid and raspy, trailing off as he stumbled over his words and stared open-mouthed. Despite spending the week secluded in preparation, his performance sparked new concerns within the Democratic Party as polls show Trump is tied or ahead for the November election.
This debate was unprecedented as it was the first ever between a sitting president and a former president. Both Biden and Trump, who were each the oldest president when first elected, accused each other of being the worst in history and even argued over their golf swings. They did not shake hands as they walked to their podiums, and their microphones were muted while the other spoke.
Key Moments and Personal Attacks
Biden, reportedly suffering from a cold, hit Trump with rehearsed lines, reminding viewers that Trump could be the first convicted felon in the White House. “You have the morals of an alley cat,” Biden said.
Trump, known for his bombastic style from rallies and reality television, spoke loudly and ran through a list of complaints about Biden’s record. “I’m friends with a lot of people. They cannot believe what happened to the United States of America. We’re no longer respected,” Trump said. He also took advantage of Biden’s faltering delivery, saying, “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either.”
Reactions and Aftermath
Vice President Kamala Harris went into damage-control mode, defending Biden’s record as “extraordinarily strong” but acknowledging concerns about his debate performance. Kate Bedingfield, a former Biden communications director, described the evening as “really disappointing” for the president. A CNN poll found that 67 percent of debate watchers thought Trump had won the event.
Democrats are set to formally name Biden as their candidate in August in Chicago, with little way to change course unless Biden himself withdraws. Biden has sought to counter attacks from Trump about his vigor for the job, but concerns remain within his party.
Personal and Policy Attacks
The debate largely consisted of attacks on each other’s record rather than new policy proposals. In one of the most personal moments, Biden cited accounts that Trump had described soldiers who died in the Normandy landing as “suckers” and defended his own son Beau, who served in Iraq and later died of cancer. “My son was not a loser, was not a sucker. You’re the sucker. You’re the loser,” Biden said.
On foreign policy, Trump accused Biden of not supporting Israel strongly enough against Hamas, while Biden defended his record as the first recent president without soldiers at risk overseas. They also clashed over abortion and immigration, key issues for their respective bases.
Anti-establishment activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was not on stage, as he failed to meet CNN’s threshold of reaching 15 percent in four national polls. Instead, he spent the 90 minutes taking questions on a livestream.
