Biden Has 'Tough Moment,' Early Stumbles

President and former president square off in Atlanta
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 27, 2024 8:20 PM CDT
Updated Jun 27, 2024 8:38 PM CDT
Trump, Biden Begin Historic Debate
President Biden, right, and former President Trump, during a presidential debate hosted by CNN, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The big moment is here—the first-ever debate between a sitting president and a former president. The first question of the night for President Biden and former President Trump centered on the economy, but another early focus has been on stumbles made during the debate by Biden:

  • "Things were in chaos," Biden said of the state of the economy he inherited by Trump, per the New York Times. The president blamed his predecessor for contributing to that by mismanaging the pandemic. "All he said was, 'It's not that serious, just inject a little bleach in your arm.'"
  • Trump rejected all of the above, declaring that he created "the greatest economy that we'd ever seen," per CNN. And he hit Biden on a crucial point in the eyes of voters: "Inflation is killing our country."

  • In an another early question, Biden "appeared to just lose his train of thought, concluding (incongruously) with, 'We finally beat Medicare,'" writes Reid J. Epstein at the New York Times. Trump quickly took advantage: "He did beat Medicare—he beat it to death." Biden likely meant to say, "We finally beat pharma," notes the Washington Post.
  • Quick analysis on that: "Not only was that a tough moment—and the kind of moment Biden's allies feared—it also teed up Trump to go on offense on Medicare," writes Phil Mattingly at CNN. "That's an issue Democrats always view as their advantage. Trump just grabbed it from Biden."
  • On that front, Cleve R. Wootson Jr. of the Washington Post noted, even before the Medicare moment: "In these early moments, how Biden is talking seems to matter as much as what he is saying. His voice is a little raspy, even strained. Voters routinely, without prompting, bring up concerns about his age. I don't know if he's assuaging those concerns." Colleague Josh Dawsey adds: "It's hard to follow exactly what Biden is talking about on some of these answers on abortion and immigration."
  • About 20 minutes in, Trump said of Biden after an immigration answer: "I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence," per Politico. "I don't think he knows what he said either."
(More presidential debate stories.)

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