(Atlanta) US President Joe Biden and his Republican predecessor Donald Trump began their first debate of a highly tense presidential election on Thursday. The duel between the two men began at 9 p.m. on CNN.
Published at 3:08 p.m.
Updated at 9:52 p.m.
The two men went to sit down, standing, each behind a desk without exchanging a handshake.
President Joe Biden called his Republican opponent Donald Trump a “convict” during the duel, in reference to his recent criminal conviction in New York.
“The only person who is a repeat offender is the man I’m watching on stage right now,” the Democratic leader told his predecessor 44 minutes into their debate in Atlanta.
Neck and neck in the polls, the two men began their confrontation on “the cost of living”.
PHOTO BRIAN SNYDER, REUTERS
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump
“Inflation is killing this country,” said the 78-year-old Republican, who assured that under his mandate, America was “the largest economy in the world”.
The 81-year-old Democrat responded that, on the contrary, the economy “was in free fall” when he took over the country, and praised his record in terms of employment and social reforms.
Faced with a Donald Trump who was careful not to be openly aggressive, Joe Biden, whose great challenge is to reassure Americans of his mental acuity and vitality, initially seemed hesitant, stumbling several times over words.
PHOTO ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
United States President Joe Biden
US President Joe Biden subsequently criticized Donald Trump for his “terrible” action against abortion rights.
“It’s a terrible thing, what you did,” the Democratic leader told his Republican opponent during their face-off in Atlanta.
“You’re the poor guy, you’re the loser “, Joe Biden later said to Donald Trump. He was referring to comments attributed to the former Republican president about American soldiers killed in combat, whom Donald Trump allegedly called “poor guys” and ” losers », which the billionaire defended himself, ensuring that it was an “invented” quote.
Joe Biden also accused Donald Trump of “exaggerating” and “lying” about the migration crisis in the United States.
“There is no data to support what he says,” Biden said, as immigration is a major issue in this presidential campaign. “Once again he exaggerates, he lies.”
Un « leader »
The war in Ukraine would never have happened if the United States had a “leader,” Donald Trump assured during the debate.
The Republican candidate was highly critical of the billions of dollars spent by the United States to support Kyiv in its war against Moscow.
This first face-to-face meeting is being held in Atlanta, Georgia, one of the states most likely to weigh in the November election.
It is hosted by CNN and hosted by two of its journalists, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.
PHOTO ANDREW HARNIK, ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
Journalists Jake Tapper and Dana Bash
It is up to them to enforce the very strict rules of a program which is held without an audience, with timed exchanges and above all, a microphone systematically cut off for the candidate whose turn it is not to speak.
Although their impact on the vote often remains limited, these meetings have been highlights of the electoral campaign, since the first televised face-to-face meeting organized more than 60 years ago in Chicago between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.
Typically, White House candidates wait until the fall to debate, but the Democrat challenged his rival to face him before the summer.
A second debate is planned on ABC on September 10, two months before this explosive election.
