The First Debate Between Biden and Trump in the 2024 Presidential Election Took Place

The first debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the candidates for the United States presidential election, took place on Thursday evening hosted by CNN, with both figures having a term of presidential experience and defending their records and legacies. The Democratic and Republican rivals did not shake hands when they came on stage, just as they had not in the 2020 debates, although at that time, COVID-19 protocols necessitated it. Biden quickly criticized his opponent, who was President from 2017 to 2021, stating that the U.S. economy was 'in free fall' during his presidency and that Trump mismanaged the COVID crisis 'so poorly that many people died.' Trump responded sharply, claiming that during his presidency, 'we had the best economy in our country's history' and that the inflation that has emerged during Biden's term is 'destroying' the United States. Topics such as abortion, the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, illegal immigration to the U.S., and the war in Ukraine were repeatedly raised, with both candidates defending their actions or positions on these issues. Trump claimed that if he were president, the Russian invasion of Ukraine would never have happened, stating, 'If we had a real president, a president that Putin respected, he would never have attacked Ukraine.' Trump has a long history of praising Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, and has referred to his tactics in the invasion of Ukraine as 'genius.' The former U.S. president also claimed that illegal immigrants are housed in 'luxury hotels' while American veterans sleep on the streets. He then addressed crime among immigrants, stating that they enter the U.S. illegally from 'mental hospitals' and 'asylums,' although Trump did not provide evidence for this claim. He also asserted that the U.S. borders were 'the safest' during his presidency. Biden, however, described his performance regarding illegal immigrants as successful, stating that since issuing his executive order suspending asylum, the rate of arrests for illegal immigration has decreased by 40%. Trump labeled Biden a 'criminal' on immigration, to which Biden responded, 'He is exaggerating again. He is lying.' Regarding NATO, Trump reiterated that Washington should pressure its allies to increase their share of military funding, while Biden disagreed, stating that Trump is the one who wants to pull the U.S. out of NATO and added that he has convinced more than 50 other countries to support Ukraine. Biden also accused Trump of having no proper understanding of NATO and essentially not knowing what he was talking about. When asked what he would do about climate change, Trump claimed that the U.S. had completely clean and healthy weather during his presidency. He added that under his administration, 'we used all forms of energy, all forms of everything' and claimed he had 'the best environmental record,' although it was unclear what he meant. Biden responded that Trump did nothing for the environment, calling climate change the greatest threat to humanity and emphasizing that addressing it is a priority for his administration. The issue of Palestine and Israel and the Gaza war was another topic of the debate. Trump dodged the question of whether he supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, saying, 'We'll see.' He also shook his head in disagreement when Biden said he saved Israel. Both Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, are the oldest candidates in U.S. presidential election history. Their competition in the November 2020 election led to severe tensions in the country, culminating in a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters who refused to accept his electoral defeat.