The first televised debate between candidates in the U.S. presidential election
What did Biden Trump "argue about"?
The 2024 presidential election in the United States ushered in the first candidate TV debate at 21 o'clock local time on the 27th (9 o'clock Beijing time on the 28th), and the current president, Democrat Biden, who had been fighting a "war of words" in the air, and former president, Republican Trump, took the stage again after nearly 4 years.
According to CNN, Trump was about 40 minutes and 12 seconds, while Biden was about 35 minutes and 41 seconds. In addition, a number of American media outlets in the Associated Press also mentioned that, according to people familiar with the matter, Biden had a cold that day.
U.S. media counted the speaking time of both sides Source: U.S. media
According to ABC, Biden and Trump did not shake hands at the start of the debate. According to the outlet, this seems to be a break with tradition, but there have been cases before where the two sides of the debate did not shake hands. For example, during the epidemic in 2020, the two of them debated without shaking hands. There was also no handshake during the Trump and Hillary debates in 2016.
According to CNN, around the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, in response to Biden's accusation of Trump's remarks, that is, "when Trump was president, they were still killing people in Afghanistan, and he himself did nothing about it." In response, Trump hit back that he had been trying to get the United States to "withdraw with dignity, strength and strength" and criticized the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan as "the most embarrassing day in American history."
On June 27, local time, Biden (right) and Trump participated in the first candidate TV debate in the 2024 presidential election in Atlanta Source: US media
According to CNN, Biden and Trump were asked on the same day whether they could accept the ceasefire conditions proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin around the Russia-Ukraine conflict. According to reports, Putin previously said that when the Ukrainian side withdrew its troops from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions and announced that it would not join NATO, the Russian side would announce a ceasefire and start negotiations as soon as possible.
According to the report, Trump first answered the question and pointed the finger at Biden's handling of the matter. "As far as Russia and Ukraine are concerned, if we had a real president, a president who was respected by Putin, then he would never 'invade' Ukraine," Trump said. He added, "In fact, I think he [Biden] encouraged Russia (to get involved)." The report mentions that Biden has repeatedly urged the US Congress to continue funding Ukraine, and recently allowed Kyiv to use US-made weapons against Russia. And when Biden was asked what he thought of Trump's remarks, he replied, "I've never heard so much gibberish in my life." ”
In addition, the Associated Press summed up the performance of both sides in the first half hour of the debate, saying that "a hoarse Biden gave a jumbled response, sometimes incoherently defending his policies and records." Trump, for his part, lied about the economy, abortion and defense spending by NATO members. The two also engaged in fierce physical attacks on each other".
The Associated Press later added that at 45 minutes into the debate, Biden referred to Trump's "felony guilt," calling him a "convicted felon." Discussing the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill riot, Biden said, "The only convicted felons on this stage are the man I'm looking at right now," the report said. The Associated Press said he was referring to Trump. Trump referred to the conviction of Biden's son, Hunter, for illegal gun possession.
According to the Associated Press, Trump also mentioned topics such as China-related tariffs in the debate to attack Biden.
On June 27, local time, people watched the first candidate TV debate of the 2024 presidential election in Washington, D.C. Source: US media
"The heated debate has not given us any new insight into the policy goals of Biden and Trump." Regarding the first TV debate of the US presidential candidates, ABC commented. Both men reiterated positions they had previously preached countless times in their campaign speeches, the outlet concluded. Instead, in this debate, their main focus is on criticizing each other's past words and actions and making personal attacks.
According to Xinhua News Agency, the two sides have agreed on two "war of words". The first debate will be held at CNN's Atlanta studio on the 27th local time, and will last for 90 minutes, with two short commercial breaks in between. Candidates are not allowed to bring any props or pre-prepared notes to the podium, and there is only paper, pen and water on the podium. There is no opening statement, and the microphone is turned on only when it is the "debater's" turn to speak. There were no spectators. The second debate between the two sides will be hosted by ABC and is scheduled for September 10.
Both are currently facing a "dilemma". For Biden, he faces thorny issues such as persistently high inflation, an influx of illegal immigrants, and a controversial response to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. And Trump's "guilty" campaign was recently found guilty in the "hush money" case, becoming the first former president in American history to be convicted in a criminal case, and he is also involved in multiple lawsuits. These can all be weaknesses that can be attacked by the other side in a debate.
According to polling data compiled by the U.S. election information website "True Transparent Politics", as of June 25, Trump led Biden by an average of 1 percentage point in national polls; In key "swing states," Trump leads by an average of 3.2 percentage points. A poll released by Emerson College in May showed that about 10 percent of voters have yet to decide who to support in this year's presidential election. Mitchell McKinney, a political communications scholar at the University of Akron, said that this year's presidential election "could be won by a percentage point or two," so the importance of the candidates' televised debate should not be underestimated.