U.S. President Joe Biden and his Republican rival, Donald Trump, took the stage Thursday evening for a debate that offered an unparalleled opportunity to define their unpopular presidential rematch.
The debate provided Biden, the 81-year-old Democratic incumbent, the chance to reassure voters that he’s capable of guiding the U.S. through a host of challenges as he moved to sharpen the choice voters will face in November. Trump, 78, had the opening to try to move past his felony conviction in New York and convince an audience of tens of millions that he is temperamentally suited to return to the Oval Office.
Trump and Biden entered the night facing stiff headwinds, including a public weary of the tumult of partisan politics and broadly dissatisfied with both, according to polling. But the debate highlights how they have sharply different visions on virtually every core issue — abortion, the economy and foreign policy — and deep hostility toward each other.
The two candidates strode on stage and walked directly to their lecterns, avoiding a handshake.
Biden, sounding hoarse and tentative at times, stumbled over his words on occasion, while Trump rattled off one attack after another that included several well-worn falsehoods.
Inflation and economy
The first question went to Biden, pressed to defend rising inflation since he took office.
Biden acknowledged that inflation had driven prices substantially higher than at the start of his term but said he deserves credit for putting “things back together again” following the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump asserted that he had overseen “the greatest economy in the history of our country” before the pandemic struck and said he took action to prevent the economic free fall from deepening even further.
Abortion
Biden blamed Donald Trump during the debate for the deluge of state abortion restrictions since the fall of Roe v. Wade. As president, Trump appointed three justices to the U.S. Supreme Court who helped form the majority that overturned the constitutional right to abortion — and he has taken credit for that during his campaign.
Highlighting Trump’s connection to the overturning of Roe v. Wade and its impact on pregnant people across the U.S. has become a cornerstone of Biden’s campaign. Biden has also warned that a second Trump term could lead to nationwide abortion restrictions.
Trump said on the debate stage that he believes in abortion ban exceptions “for rape, incest and the life of the mother,” and repeated his catchall states-rights response when abortion rights came up, touting that he returned the abortion question to individual states after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which once granted a federal right to abortion.
Immigration
Trump said Biden had failed to secure the southern U.S. border, ushering in scores of criminals.
“I call it Biden migrant crime,” he said.
In response, Biden said, “Once again, he’s exaggerating, he’s lying.”
Studies show immigrants do not commit crimes at a higher rate than native-born Americans.
As expected, Trump also leaned heavily on discussing migrant crime. He also said migrants are coming into the U.S. illegally from “mental institutions” and “insane asylums.” He has not provided evidence for that claim, which he has frequently made at rallies. Trump also said he had the “safest border border in history” — a highly questionably claim and a familiar talking point.
Biden has stuck to his talking points on immigration, highlighting 40 per cent drop in arrests for illegal immigration since issuing an executive order suspending asylum.
War in Ukraine
Trump suggested Russia never would have attacked Ukraine if he had been in office.
“If we had a real president, a president that knew that was respected by Putin, he would have never he would have never invaded Ukraine,” he said.
Trump has a long history of positive comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s toughness, including calling Putin’s tactics in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine “genius” and “very savvy.” Trump expresses no such warmth for Ukraine or Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, most recently calling him a “salesman” this month for the Ukrainian leader’s military aid requests to the United States.
“This place, the whole world, is blowing up under him,” Trump said of Biden.
“I never heard so much malarkey in my whole life,” Biden retorted.
NATO
Biden pushed back at Trump bragging about pushing European allies to put more money into defence.
“This is a guy who wants to pull out of NATO,” Biden said, adding that he “got 50 other nations” to support Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.
Biden forcefully responded to Trump’s NATO comments, saying: “He has no idea what the hell he’s talking about.”
‘You’re the sucker’
The current president and his predecessor hadn’t spoken since their last debate weeks before the 2020 presidential election, but their personal animus quickly came to the surface at the debate.
Biden got personal in evoking his son, Beau, who served in Iraq before dying of brain cancer.
The president criticized Trump for reportedly calling Americans killed in battle “suckers and losers.”
Biden told Trump, “My son was not a loser, was not a sucker. You’re the sucker. You’re the loser.”
Trump said he never said that and slammed Biden for the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.
‘Morals of an alley cat’
Almost 45 minutes into the debate, Biden finally referenced Trump’s recent felony conviction in a New York hush money trial.
“You have the morals of an alley cat,” and referencing the allegations in the case that Trump had sex with a porn actress.
“I did not have sex with a porn star,” replied Trump, who chose not to testify at his trial.
Trump retorted that Biden could face criminal charges “when he leaves office,” he said, though there is no evidence of any wrongdoing,
“Joe could be a convicted felon with all the things that he’s done.” He added of the president, “this man is a criminal.”
Environment
More than an hour into the debate, the candidates finally talked about climate change, which Biden has called an existential crisis and a top priority of his presidency.
Trump, after initially declining to answer on climate, said he wants “absolutely immaculate, clean water and I want absolutely clean air.”
He said that during his administration, “we were using all forms of energy, all forms, everything” and claimed he “had the best environmental numbers ever.” It was unclear what he was referring to.
Biden called climate change the greatest threat to humanity, adding that Trump “didn’t do a darn thing about it.”
Biden cited the 2022 passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which is authorizes billions for clean energy. Biden called it the most significant climate legislation ever passed.