To address worries about his mental health and to turn around the presidential election in which he was lagging, President Biden and his staff decided to conduct an early debate. Rather, the president’s replies were hesitant and his voice hoarse, a performance that increased rather than decreased concerns about his age. Even several Democrats who had supported him became uneasy around him, and doubts were expressed about his candidacy’s viability. In the meantime, former president Donald Trump tormented Biden, shifting the conversation away from his preferred topic of illegal immigration and onto matters like as the national debt and drug abuse. The Republican contender presented a litany of unverified charges against Biden and reshaped his background, confidently asserting things that were not supported by the evidence.
Use our voter guide to find out who is running for president and to compare their positions on important subjects. Past candidates have weathered rough debates. Both Ronald Reagan in 1984 and Barack Obama in 2012 struggled in the first debate but bounced back in the second one during their reelection campaigns. There is another discussion scheduled for September 10 on ABC including Biden. However, discussion on whether someone else ought to or could be nominated at the Democratic National Convention in August broke out on cable TV and in political hallways on Thursday night. According to party rules, this would most likely only be possible if Biden decided to withdraw. This is a step that has never been taken at this point in the process before, not in contemporary political history.
The mute button’s power
Independent fact-checkers gave Trump a dismal score, including lies on everything from overstating expert evaluations of his economic record and presidential legacy to downplaying his involvement in the Jan. 6 uprising. However, the debate guidelines intended to restrain Trump instead worked in his favor. Trump’s frequent interruptions during the 2016 and 2020 campaigns confused and ruined the debates, infuriating his rivals and damaging his reputation. This time, the candidates’ microphones were turned off when their allotted time was up, at the behest of the Biden team, to prevent that from happening and to silence them in front of millions of Americans watching on television. Trump, whose 2024 campaign operations have been more organized, was also more organized on the debate platform, adhering to the time constraints even though he frequently neglected to answer the issue that had just been posed.
On the other hand, Biden did not exhibit the fortitude and vigor he showed during the State of the Union speech in March and during the national debates in which he has taken part since his initial presidential campaign in 1987. He’d been in isolation at Camp David for days getting ready for this one. He did, however, struggle to provide succinct, convincing responses; although, as the argument drew to a close, he did slightly better. The president hardly ever successfully refuted false claims made by Trump. There was no impromptu fact-checking by debate moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, who had declared in advance that they would serve as facilitators rather than participants in the discussion.
No second opportunity to create a good impression
Making a first impression was never going to be the purpose of this debate. That has occasionally happened in the past during debates, particularly when an incumbent was running. Reagan’s exuberant self-assurance in 1980 fended off criticism that he was merely an actor and that his political views were too extreme for the nation. In 1992, Bill Clinton, the governor of Arkansas, overcame the impression that the primaries had made on people by demonstrating genuine empathy for the people in the town hall audience.
Nonetheless, Biden and Trump are currently the two most well-known politicians worldwide. Either Biden or Trump has served as president or vice president for the last sixteen years. Regardless of the winner in November, the record will remain in effect for an additional four years, or twenty years, for a generation. Views of Americans’ traits and peculiarities have become political realities after four years each in the White House.
Biden’s team manipulates his appearance
As soon as it appeared that Biden’s performance was not what the Democrats had hoped for, his team moved to spin it. It’s unclear why the COVID-19 test results were not released earlier, despite the campaign’s claim that the president only had a cold. The campaign acknowledged that he had a rough start but assured Mary Bruce of ABC News that they were feeling great. “Tonight, President Biden presented a positive and winning vision for the future of America — one in which every American has a fair shot at the American dream, where every one of our rights are protected, and where our president fights to strengthen our democracy — not to tear it down,” said Jen O’Malley Dillon, chair of the Biden.
Although the president’s night did not go as planned, Biden’s allies reiterated their support for the president, stating that he would still be the nominee. On ABC News Live, former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile declared, “I don’t care, I’m going to stick with Joe Biden.”