ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden repeatedly sought confrontation with Donald Trump in his first debate leading up to the November election, while his Republican rival responded to Biden’s criticism by relying on falsehoods about the economy, illegal immigration and his role in the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol.
Biden’s shaky performance crystallized concerns among many American voters that, at 81, he is too old to be president. It prompted a new round of calls for the Democrat to step aside from the race.
Meanwhile, the rhetoric of Trump, 78, offered a perhaps unwelcome reminder of the bombast he spouted daily during his tumultuous four years in office as he battles to win over skeptical voters. He declined to clearly state whether he will accept the results of the November election, four years after he promoted conspiracy theories about his defeat that culminated in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Biden repeatedly attacked Trump in personal terms in an apparent attempt to provoke him, bringing up everything from the former president’s recent conviction for a felony to his alleged insult of World War I veterans, to his weight and his golf game. . But his hesitant speech from the beginning of the debate was what caught the most attention. Trump’s allies immediately claimed victory, while prominent Democrats publicly questioned whether Biden could move forward.
“I think there was a sense of shock, really, from the way he came out at the beginning of this debate, from the way his voice sounded. He seemed a little disoriented. He came around as the debate went on, but by then, I think panic had set in,” David Axelrod, a longtime adviser to former President Barack Obama, told CNN immediately after the debate. “And I think you’re going to hear discussions that, I don’t know if they’ll lead to anything, but there’s going to be discussions about whether he should continue.”
Van Jones, another Democratic strategist, told CNN: “He didn’t do well at all.”
David Plouffe, a former Obama campaign chief, told MSNBC that the debate had been a “DEFCON 1” moment for Democrats, referring to the alert level used by the US military.
Biden began the night with a raspy voice and seemed hesitant as he tried to defend his work on the economy and criticize Trump. A person familiar with the matter said Biden was suffering from a cold, adding that he tested negative for COVID-19.
Biden appeared to lose track while giving an answer on tax policy and veered into health policy, at one point using the word “COVID,” then saying, “sorry, dealing with,” and veering off. again.
“Look, we finally beat Medicare,” Biden said as time ran out for his response.
Biden began to give clearer answers as the debate progressed, still in a harsh voice, and attacked Trump’s record on issues such as combating climate change.
“The only existential threat to humanity is climate change, and he didn’t do a single thing about it,” he said.
The current president and his predecessor had not spoken since their last debate weeks before the 2020 presidential election. Trump skipped Biden’s inauguration after leading an unprecedented and unsuccessful effort to overturn his defeat, which culminated in the assault to the Capitol by his supporters.
Trump was evasive about whether he would accept the November election results, saying he would accept them if the vote was “fair” and “legal,” repeating his baseless claims of widespread fraud in his 2020 loss to Biden that he still denies.
When asked about his actions on January 6, 2021, Trump showed no remorse.
“On January 6th, we were respected all over the world, we were respected all over the world. And then he comes along and now they laugh at us,” Trump said.
After one of the moderators asked him to answer whether he had violated his oath that day by haranguing his supporters who were trying to block the certification of Biden’s Electoral College victory and by not doing enough to deter them as they stormed the Capitol , Trump tried to blame then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Biden noted that Trump encouraged his supporters to go to the Capitol and sat in the White House without taking action while they fought with police officers.
“He didn’t do a single thing, and these people should be in jail,” Biden said. “They should be the ones held accountable. And he wants to let them all out. And now he’s saying if he loses again, as whiny as he is, this could be a ‘bloodbath’?”
Trump then defended those convicted and jailed for their role in the insurrection, telling Biden: “What you’ve done to some people who are so innocent, you should be ashamed of yourself.”
Trump and Biden face strong headwinds, including a public tired of the turmoil over partisan politics and widely dissatisfied with both, according to polls. But the debate underscored the fact that the two have very different views on virtually every core issue — abortion, economics and foreign policy — and a deep hostility toward each other.
