The American presidential campaign got to the heart of the matter on the night of Thursday to Friday. Outgoing President Joe Biden and his Republican rival Donald Trump faced off in a 90-minute face-off broadcast on CNN (at 3 a.m. French time).
For their first reunion since their previous duels, during the 2020 presidential election, the two contenders for the White House were questioned on the subjects that agitate the campaign. But, despite the rules put in place for this debate, the confrontation was mainly marked by the invectives between the two candidates, forcing the moderators to refocus the debate around the substantive questions.
Trump’s “terrible” action on abortion
Joe Biden has criticized Donald Trump for his “terrible” actions against abortion rights when he was president of the United States. “It’s a terrible thing what you did,” the Democratic leader told his Republican opponent.
The Roe vs. Wade ruling, which had guaranteed the right to abortion at the national level since 1973, was overturned by the Supreme Court in June 2022. This decision was made possible by Donald Trump’s appointment of conservative judges. Since then, around fifteen states have banned abortion, and others have restricted access.
“We gave power back to the states, it was really a great decision,” boasted the billionaire, who took the opportunity to tackle Joe Biden on his migration policy. “A lot of women” were “killed” or “raped” by migrants that Joe Biden let into the United States, he said. The latter pointed out the “exaggerations” and “lies” of his opponent on the migration crisis in the United States. “There is no data to support what he says,” declared Joe Biden.
“You’re the poor guy, you’re the loser!” »
While Donald Trump criticized him for not caring about veterans, Joe Biden accused his opponent of being a “poor guy” and a “loser.” The president was referring to comments attributed to his Republican predecessor about American soldiers who died in combat, whom Donald Trump allegedly called “poor guys” and “losers.” The billionaire denied having made these comments, assuring that it was a quote “invented” by Joe Biden and his team.
Donald Trump then brought the subject back up, accusing his predecessor of not caring about veterans, some of whom “live on the streets,” while migrants are, according to him, housed “in luxury hotels.” The former president then boasted about having fired a general, accused of reporting these controversial remarks about veterans. “Biden, he has never fired anyone,” declared the billionaire, accusing his rival of being “the worst president in the history of our country.”
For Trump, Biden behaves “like a Palestinian”
Asked about US foreign policy, Donald Trump said that the war in Ukraine would never have happened if the United States had a real “leader”. “I would have resolved this war, I would have found an agreement between Zelensky and Putin,” he assured, also being very critical of the billions of dollars spent by the United States to support kyiv in its war against Moscow.
The Republican then accused Joe Biden of behaving “like a Palestinian” in the context of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. “He has become like a Palestinian, but they don’t like him because he is a very bad Palestinian. A weak (Palestinian), launched Donald Trump, while his rival defended his action in favor of a truce in Gaza. “We have succeeded in bringing about a de-escalation between Israel and Iran,” he said.
Trump is a “repeat criminal”
President Joe Biden has called his Republican opponent Donald Trump a “habitual criminal,” referring to his recent criminal conviction in New York. The former president was convicted of falsifying accounting records to hide a $130,000 payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels to avoid a sex scandal at the tail end of his 2016 presidential campaign.
Referring to a “political” trial, Donald Trump denied having had a sexual relationship with Stormy Daniels. “I did nothing wrong,” said the Republican candidate, who is also the subject of three other major legal cases. He said that Joe Biden himself could be condemned for the terrible things he has done, including his immigration policy. “It’s unheard of to hear something like that,” Joe Biden replied.
Accused of inciting the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol in Washington, Donald Trump has also refused to commit to recognizing the result of the November US presidential election without conditions. When asked whether he would recognize the result of his duel with Joe Biden, the Republican candidate dodged the question: “If the election is fair and just, absolutely,” he replied.
Trump and Biden respond to fears about their age
It is one of the main concerns of voters in the campaign: Joe Biden, 81, and Donald Trump, 78, have both sought to reassure each other about their ability to govern despite their age. “I was criticized for half my career for being the youngest. I am now the oldest, but I have fixed that situation,” insisted the Democrat.
His opponent, meanwhile, claimed to have passed two cognitive tests, challenging Biden to pass one of his own. “I’m healthy,” the Republican insisted, boasting about having recently won two golf tournaments. “He wouldn’t be able to hit a ball 50 yards,” he mocked.
