President Joe Biden is three years and seven months older than former President Donald Trump.
But in their debate, the gap between the 81-year-old incumbent and his 78-year-old challenger appeared much wider.
Biden, hoarse and with little vocal range, was often unable to clearly articulate his differences with Trump. At one point, after Biden stopped defending his record on border security, Trump said:
“I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either.”
Trump, for his part, repeated his frequent denialism of the elections. He said he would accept the results of the 2024 election if they are “fair and legal,” but then repeated his lies about fraud in the 2020 election.
“You’re a whiner, and you lost the first time,” Biden said.
These are the best moments of the debate:
Biden’s age problem just got worse:
- Biden failed to allay voters’ concerns about his greatest vulnerability — his age — and turn the election into a referendum on Trump. He stumbled, especially when he tried to cite statistics and legislation.
Biden’s offensive:
- Biden’s offensive strategy was to use clichés to attack Trump. During a spat over Trump’s conviction for trying to cover up his affair with porn star Stormy Daniels, Biden said, “You have the morals of an alley cat.”
Trump is in the news for his stance on the abortion pill:
Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a case that would have rolled back access to the abortion pill mifepristone. And Trump on Thursday backed the high court’s ruling. “The Supreme Court just approved the abortion pill, and I agree with their decision to do so and I will not block it,” he said.
- Abortion should have been Biden’s strongest issue. Instead, Biden struggled to explain his party’s position on abortion, rambling, appearing confused at times and, unprompted, giving Trump the opportunity to bring up the crimes immigrants have committed against Americans.
Inflation is blamed on the pandemic:
- Biden and Trump both turned to the same scapegoat when asked to explain their economic record: the pandemic. Biden said he inherited an economy that was “in free fall” caused by Trump’s handling of Covid-19. He said the pandemic was “very poorly managed” by his predecessor.
- Trump, for his part, blamed the pandemic for halting an economy he said was “the best economy in the history of our country,” a familiar refrain from the former president.
Continue reading highlights of the debate here.
