Five Key Points to Know About the First Debate Between Biden and Trump

The first debate between the Democratic and Republican candidates for the 2024 U.S. presidential election took place under circumstances where Joe Biden and Donald Trump repeatedly challenged each other on key issues, including U.S. foreign policy towards Iran, by contradicting each other's statements. On the evening of June 27 (early July 8), the 82-year-old Democratic candidate and the 79-year-old Republican candidate faced each other again in the midst of the presidential race. This time, the two candidates did not shake hands at the beginning of the debate, just like four years ago; however, this time it was by their own choice rather than due to health restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic. This confrontation immediately sparked a wave of speculation regarding Biden's ability to govern for another four-year term, while some of Trump's unfounded statements during the debate prompted reactions from many. Here are five important points to know about the first debate between Biden and Trump: 1- The name 'Iran' amid the disputes During the debate on Thursday night, the name Iran came up directly six times, and several other references were made to issues related to Iran in the context of U.S. foreign policy. The first mention was by Donald Trump, who criticized Biden's policies, claiming that if he were president, Vladimir Putin would never have invaded Ukraine, just as Hamas would not have had the opportunity to attack southern Israel on October 7. The extremist group Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. The American audience witnessed the first debate between the two old presidential rivals on the evening of June 27. The former president of the United States stated: 'Putin would never have invaded Ukraine during my time, never. Just as Hamas, for a hundred years, would not have been able to attack Israel. Do you know why? Because Iran was bankrupt during my time. I would not let anyone deal with them. Their money ran out. They were bankrupt. They had no money for Hamas, no money for anything. No money for terrorist actions.' Biden, however, responded to Trump's criticism by saying: 'I have never heard such nonsense in my life.' The President of the United States also referred to Iran's missile attack on the Ain al-Asad military base in Iraq, which occurred during Trump's presidency, adding: 'Iran attacked American forces [...] and in that attack, several of our forces suffered brain injuries, and Trump did nothing about it and said our soldiers only had headaches.' The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked the Ain al-Asad base in Iraq on January 8, 2020, following the assassination of Qassem Soleimani near Baghdad airport. In that attack, there were no casualties among American forces. In the debate on Thursday night, Soleimani's name was mentioned alongside that of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the slain leader of ISIS, where Trump considered the killing of the former Quds Force commander one of his administration's major achievements in the fight against terrorism: 'We killed Baghdadi and Soleimani, two major terrorists - the biggest terrorists in the world, and this had a huge impact on everything, not just on borders but on everything.' Trump emphasized again at the end of his remarks in this debate that Iran was bankrupt during his presidency and that even China was unwilling to cooperate economically with Tehran. The former President of the United States insisted that his policies had caused Iran to have no money to support Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and other terrorist groups. 2- Biden's frequent distractions Another point of attention in this debate was Biden's distractions. The President of the United States, who had a low voice from the beginning of the debate, often appeared with a blank and bewildered expression towards his opponent or stared blankly at the television cameras during Trump's remarks. The 82-year-old President made several verbal mistakes during his statements; in one instance, when discussing his policies to combat COVID-19, he mispronounced words multiple times and attempted to correct his statements. He ultimately concluded his remarks in a vague and confused manner by saying that Social Security in America 'will defeat Medicare.' Biden, during another part of this debate while discussing U.S. immigration policies, also made several unclear statements that prompted a reaction from Trump. The former President of the United States responded to Biden's unclear remarks by saying: 'I didn't understand at all what he said at the end of his remarks, and I don't think he understood it either.' Biden also struggled to finish his sentences multiple times during the concluding part of the debate. 3- Trump's unfounded statements Another noteworthy aspect of this debate was the unfounded remarks made by the former President. For example, he claimed regarding a relationship with a porn actress that such a thing is not true and that he did not have a relationship with such a person, while a New York court had convicted Donald Trump earlier this year for paying hush money to Stormy Daniels. However, Trump's misleading statements during the Thursday night debate were not limited to this case; he also made baseless claims regarding statistics about the immigrant population and the crime rates they commit, tax figures, economic growth, and the controversial issue of abortion. CNN and several other international media outlets, such as The Guardian, fact-checked the statements of the two rivals after the debate. The conclusions indicate that Trump made false claims in nearly all of his responses. 4- Who won the debate? CNN immediately after the debate asked its viewers to determine the winner of this 90-minute confrontation between the two candidates; the results indicated that Trump managed to defeat his opponent by a significant margin. According to this poll, 67% said Trump performed better, while only 33% of the audience considered Biden the winner of the first debate. This comes as pre-debate polling showed that 55% expected Trump to perform better against Biden, while 45% were optimistic about Biden's performance. Among CNN viewers, a majority of 57% stated that they 'have no confidence in Biden's ability to lead the country.' In contrast, 44% of the surveyed audience expressed their lack of confidence in Trump. This figure did not change significantly compared to the pre-debate statistics. In the previous poll, 55% of voters said they did not trust Biden, and 47% also expressed distrust towards Trump. Neither of the two candidates enjoyed favorable ratings on this metric. However, 36% of debate viewers now say they trust Trump's ability to govern their country; this number for Biden is only 14%. 5- Whispers for Biden's replacement Biden's performance in the debate was so questionable that even many among the Democrats are calling for the President to withdraw from the election campaign and appoint another candidate in his place. Ben Rhodes, a White House staffer during Barack Obama's administration, wrote on his X account: 'Telling people that what they saw in the debate did not happen is not the way to respond to the issue.' The Washington Post also published an article titled 'Democrats Panic Over Biden's Debate Performance,' stating that doubts about his future have increased with what the President showed against Trump. CNN has also described Biden's performance as weak in several separate reports and analyses, stating that his display in the first debate has sounded alarm bells in the Democratic camp. The New York Times, in an analytical article, wrote that almost everyone among the Democrats agrees that Biden's performance in this debate was a 'disaster.' The article adds that while some believe former President Barack Obama or Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate, could convince Biden to withdraw, it seems that only Jill Biden, his wife, Biden's family members, and his close, long-time advisors can persuade the President to make such a decision. Although it is still unclear whether Biden will ultimately withdraw or not, the most prominent option for succession is his Vice President, Kamala Harris; a person who, after the debate, acknowledged in an interview that the debate started somewhat slow but ended strongly. Harris, however, emphasized that Trump lied multiple times during this debate and that Biden has proven how much he fights for his country over these four years.