Takeaways from CNN’s presidential debate with Biden and Trump
President Joe Biden is older than former President Donald Trump by three years and seven months.
During their discussion on CNN last night, the age difference between the 81-year-old current office holder and his 78-year-old opponent appeared more noticeable.
Biden, with a strained voice and limited ability to vary his vocal tone, struggled to clearly communicate his contrasts with Trump. At one moment, when Biden's speech on his border security achievements petered out, Trump remarked, "I'm not sure what he was trying to say at the end there. I don't think he knows either."
Meanwhile, Trump continued to deny the results of the election, as he has done many times before. He claimed that he would only accept the outcome of the 2024 election if it was determined to be "fair and legal," all while perpetuating falsehoods about fraud in the 2020 election.
"You complain a lot and you were defeated in the initial round," remarked Biden.
This was the initial debate for both men since 2020, and it marked a historic moment on Thursday night. It was the premiere instance where a current president and a past president engaged in a debate. During the discussion, they disagreed on various issues such as abortion, immigration, foreign policy, inflation, and others.
Their confrontation became heated and deeply personal. Biden brought up Trump's past criminal charges, while Trump brought up the recent legal troubles of Biden's son, Hunter. Biden then attacked Trump, insinuating that he had an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels while his wife was expecting.
Trump denied having sexual relations with a porn star.
Below are 11 key points discussed during the CNN debate in Atlanta, which was overseen by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash:
Biden's main focus on Thursday night was to ease voters' worries about his age and shift the election to focus on Trump.
He was unsuccessful in completing the task.
Biden's voice was rough and sometimes hard to understand. He had trouble speaking clearly, with words blending together. He faltered, especially when trying to mention numbers and laws. He didn't raise his voice often to emphasize key points, which meant he missed chances to criticize Trump for his attempts to change the outcome of the 2020 election, his Supreme Court picks that resulted in the loss of abortion rights protections from Roe v. Wade, and other issues.
According to two sources involved in the campaign, Biden has been feeling under the weather with a cold recently.
