On June 27, the United States hosted the first televised debate between current US President Joe Biden and former White House chief Donald Trump before the November 5 presidential election.
The politicians spoke at the CNN studio in Atlanta, Babel reports.
The debate took place even before the politicians participating in it became candidates for the presidency of the United States from their parties. The Republicans will officially decide on their nominee in July at a convention in Milwaukee. And the Democrats will decide only in August in Chicago.
The debate lasted 90 minutes. There was no live audience in the studio. Biden and Trump talked about the economy, migration, abortion, and the war in Ukraine and Gaza.
Here are the main points.
The war in Ukraine
Trump blamed President Biden for the war in Ukraine, saying: “If we had a real president, a president who knew that he was respected by [Russian leader Vladimir] Putin, he [Putin] would never… invade Ukraine”.
Also during the debate, Trump once again said that he would be able to end Russia’s war with Ukraine before taking office. According to him, Biden “encouraged Russia to invade” by withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan in 2021 — Trump called it “the most shameful moment in US history”. He added that Putin’s demands for territorial concessions to Ukraine are unacceptable, but this war “would not have started if the United States had a leader”.
Trump’s main argument in this regard was that the United States spends a lot of money on the war in Ukraine.
Biden gave Ukraine $200 billion or even more. This is a lot of money. Every time Zelenskyy comes to this country, he takes $60 billion with him. He is the biggest seller in the world — and I am not criticizing him. I’m just saying that we shouldn’t be spending the money we’re spending on the war, — he said.
Trump also added that Biden has put the United States in a bad position with Ukraine and Russia.
Ukraine is not going to win the war. They are running out of people. It’s sad, they’ve lost so many people… Because of Biden’s stupid decisions, — Trump said.
Joe Biden responded by noting that Putin will not stop at Ukraine and called him a war criminal.
What do you think will happen to NATO countries? — Biden asked.
He emphasized that Putin will not stop with his aggression against Ukraine, so NATO countries may also be at risk.
Economy
Biden said that the economy is booming and the situation has hardly ever been better, although “there is work to be done”. Trump, on the other hand, insisted that “the economy is crashing” and it is a mess.
Biden also spoke in detail about what he called the American economy “in free fall,” while Trump boasted about the state of the economy during his presidency, as well as how he handled the coronavirus pandemic.
During my term, I reduced the most taxes in history. This is what allowed us to develop. Gold, gas, oil — we have everything, — Trump said.
Joe Biden responded that Trump’s economy is about “rewarding the rich”.
Trump said that Biden is to blame for inflation, which is “killing people because they can no longer buy food”. He added that under Biden, the cost of food has “doubled, tripled, quadrupled”.
In his turn, Biden said that at the beginning of his presidential term, there was really no inflation because “unemployment was 50%, there were no jobs. In fact, it was he [Trump] who caused inflation with huge injections to fight the coronavirus pandemic.”
The Border
Trump claimed that during his presidency, the United States had the “most secure border in the history of the country”, which Joe Biden opened to “people from prisons, from mental hospitals, for terrorists from all over the world, not just South America.”
However, the Associated Press notes that the data cited by Trump is not supported by anything.
Biden added that he has increased border security and patrols, and now there are 40% fewer illegal migrants crossing the border.
In general, both Trump and Biden made many factual errors during the debate.
The war in the Gaza Strip
Biden stated that a plan is being discussed that includes the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners and a long-term ceasefire. He says that only Hamas militants want this war to continue.
In turn, Donald Trump called his opponent a “very bad Palestinian” and said that Israel should be allowed to “finish the job”.
He is like a Palestinian. But they don’t like him either, because he’s a very bad Palestinian. He’s weak, — he said of Biden.
Trump dodged the question of whether he would support the creation of an independent Palestinian state. He answered this question with “we’ll see”.
The Washington Post writes that Trump’s speech was full of his usual exaggerations and “lies”, especially about crime and migration. But what many voters will remember is the “striking contrast” between Trump’s energy and vitality and Biden’s struggle to present his ideas in a concise and clear manner.
Reuters wrote that during the debate, Biden’s voice sounded hoarse, as if he had a cold. He stuttered several times in the first half hour of the debate, but he found his footing in the middle when he criticized Trump for the legal proceedings in the case of hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. Two White House officials said Biden has a cold. The newspaper noted that his behavior at the debate could increase voters’ fears that the 81-year-old president is too old to be president for another four years.
The next presidential election in the United States will be held on November 5, 2024.
