Biden Fumbles in Presidential Debate

United States President Joe Biden and former president Donald J Trump hit out at one another in a televised debate -- the first of the 2024 US presidential election -- on June 27, 2024.

This is the second time Biden, a Democrat, and Trump, a Republican, challenged each other for the White House after Trump lost in 2020.

The Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars, the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, inflation, childcare, climate crisis were debated by Biden, 81, and Trump, 78.

Commenting on the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump said, 'Biden did nothing to stop Russia. In fact, he encouraged Russia from going into the war.'

Biden, Trump said, has become 'like a Palestinian' and retorted that Israel should be allowed to 'finish the job' in Gaza, where more than 90 percent of the population has been displaced and more than 37,000 people killed, mostly women and children.

The president came into the debate with a low bar to clear, and he stumbled, one report noted. He was flat. He was rambling. He was unclear, the report stated.

The Biden campaign told reporters that the president has been battling a cold -- an attempt to explain his raspy voice.

IMAGE: 'We are f#^*@d' Democrats told CNN after Biden's poor performance. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

IMAGE: CNN, which hosted the debate, fact checked statements made during the debate and this is what it discovered (external link). Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

IMAGE: At one point in the debate Biden told Trump, 'You're the sucker, you're the loser', in reference to the former president calling fallen American soldiers 'losers' before visiting a military cemetery in 2018, CNN reported. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

IMAGE: US Vice President Kamala Harris told CNN's Anderson Cooper that Biden had a 'slow start' during the debate, but asserted that the president had a 'strong finish.'
'People can debate on style points, but ultimately, this election and who is the president of the United States has to be about substance and the contrast is clear,' Harris told Anderson Cooper. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

IMAGE: When Biden accused Trump of having sex with porn star Stormy Daniels while Melania Trump wife was pregnant, CNN reported the former president claimed, 'I didn't have sex with a porn star.' Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

IMAGE: When Biden raised Trump's recent conviction in New York, Trump hit back by referring to Biden's son Hunter's conviction. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

IMAGE: 'Biden was hoarse and at times unintelligible. Words often ran together. He stumbled, particularly when he tried to cite statistics and legislation,' CNN reported.
'He rarely raised his voice to hammer home points of emphasis -- missing opportunities to attack Trump over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, his Supreme Court appointments that led to the reversal of Roe versus Wade's abortion rights protections and more,' CNN added. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

IMAGE: People watch the first presidential debate at a tavern in San Diego, California. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters

IMAGE: A TV screen shows the debate as the New Hanover County Democratic party hosts a watch party in Wilmington, North Carolina. Biden and Trump face off in the first presidential debate of the 2024 election. Photograph: Allison Joyce/Reuters

IMAGE: People watch the presidential debate aboard a Delta Airlines flight to Miami, Florida. Photograph: Maria Alejandra Cardona/Reuters

Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com