Calls for Joe Biden to stand aside after stuttering performance in first US presidential debate
The former and current US president clashed over immigration and the economy, but Joe Biden's halting performance has raised questions about his health.
US President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump held the first televised debate on Thursday night on the 2024 campaign, addressing an electorate that is strongly dissatisfied with their choice in candidates.
Contentious and personal from the beginning, Trump projected confidence and conviction even when getting facts wrong, while Biden at times stumbled and had difficulty finishing off his thoughts.
It was the first time either man had debated since 2020 and was also the first time in history that a sitting president and former president had debated.
The pair clashed on abortion, immigration, foreign policy, inflation and more.
ITV News highlights some of the key takeaways from the heated and sometimes bitter debate that may have lasting consequences with the electorate.
Biden’s age problem only got worse
The most important job on Joe Biden's agenda for the debate was to put to rest voter concern about his age and turn the election into a referendum on Trump.
He failed to do so.
His voice was hoarse and at times unintelligible. Aides told journalists about halfway through the debate that the president was battling through a cold - but for the public, he stumbled.
Biden struggled most when citing statistics and legislation. He rarely raised his voice to hammer home points of interest and missed chances to attack Trump.
His performance is sure to have made Democrats question if handing Biden a second chance at the White House was the right move.
Trump pulls (some of) his punches on Biden
Considering how often Trump aims his attacks at Biden's age, the 78-year-old was fairly restrained during the president's numerous stumbles.
About 20 minutes into the debate, Trump followed a Biden remark with a quick snipe, saying, “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he does either.” His performance was a far cry from 2020, when Trump constantly interrupted Biden and shouted over moderators.
When Biden seemed to become unstuck over a question about the national debt, trying to explain the benefits of raising taxes on the super-rich before losing steam and concluding with the declaration that “we finally beat Medicare,” there was a sense that Trump would pounce.
Trump responded: “Well, he’s right: he did beat Medicare. He beat it to death.”
Questions over Biden’s goal
Besides a voice that failed him and a diminished appearance, it wasn't clear after 90 minutes of debating what Biden's objectives were.
When they met in 2020, Biden put Trump's record under a microscope and offered a hopeful alternative for the country.
While defending his own record he fell deep in the weeds of policy and in attacking Trump he failed to fact check the former president on his lies.
Biden is not the first incumbent to be tripped up by the initial debate. What was presented on Thursday, though, not only failed to quiet concerns about Biden’s capacity to fight on – it left voters with an unclear idea of what he’s fighting for.
Biden’s one-liner offence
In a potential bright spot for Biden, the president highlighted a 2020 report by The Atlantic that Trump had referred to American war dead as “suckers” and “losers.” He invoked his son Beau, who died of brain cancer after a year in Iraq in which he was exposed to toxic fumes.
“My son was not a sucker. You’re a sucker. You’re the loser,” Biden said.
And during a riff about Trump being convicted for trying to cover up having an affair with Stormy Daniels, Biden said, “You have the morals of an alley cat.”
A fight about Israel and Gaza
There is no doubt that Trump would handle the war in Gaza differently than Biden. But how?
“Let Israel finish the job,” he told Biden, the suggestion being that the president has done too much to restrain the Israeli government and its military bombardment of Palestinians in Gaza.
Biden didn’t offer much himself. He talked up America’s close alliance with Israel and made special note that the US is “providing Israel with all the weapons they need and when they need them”.
The president also talked up the ceasefire deal he spoke about a few weeks ago that has yet to materialise.
The next president – be it Biden or Trump – will have a massive job to do in the region.
Trump’s take on foreign policy: Blame Joe
One of the key fights the pair had during the night was foreign policy. Trump claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was "encouraged" by him to invade Ukraine.
While Biden, who called that "malarkey", said that if there had been any "encouraging" it had been done during Trump's four years as president.
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