US President Joe Biden has fueled doubts about his suitability for office with a lacklustre performance in the first televised debate against his challenger Donald Trump. The televised debate on Thursday evening (local time) was seen as a test for the 81-year-old Democrat. During the exchange of blows, which lasted around 90 minutes, Biden regularly floundered, speaking indistinctly, quietly and in a raspy voice. At times, it was difficult to follow the most powerful man in the world. His weak performance overshadowed Trump's performance, which was peppered with lies. According to the US media, the eagerly awaited TV duel caused panic in the Democratic Party.
Biden is running for a second term in the presidential election in early November. The 78-year-old Trump wants to return to the White House for the Republicans. Polls suggest a neck-and-neck race between the two. The advanced age of the opponents is a constant theme in the election campaign. The TV duel heralded the hot phase of the US election campaign and was hosted by CNN in Atlanta in the US state of Georgia. Biden and Trump were not allowed to use cheat sheets during the exchange of blows and had to speak freely. The debate took place without a studio audience. The microphone of the respective presidential candidate who was not speaking was muted.
Trump as the winner of the debate
A quick poll by US broadcaster CNN showed Trump to be the clear winner of the duel. According to the poll, 67% of respondents voted for the 78-year-old, while only 33% saw Biden as the winner. Biden said after the performance that he thought he had done "well". "I have a sore throat," he added. Biden's running mate Kamala Harris had to justify Biden's performance on US television after the spectacle. US commentators were appalled by Biden's debate performance. "Biden's answers were in many cases out of context," said political journalist Abby Phillip.
Biden's age is a recurring theme in the election campaign. He was the oldest US president ever to enter the White House and is now 81 years old. At 78, however, Trump is hardly any younger. But the alarm bells are now apparently ringing among the Democrats. The Washington Post wrote that Biden's campaign team had admitted internally that the US president had struggled on the TV stage and that his performance had damaged his candidacy. "A disaster," a Democratic congressman told CNN - but, like many critics from the party, wanted to remain anonymous.
Biden gets his wires crossed
Biden had prepared intensively for the debate and had not made any public appointments in the week before the duel. Biden then used his appearance to attack Trump unusually harshly and personally. But all the attacks hardly worked because Biden regularly stumbled. He often seemed to stare into space during the exchange of blows and had his mouth open. Even on the subject of abortion, which is actually a winning issue for Democrats, Biden could not really score points. Abortions are necessary in some cases, he emphasized. But then he obviously made a promise and said: "There are many young women who are raped by their relatives by marriage, by their spouses, brothers and sisters."
During the TV spectacle, Biden and Trump were questioned by the presenters on a range of topics. The two politicians answered questions on economic policy, abortion, migration and also had to comment on international crises such as the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the Middle East conflict. Trump came down hard on Biden, blaming him for the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and accusing him of being unfit for the presidency. "He is, without question, the worst president (...) in the history of our country," he scolded.
Trump's appearance fades into the background
In a bizarre moment, the two discussed their skills on the golf course and challenged each other to a duel. Biden got his tongue out of joint when he tried to make fun of Trump's weight. The latter, on the other hand, once again spread various untruths and made false statements about certain economic data during his term of office compared to Biden's. Once again, the Republican did not want to commit to whether he would accept the outcome of the election in November. This did not cause a stir in view of Biden's appearance. Trump lost to Biden in the 2020 presidential election, but still does not concede defeat.
However, as usual, the Republican avoided lapsing into long monologues full of self-pity. It was noticeable that Trump had traveled to Atlanta without his wife Melania. While Biden's wife Jill joined him on stage at the end of the debate, Trump remained alone.
SDA
