ATLANTA (AP) 鈥� A raspy and sometimes halting President tried repeatedly to confront in their first debate ahead of the November election, as his Republican rival countered Biden's criticism by leaning into falsehoods about the economy, illegal immigration and his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.
叠颈诲别苍鈥檚 , particularly early in the debate, crystallized the concerns of many Americans that, at 81, he is too old to serve as president. It sparked a fresh round of calls for the Democrat to consider stepping aside as the party's nominee as members of his party fear a return of Trump to the White House.
Biden repeatedly tore into Trump in an apparent effort to provoke him, bringing up everything from the former president's recent felony conviction to his alleged insult of World War I veterans to his weight. The 78-year-old Trump declined to clearly state he would accept the results of the November election, four years after he promoted conspiracy theories about his loss that culminated in the Jan. 6 insurrection, and repeatedly misstated the record from his time in office.
But Biden's delivery from the beginning of the debate drew the most attention afterward. Trump's allies immediately declared victory while prominent Democrats publicly questioned whether Biden could move forward.
"I think the panic had set in,鈥� said David Axelrod, a longtime advisor to former President Barack Obama on CNN, immediately after the debate about Biden's performance. 鈥淎nd I think you鈥檙e going to hear discussions that, I don鈥檛 know will lead to anything, but there are going to be discussions about whether he should continue.鈥�
Said Van Jones, another Democratic strategist, on CNN: 鈥淗e did not do well at all.鈥�
Rosemarie DeAngelis, a Democrat who watched the debate at a party in 麻豆传媒AV Portland, Maine, said she felt Biden gave the right answers to Trump but 鈥渄idn鈥檛 have the spark that we needed tonight.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 going to be the challenge going forward. This is only June, this is the first, but can he sustain?鈥� she said. "That is going to be the challenge.鈥�
Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking on CNN afterward, sought to the president's performance while acknowledging the criticism.
鈥淭here was a slow start, but there was a strong finish,鈥� she said.
Asked about his performance in the debate, Biden told reporters early Friday that 鈥淚 think we did well,鈥� but said he has a 鈥渟ore throat.鈥� Pressed about Democratic concerns with his showing that he should consider stepping aside, Biden said, "No, it's hard to debate a liar.鈥�
Biden repeatedly lost his train of thought
Biden began the night with a hoarse voice as he tried to defend his economic record and criticize Trump. A person familiar with the matter said Biden was suffering from a cold during the debate, adding that he tested negative for COVID-19.
Biden appeared to lose his train of thought while giving one answer, drifting from an answer on tax policy to health policy, at one point using the word 鈥淐OVID,鈥� and then saying, 鈥渆xcuse me, with, dealing with,鈥� and he trailed off again.
鈥淟ook, we finally beat Medicare,鈥� Biden said, as his time ran out on his answer.
He also fumbled on abortion rights, one of the most important issues for Democrats in this year鈥檚 election. He was unable to explain Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. A conservative Supreme Court with three justices nominated by Trump overturned Roe two years ago.
When asked if he supports some restrictions on abortion, Biden said he 鈥渟upports Roe v. Wade, which had three trimesters. The first time is between a woman and a doctor. Second time is between a doctor and an extreme situation. A third time is between the doctor, I mean, between the women and the state.鈥�
He added that he thought doctors, not politicians, should make decisions about 鈥渨omen鈥檚 health.鈥�
Biden began to give clearer answers as the debate progressed, still with a rasp, and attacked Trump鈥檚 record on issues like fighting climate change.
鈥淭he only existential threat to humanity is climate change, and he didn鈥檛 do a damn thing about it,鈥� he said.
Trump sought to deflect blame for Jan. 6
The current president and his predecessor hadn鈥檛 spoken weeks before the 2020 presidential election. Trump after leading an to overturn his loss that by his supporters.
Trump equivocated on whether he would accept the results of the November election, saying he would accept them if the vote was 鈥渇air鈥� and 鈥渓egal,鈥� repeating his baseless claims of widespread fraud and misconduct in his 2020 loss to Biden that he still denies.
Pressed on his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump was unapologetic.
鈥淥n Jan. 6, we were respected all over the world, all over the world we were respected. And then he comes in and we鈥檙e now laughed at,鈥� Trump said.
