The American president, Joe Biden, and his predecessor, donald trumpfaced each other on Thursday in a face-to-face debate that could change the course of the presidential election. A debate in which the Republican was more aggressive than the Democratic candidate.
In the studies of cnn in Atlanta, without an audience, without the support of previous notes and advisors and without the possibility of replying if the speaking time was not assigned, this meeting exposed without distractions the strengths and weaknesses of both candidates in a debate without interruptions.
“I have never heard so much nonsense“said the current tenant of the White House when hearing about foreign policy, a chapter in which Trump complained that the reputation of the United States under the Democrat’s mandate has become “horrible.”
The Republican also strongly attacked Biden’s economic policy, but responded to questions from moderators Dana Bash and Jake Tapper with evasiveness and inaccuracies or misinformation on issues such as the economy and immigration.
Some clashes and forceful phrases like “You are the worst president in history” (Trump) or “You are a danger to democracy” (Biden) will be remembered.
However, there were few outbursts and one of the most notable – because of its unusual nature – was Biden’s when he called “fool” and “loser” to Trump.
“You are the fool. You are the loser”, noted the Democratic president in a conversation about veterans in which he accused Trump of disrespecting them.
Trump couldn’t have been more graphic. Biden’s immigration management, which in his opinion, has opened the border with Mexico to criminals, has turned the United States into a “rathole”, one in which those migrants kill Americans in both New York and California and in “every state.” The president defended himself against that accusation by calling it “ridiculous.”
One of the most compelling moments was when Biden stated that electing Trump will be voting against democracy since the former president “does not understand what this means.”
“This guy has no sense of what American democracy is.“insisted the president, who recalled that the Republican has “many (judicial) cases along the way” and “it must face a whole range of problems.”
At various points during the evening, Trump referred to Biden as “the worst president of the worst presidency in the history of the United States and stated that “He is not ready to be president” due to the state of the economy, immigration policy and international conflicts.
He said that this debate should not even be held: “We shouldn’t have a debate about it. There is nothing to debate“, he said.
The US president’s voice sounded hoarser and harsher than usual because he has been battling the flu in recent days, he told EFE a source familiar with the campaign.
The first former president in United States history to be convicted of a criminal offense, specifically for falsification of business records to buy the silence of a porn actress during the 2016 campaign, he promised to respect the result of the November 5 elections “only if they are fair, legal and good”.
In that case, he will accept said result “without a doubt,” said Trump in his first debate, who has three other criminal trials open, including two for trying to reverse the results of the previous elections.
In foreign policy, Trump stated that the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan under Biden’s mandate it was “the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country” adding that this had encouraged Russia to invade Ukraine.
Biden, however, noted that he is the first recent president who has not had soldiers at risk overseas.
In one of the most personal moments of the debate, Biden recalled Trump’s alleged remarks about the soldiers who died in Normandy, whom he allegedly called “fools.” Biden mentioned his son Beau, who served in Iraq and died of cancer: “My son was not a loser, he was not a fool. You are the fool.”said the Democratic president.
Trump also criticized Biden’s handling of Israel and Palestinesaying that Biden had not helped Israel “finish the job” against Hamasaccusing him of being “like a Palestinian,” but they don’t appreciate him because he is “a very bad one, a weak one.”
Both candidates also discussed issues crucial to their bases such as abortion and immigration. Biden attacked Trump for appointing Supreme Court justices who struck down the Roe vs. Wade which allowed the right to abortion throughout the country.
“It was a terrible thing, what you did.”Biden said.
(With information from AFP and EFE)
