Trump – Biden debate: Joe Biden’s absences, mutual insults, Ukraine… the highlights to remember 5 months before the American presidential election

Often hesitant, sometimes inaudible and even absent at times: Joe Biden completely missed the debate that opposed him to Donald Trump, last night on the CNN television channel, accrediting the criticisms about his age (81 years old). To the point that many analysts, all night long on American television sets, relaunched the idea of ​​another candidacy for the Democratic Party. The highlights of this hour and a half of exchanges.

Joe Biden’s absences

From the beginning, Joe Biden appeared weak, struggling to get rid of a cat in his throat that his advisers justified by a cold contracted in recent days. Then the American President literally got his feet tangled up in the carpet from the second question, struggling to finish his speech on the debt and social spending. Several times after that, he appeared confused, hesitant, confusing millionaires and billionaires, and the stutter that he had managed to get rid of several decades ago even reappeared.

Donald Trump obviously took advantage of it: “I didn’t understand what he said at the end of his sentence and I think he doesn’t really know what he said either,” he said. for example underlined after an answer on immigration. Then a little later: “He can’t imagine, everyone
knows, we shouldn’t even have a debate. […] He’s never taken a cognitive test, I wish he’d take one, even the simplest one, and I’m sure he’d fail.”

More than just a feeling of fatigue, it is even a somewhat confused mind and an inability, very often, to put forward his record and his program in a clear manner that has caused concern even in the Democratic ranks. To the point that some are once again calling for Biden to withdraw from the race. “It’s hard to defend the idea that Biden should be our candidate,” a party official told CNN.

Biden’s frontal attacks

In the midst of his hesitations, Joe Biden attacked his opponent head-on several times. “You are a sucker and a loser,” Biden threw in Trump’s face, in reference to comments Donald Trump allegedly made about soldiers who died in combat.

A little later, the current president accused his predecessor of having “the morals of an alley cat”, after “being convicted of having sex with a porn actress while your wife was pregnant”. “I did not have sex with a porn actress”, Trump retorted… Joe Biden also took the opportunity to recall the recent conviction of the former businessman: “The only convicted felon I see is in front of me”.

Schoolyard Comparisons

Needless to say, the world’s most powerful democracy didn’t put on its best face. At times, especially toward the end of the debate, the exchanges resembled a schoolyard fight. In particular, they tore each other apart over who had the better golf handicap. “He couldn’t hit it beyond 50 yards,” Trump joked, before Biden talked about his opponent’s… weight. “I’d be happy to play you in golf if you could carry your own bag,” Biden also replied. At another point, the two opponents accused each other of being the worst president in the history of the country. “He says that because I said it before him,” Donald Trump wanted to point out.

Abortion: Trump’s low profile, Biden wants to fight

The issue of abortion had been expected since the Supreme Court overturned the Roe vs Wade ruling that protected this right throughout the United States. Now, it is up to each state to decide whether or not to authorize abortion on its territory. And this is precisely the position that Donald Trump wanted to defend, without the exchanges delving into the implications that this suggests for American women. Joe Biden, for his part, promised to ensure that the right to abortion is once again recognized throughout the United States. Donald Trump also admitted that he was against banning abortion pills. But caused incomprehension when he stated, on two occasions, that the Democrats wanted to authorize abortion… “After 8, 9 months and even after birth.”

The Battle Over Immigration

Donald Trump reiterated his claims that migrants are dangerous criminals. “I don’t call them migrant crimes anymore, I call them Biden migrant crimes,” the former president said, before emphasizing the decadence of the United States, according to him. “We are not a civilized country anymore,” he said. “Joe, our country is being destroyed. If he wins this election, we will simply not have a country anymore.”

Trump refuses to recognize results

Host Dana Bash had to try twice: “Will you recognize the results of the election, no matter what the outcome is?” “Absolutely, if we have a free and fair election,” replied the former president, who was just facing criminal charges for trying to overturn the results in 2020 and encouraging his supporters to invade the Capitol on the day the vote was certified, January 6, 2021. “You’re a crybaby, you can’t accept defeat,” Biden retorted.

The wars in Ukraine and Israel-Hamas

Donald Trump continued to assert that he would resolve the war in Ukraine even before taking office, without saying how. “Putin is a war criminal, and you think he’s going to stop?” Joe Biden asked. On Gaza, the current President has defended the idea of ​​a ceasefire. Which triggered Donald Trump’s sarcasm: “He’s becoming like a Palestinian, but a bad one, a weak Palestinian.”

Generally speaking, no or very little exchange of ideas during the hour and a half, and the programs were barely mentioned.