ATLANTA — President Joe Biden failed to mitigate his biggest liability in his re-election bid at the first debate Thursday, while former President Donald Trump doubled down on his grievances and skipped past opportunities to cover his own vulnerabilities.
Biden's biggest weakness — voter concerns about his age and sharpness, according to polls — was on display throughout the more than 90-minute debate as the president struggled through answers and failed to deliver the energetic performance allies believe he needed. And Trump had no new answers for voters about the issues where he's weakest, including his felony conviction, his role in overturning Roe v. Wade and his actions on Jan. 6.
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The first showdown between Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, in 2024 comes early in the election year, giving voters an opportunity to see the president and his challenger side-by-side. Here's what they saw — and what it means for the campaign.
Biden struggles out of the gate: When the president began Thursday night, his voice was hoarse, his throat didn't sound clear, and he started out speaking softly and struggling through some of his responses. His voice cracked throughout the debate. Biden's campaign later said he had a cold.
In one particularly notable gaffe, Biden stumbled through a response to an early question about rising costs, ending with: "We finally beat Medicare." The Trump campaign mockingly highlighted the clip on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Trump descends into grievances: When CNN's Jake Tapper and Dana Bash asked him to address voter concerns about his actions on Jan. 6, when pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol, Trump took the opportunity to blast the House Jan. 6 "un-select committee" and its "two horrible Republicans."
When Biden brought up Trump's alleged affair with Stormy Daniels, Trump took the bait: "I didn't have sex with a porn star, number one," he said.
Policy stakes: Trump embraced his role in appointing the three "great" Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade while repeatedly — and falsely — claiming that there was complete consensus about ending the federal right and returning abortion policy to legislators in 2022.
"Everybody wanted to get it back to the states," Trump said — polls show voters supported Roe v. Wade by large margins. "This is something everybody wanted." He added that "every legal scholar wanted it that way" — many of them disagreed.
Biden's prepared zingers: Biden's sharpest moments came when he delivered what appeared to be prepared one-liners at Trump, often calling him a liar or a felon and frequently dismissing his claims with a dismissive grin.
"The only person on this stage who's a convicted felon is the man I'm looking at right now," Biden said, drawing a nod from Trump.
Read more of Sahil's takeaways from the debate →
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