After he was prompted by a moderator to answer whether he violated his oath of office that day by rallying his supporters seeking to block the certification of Biden's Electoral College victory and not acting for hours to call them off as they raided the Capitol, Trump sought to blame then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Biden said Trump encouraged the supporters to go to the Capitol and sat in the White House without taking action as they fought with police officers.
鈥淗e didn鈥檛 do a damn thing and these people should be in jail,鈥� Biden said. 鈥淭hey should be the ones that are being held accountable. And he wants to let them all out. And now he says that if he loses again, such a whiner that he is, that this could be a 鈥榖loodbath鈥�?鈥�
Trump then defended the people convicted and imprisoned for their role in the insurrection, saying to Biden, 鈥淲hat they鈥檝e done to some people that are so innocent, you ought to be ashamed of yourself.鈥�
Trump and Biden entered the night facing stiff headwinds, including a public weary of the tumult of partisan politics and broadly dissatisfied with both, according to polling. But the debate was highlighting how they have on virtually every core issue 鈥� abortion, the economy and foreign policy 鈥� and deep hostility toward each other.
Their personal animus quickly came to the surface. Biden got personal in evoking his son, Beau, who served in Iraq before dying of brain cancer. The president criticized Trump for reportedly calling Americans killed in battle 鈥渟uckers and losers.鈥� Biden told Trump, 鈥淢y son was not a loser, was not a sucker. You鈥檙e the sucker. You鈥檙e the loser.鈥�
Trump said he never said that 鈥� a line attributed to Trump by his former chief of staff 鈥� and slammed Biden for the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, calling it 鈥渢he most embarrassing day in the history of our country鈥檚 life.鈥�
a year before he left office.
Biden directly mentioned Trump鈥檚 conviction in the New York hush money trial, saying, 鈥淵ou have the morals of an alley cat," and referencing the allegations in the case that Trump had sex with a porn actress.
鈥淚 did not have sex with a porn star," replied Trump, who chose not to testify at his trial.
Pressed to defend rising inflation since he took office, Biden pinned it on the situation he inherited from Trump amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden said that when Trump left office, 鈥渢hings were in chaos.鈥� Trump disagreed, declaring that during his term in the White House, 鈥淓verything was rocking good.鈥�
By the time Trump left office, America was still grappling with the pandemic and during his final hours in office, the death toll eclipsed 400,000. The virus continued to ravage the country and the death toll hit 1 million over a year later.
Trump was asked what he would do to make childcare more affordable. He used his answer to instead boast about how many people he fired during his term, including former FBI Director James Comey, and criticized Biden for not firing people from his administration.
The age question roars back
Prior to the debate, about 6 in 10 U.S. adults (59%) said they were 鈥渧ery concerned鈥� that Biden is too old to be president, . Only 18% had the same level of concern about Trump. The poll found 叠颈诲别苍鈥檚 age was also causing alarm among some Democrats: 31% said they were very concerned.
Trump allies entered the post-debate spin room triumphant. Trump senior adviser Chris LaCivita called it 鈥渢he most lopsided win in debate history鈥� and mocked the Biden campaign for saying the president had a cold.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a high-profile Democratic supporter of Biden, was pressed on whether he would consider stepping in for Biden. He dismissed the questions, saying, 鈥淚 will never turn my back on him.鈥�
He said he knows Biden and what he鈥檚 capable of and said, 鈥淚 have no trepidation.鈥�
Biden spent nearly a week at the Camp David presidential retreat preparing for the debate. Shortly before the debate, Biden started selling cans of water labeled, 鈥淒ark Brandon鈥檚 Secret Sauce,鈥� on his campaign website, mocking the suggestions from Trump and his advisors that he would use drugs to enhance his performance.
Addressing supporters briefly at a watch party near the debate venue, Biden didn鈥檛 address his performance directly, but said, 鈥渓et鈥檚 keep going,鈥� and indicated he has no plans to leave the race.
鈥淪ee you at the next one,鈥� he said.
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Miller, Price and Weissert reported from Washington.
Zeke Miller, Michelle L. Price, Will Weissert, Bill Barrow And Darlene Superville, The Associated Press
