President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump presented competing visions and narratives on a range of issues in the first presidential debate hosted by CNN on June 27.
While the debate was at times punctuated by ad-hominems and tentative responses, the two presumptive nominees also debated key policies, from immigration to abortion, seeking to sway undecided voters in a race that polls show has been incredibly tight.
Abortion
Abortion has been a sticking point in the 2024 presidential election as President Biden has sought to emphasize former President Trump’s role in the repeal of Roe v. Wade.After the Supreme Court recently rejected a challenge to mail-in abortion pills, former President Trump said he would not block access to the drugs. He also said he “believe[s] in the exceptions” for abortion, including incest, rape, and protecting the life of the mother.
Former President Trump called for the legality of abortion to return to the states. He then alleged that President Biden supports “extreme” laws for abortion that allow for the procedure in the ninth month.
“We are not for late-term abortions, period, period,” President Biden replied.
The president linked the end of Roe v. Wade to the current 6-week abortion ban in Florida.
Both Candidates Talk Tough on Border
President Biden and former President Trump both touted their records on border security and immigration.President Biden talked up his proposed immigration deal, which was earlier blocked by Senate Republicans, saying it included machinery to detect fentanyl on its way across the United States’ Southern border.
“We need those machines,” he said.
The former president accused his opponent of having “opened the borders” and only now, near the end of his first term, “trying to get a little tough on the border.”
He also suggested that President Biden’s immigration policies were aimed at increasing his pool of voters.
Although sometimes light on specifics, the former commander-in-chief kept up the tenor of his border-related comments on the campaign trail.
When CNN’s Jake Tapper asked about his oft-repeated pledge to carry out the largest deportation operation in American history, the former president did not walk it back.
Ukraine, Israel Dominate Foreign Policy Talk
Foreign policy was another major topic.President Biden said that “only Hamas” seeks to continue its war with Israel. He said his three-stage proposal for peace had garnered support from the United Nations Security Council and many others.
Returning to a frequent theme on the campaign trail, President Trump said the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, would not have happened on his watch.
He said the same of Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, the latest phase of which began with Russia’s invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.
President Biden accused former President Trump of seeking to leave NATO.
Former President Trump was pressed on whether he would accept President Putin’s proposal for a settlement. Mr. Putin had released terms of a potential ceasefire under the conditions that Russia keeps the Ukrainian territory it has already claimed and Ukraine abandons its bid to join NATO.
The Republican said the terms of that potential agreement were “not acceptable.”
He also pledged to have the conflict “settled” prior to Inauguration Day.
Bidenomics vs MAGAnomics
The men on stage made the case for the economy during their respective presidencies.Both terms overlapped with the COVID-19 shutdown and associated economic stimulus. The $2.2 trillion CARES Act came in 2020 while Donald Trump was president, while President Biden had a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill of his own in 2021.
President Biden said the former president had left him with an economy “in freefall” and touted job growth during his time in office.
His Republican opponent argued that many of those jobs were “bounce back” positions regained after quick, steep losses during the COVID-19 response. He claimed the rest went to illegal immigrants.
President Trump also said his policies led to “the greatest economy in the history of our country” before COVID-19 derailed it.
President Biden disagreed, saying the former president was the first since the Hoover administration to leave office with fewer jobs than when he started.
President Biden said he will “make the very wealthy begin to pay their fair share” in order to keep Social Security solvent. He also reiterated his pledge not to raise taxes on those making less than $400,000.
When asked about whether the former president’s tariffs would drive up prices, the Republican also defended the measure, including his tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese imports, which have been maintained under the Biden administration.
Trump Pledges to Accept 2024 Results if ‘Fair and Legal’
Mr. Tapper asked former President Trump what he would say to voters who believe he violated the presidential oath to “preserve, protect, and defend” the Constitution through his “actions and inaction” on Jan. 6.The former president did not immediately answer the question and instead emphasized how the country was better off on Jan. 6 before President Biden entered the White House.
“We were respected all over the world,” he said.
When asked the question again, former President Trump said he told protesters to gather “peacefully and patriotically.”
CNN’s Dana Bash also asked the former president if he would accept the results of the 2024 presidential election “regardless of who wins.”
Former President Trump did not initially answer the question directly, prompting Ms. Bash to ask the question two additional times.
The former president finally said he would, as long as “it’s a fair and legal and good election, absolutely.”
When asked if he would say that political violence is not acceptable, the former president answered, “It’s totally unacceptable.”
Trump Dodges, Biden’s Unsteady Answers
The evening was marked by multiple gaffes, mid-sentence pivots, and both candidates sometimes dodging the moderators’ questions.President Biden, who had a raspy voice for parts of the debate, struggled at times throughout the evening.
President Biden inadvertently said, “We finally beat Medicare,” prompting a counter from former President Trump. “He was right. He did beat Medicare. He beat it to death.”
Following the debate, Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledged that the president had gotten to a “slow start.”
But, she remarked, it’s about “the choice” the American people will be making in November.
“I’m talking about one of the most important elections and our collective lifetime,” she told CNN.
Former President Trump also pivoted while answering questions. When asked about his intention to institute “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history,” he changed the subject and started criticizing President Biden’s immigration policy.
When asked about his position on the war in Ukraine, the former president alleged that America’s veterans and soldiers “can’t stand” President Biden.
