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The first presidential debate takes place in Atlanta/ Biden and Trump, harsh criticism

2024-06-28 08:14:58, Kosova & Bota CNA

The first presidential debate takes place in Atlanta/ Biden and Trump, harsh

Democratic President Joe Biden and his Republican rival Donald Trump. Source, AFP

Democratic President Joe Biden and his Republican rival Donald Trump have sharply criticized each other on the economy, abortion, immigration and foreign policy during their terms, giving voters an opportunity to see a debate between the older presidential candidates. in United States history. President Biden is 81 years old, while former President Trump is 78 years old.

President Biden spoke hoarsely and slurred his words at times during the debate, while Mr. Trump hit him with back-to-back criticisms that included several falsehoods he has often told him, including claims that immigrants have brought a crime wave and that Democrats support infanticide.

Two White House officials said President Biden had the flu.

The economy

Joe Biden and Donald Trump made a number of mistakes with numbers and facts early in Thursday's debate in Atlanta.

President Biden began the debate with a gaffe, claiming he had created 15,000 jobs. The exact number is more than 15 million new jobs during his tenure, a dramatic understatement from a candidate struggling to regain voter confidence in his ability to lead the nation's economy.

Joe Biden, source: Austin Steele/CNN

Mr. Biden also said that "a dose of insulin costs $15 now, compared to $400." But the cost of insulin for older Americans who are part of the government's health insurance program has been reduced to $35 based on the Inflation Reduction Act, which President Biden signed into law in 2022. This reduction in the cost of the drug of insulin went into effect in 2023, forcing most health insurance companies to drop the cost of the drug to $35.

Mr Trump said the US economy was ready to start paying off its national debt before the Covid-19 pandemic. But the budget deficit has been growing during Mr. Trump's tenure because the 2017 tax cuts, a law he supported, have not helped reduce the deficit as he had promised. Mr. Trump inherited a budget deficit of $585 billion, and it grew to $984 billion in 2019, marking an increase of more than $3 trillion in 2020 alone after the start of the pandemic, according to the White House Office of Budget Management.

President Biden midway through the debate began to focus on attacks on Mr. Trump, citing the trial in New York in which Mr. Trump was found guilty of concealing payments to pornographic film actress Stormy Daniel to keep a sexual relationship with her hidden. . President Biden called his Republican rival "a man convicted of a crime." Mr. Trump has denied all allegations in this matter.

Former President Trump responded by citing the trial of President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, in which he was found guilty of lying on a gun purchase form about his history of drug use.

Asked about the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 by a crowd of his supporters, former President Trump responded by saying that he was not responsible for the protest at the Capitol and claimed that many of those arrested were innocent.

"This is the worst president in American history. This man does not understand American democracy", said President Biden in response to these comments of his Republican rival.

Former President Donald Trump complained that immigrants entering the country illegally are being housed in "luxurious hotels" while veterans of our military are on the road.

Donald Trump, source: Justin Sullivan/GETTY

As expected, he focused heavily on the issue of immigrant crimes. He also said that immigrants are coming to the United States from "mental institutions" and "asylums." He has not provided evidence for this claim, which he has often made at election rallies.

Russia-Ukraine war

"We're like an underdeveloped country, and it's shameful," Mr. Trump said in the televised debate at CNN headquarters in Atlanta.

"We don't respect each other anymore," Mr. Trump said, blaming it on President Biden. "They (leaders of other countries) think we are stupid."

During the debate, Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump agreed in opposing Russian President Vladimir Putin's terms on ending the war in Ukraine. But Mr Trump repeated his claims that the war would never have started if he had been president.

"If we had a real president, a president who was respected by Putin, he would never have attacked Ukraine," Mr. Trump said.

He also criticized President Biden for the large aid that the United States has given to Kiev.

"Go ahead, let Putin go into Ukraine and then into Poland and other countries. Look what happens then. He has no idea what he's saying," President Biden said of Mr. Trump.

Mr. Biden said Mr. Trump would pull the United States out of NATO and risk an escalating war. And for the Russian leader, President Biden said: "The fact is that Putin is a war criminal."

Israel-Hamas war

One of the foreign policy topics in the debate was the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Mr. Trump criticized President Biden for the way he has handled the war in the Gaza Strip, saying Mr. Biden "has been made like a Palestinian" because of President Biden's demand that Israel do more to protect civilians in Gaza. Mr Trump has also criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying in an interview in April that he should have prevented the October 7 attack by Hamas in southern Israel.

Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Source, GETTY IMAGES

President Biden rejected criticism that his administration has delayed sending certain types of weapons to Israel. "We are providing Israel with all the weapons it needs," he said. President Biden also mentioned his three-phase proposal for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, blaming the Palestinian militant group for the lack of a ceasefire agreement.

Mr. Trump disputed this assessment, saying that "Israel is the one that has opposed the proposal. And you have to let the Israelis finish the job," he said.

Israel launched a wide-ranging military offensive in the Gaza Strip after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 250 hostages.

According to the health ministry in the Gaza Strip, controlled by Hamas, which the United States has declared a terrorist organization, more than 37,600 people have been killed by Israeli attacks. The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its reports on the number of casualties.

The debate was a chance for both candidates to talk about their plans and vision for the country and win the support of undecided voters.

In Atlanta, Georgia, a undecided state important for the presidential election, Republican politicians believed to be on the shortlist for vice president were in attendance, including Ohio Sen. JD Vance, former North Dakota Gov. Doug Bergum, Sen. from South Carolina Tim Scott and Florida Senator Marco Rubio.

Held over four months before the November 5 election, the Biden-Trump debate was one of the earliest presidential debates in the four-year US presidential election cycle. It was also a repeat of their two 2020 debates, held two months before the election, in which Mr. Biden won over then-President Donald Trump. The next debate between President Biden and former President Trump is scheduled to be held on September 10./ VOA