Following the historic debate between President Joe Biden and his rival, former President Donald Trump, in the early hours of Friday, major U.S. newspapers began to publish their evaluations of the first presidential debate. However, what was reported in these evaluations may be disheartening and disappointing for President Biden.
The first debate between the Democratic president and the Republican former president, as part of the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign, concluded after an hour and a half of discussions covering a variety of domestic and foreign policy issues. This was the first time in history that a sitting U.S. president faced a former president in a presidential debate.
About halfway through the debate, a Democratic strategist who worked on Biden's 2020 campaign described it as a "disaster." Supporters of Biden hoped that the debate would dispel fears about the 81-year-old man's ability to serve another term, but his hoarse voice and sometimes hesitant performance against his Republican opponent led to the opposite impression.
Here are the highlights from major American newspapers:
CNN, which hosted the debate, reported that "Biden faced a tense discussion while Trump repeated falsehoods." The network noted that "Trump at times reiterated his denial of the 2020 election results, stating that he would accept the results of the 2024 election if they were 'fair and legal'." CNN pointed out that "Biden was clearly on the defensive for much of the debate. But this was expected, as he is the current sitting president."
The New York Times noted that "Biden's struggle in the debate put Trump in the lead." The paper stated: "Biden's faltering performance and Trump's relatively steady performance left Democrats extremely worried about the future of the Democratic president," adding that "personal attacks overshadowed political discussions during the debate, as the candidates competed over who could play golf better, their cognitive abilities, and their legal problems." During the debate, the two candidates exchanged comments about their golf skills in response to questions about their ages, with Trump citing his golf performance, saying he felt good. Biden responded that he would be happy to "challenge Trump in a match to showcase their skills." Regarding age, Biden said: "I have long been criticized for my age when I was the youngest in the Senate, and now that I'm the oldest, Trump is only three years younger than me, but he hasn't achieved what I have in my administration." However, the New York Times pointed out that Trump exploited the debate to directly attack Biden, describing him as "weak" and lacking respect from global leaders who were "mocking" him.
The Washington Post reported that former President Trump continued to proclaim his usual exaggerations and falsehoods, particularly regarding crime and immigration, during the presidential debate. However, the paper highlighted the stunning contrast between Trump's energy and vigor and Biden's struggle to convey his points in a clear and concise manner. It noted that Biden suffered from a hoarse voice and uneven delivery as Trump dodged many direct questions and launched a series of unverified falsehoods that went unchecked by the debate moderators. The Post mentioned that Biden made sure to highlight Trump's criminal convictions and referenced other issues the former president faced, including his sexual relationship with a "porn star" and "harassment of a woman in public places." According to the Washington Post, "Trump did not have strong responses, except for citing his claims that the cases were brought by a politicized judicial system."
The Wall Street Journal noted that Biden's performance in the debate was unstable and demonstrated the kind of rhetoric that Democrats had feared, lacking vigor and fight. In contrast, Trump was, unusually, able to maintain his composure during a 90-minute presentation filled with insults and political contradictions. Trump avoided providing direct answers to the posed questions, while Biden sometimes seemed to lose the thread of his thoughts and struggled to allay concerns about his age. The paper observed that this confrontation allowed the opponents to highlight each other's weaknesses in front of a small group of undecided voters. The paper quoted Aaron Kall, the debate director at the University of Michigan, saying, "Biden had the worst opening 15 minutes in the history of presidential debates." It emphasized that age is one of the most significant issues weighing on many voters' minds, as Biden appeared older in his performance during a grueling evening in front of a large television audience. Biden also had his share of slips, and while answering a question about the national debt and beginning to talk about health policy, he stumbled and appeared to lose his train of thought at the end of his answer. The paper highlighted that Trump remained strong throughout, seeking to emphasize Biden's stumbles after a winding answer to a question about immigration.
Politico stated that "Democrats consider what happened in the debate unbelievable, and that it is time for Biden to step aside." According to the site, Democrats are in a state of panic over Biden's "staggering" performance, and some are seriously discussing "replacing him in the election." The site quoted three close advisers to potential Democratic presidential candidates, stating that they received a flood of text messages throughout the debate. One adviser noted that they received appeals for their candidate to step forward as a substitute for Biden, while a senior party member remarked that "Biden is burnt out." Another adviser mentioned that "at least six major donors sent messages containing the word 'disaster'; the party needs to do something," but acknowledged that "there is nothing that can be done unless Biden steps aside."
The Hill reported that "the debate was one of the most dramatic presidential debates in decades, leaving Democrats in a state of anxiety." It added that "Trump and his allies will feel ecstatic about how the debate unfolded, as it brings him closer to returning to the White House than before the debate."
Following the historic debate between presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that "today's debate proved the importance of electing Donald Trump," indicating that the former president won the historic debate against President Biden. Preceding this announcement, Trump's campaign managers, Suzi Wells and Chris Lasavita, declared victory before both Trump and Biden delivered their closing remarks in the CNN presidential debate, stating that President Joe Biden "demonstrated exactly why he deserves to be ousted."
Vice President Kamala Harris stated that Biden was "slow to start in the debate" against Republican opponent Donald Trump, but she considered that he "ended strongly." Harris added, "It was a slow start, that is clear to everyone. I will not argue this point," following Biden's faltering performance in the debate which raised concerns about his candidacy. After the debate, a CNN poll showed that about 67% of debate watchers viewed Trump as the winner.
