In stark contrast to President Joe Biden’s feeble performance, former president Donald Trump was aggressive during the first debate of the American presidential race, which was marked by unconventional rules and an unusually early date.

In the past, presidential debates have typically been conducted and broadcasted before a live audience, but Thursday night’s standoff was held in an empty Atlanta studio. This change, along with the newly-implemented rule of muting candidates’ microphones until their turn to speak, aimed to minimise interruptions and ensure an orderly discussion.

CNN’s moderators, Jack Tapper and Dana Bash, largely took a backseat, allowing the candidates to rebut each other’s arguments freely. 

Both candidates are in need of a boost, as polling has shown that neither Trump nor Biden are well approved – 40 percent of registered voters viewed Biden favourably, while 45 percent favoured Trump, according to polling by the New York Times.

But perhaps more than ratings, Thursday’s debate certainly raised eyebrows.

The questions, heated exchanges and false claims

The debate’s moderators questioned the candidates on some of the electorate’s top concerns: the economy, abortion, immigration, foreign policy, and climate change. As a result, the 90-minute debate featured scores of heated exchanges. 

Trump launched multiple attacks against Biden regarding the economy and his foreign policy. 

“The whole world is blowing up after him,” Trump said of Biden’s foreign policy. 

Biden, on his part, focused his criticism on Trump’s alleged complicity to overturn the 2020 election and his recent criminal conviction. “The only person on this stage who is a convicted felon is the man I am looking at right now,” he said. 

At another point, Biden said to Trump: “You’re a sucker. You’re a loser,” defending his late son, Beau Biden. The kind of language he used faintly imitates the type of verbal assaults Biden’s campaign often criticises Trump for. 

Trump insulted Biden’s seemingly frail voice. 

“I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence, and I don’t think he did either.” 

During one of the more tense moments of the debate, Trump delayed his answer on whether he would accept the election results, regardless of who wins. After being asked a third time, he finally answered: “If it’s a fair and legal and good election, absolutely.”

Trump’s replies might be sharp, but they were riddled with inaccuracies. When asked about the overturning of Roe V. Wade – the contentious Supreme Court decision that ended Americans’ constitutional right to an abortion – Trump said “every legal scholar wanted it that way,” which is a false statement.

Most Americans broadly support abortion, and a majority of them disapprove of the ruling, according to the Pew Research Center. 

The debate’s moderators did not step in to correct the candidate, which led to the broadcasting of many falsehoods. Trump also made meritless claims about the living conditions of migrants, the termination of babies after birth, Biden’s plan to quadruple taxes and that the 2020 election was fraudulently interfered with. Among many other comments made by Trump, these assertions are false.  

But equally unsettling was the performance of Biden, which was heavily weighed down by his raspy voice and frequent stammering. At 81, Biden’s age remains a top concern for American voters. Months of polling indicate that voters are especially worried about the president’s ability to perform duties effectively. 

From US to Mexico: How media reported on the debate

Most American outlets reported the same problem: the Democrats are in a weak position. Biden’s shaky answers up against Trump’s overly confident persona have created uncertainty during the presidential race. 

Fox News’s leading visual displayed stills from the debate overlaid with the bolded words: PANIC MODE. The sensationalistic words allude to the now widespread concern over Biden’s performance. 

“The president’s uneven debate performance grabbed the most headlines, and sparked a new round of calls from political pundits and some Democrats for the president to consider stepping aside as the party's standard-bearer,” the article wrote. 

The New Republic, a heavily left-leaning publication, shared a similar sentiment with its front page story: “Ditch Biden. That debate performance was a disaster.” 

In a scathing critique, the outlet called the debate a colossal failure.

“Thursday’s debate should have been a tap-in. All Biden had to do was appear mildly competent. All he had to do was let Donald Trump be Donald Trump. Then the rest would take care of itself.” 

The BBC made note of Biden’s struggles during the debate – “Democrats expressed concern at the president’s performance - with party insiders saying his early answers triggered panic.”

French publication Le Monde also wrote a critique of the debate: “Trump and Biden, who were each the oldest president when first elected, even accused each other of being childlike as they argued over their golf swings.”

Among some of the major topics of debate was the war in Ukraine. 

Meanwhile, Russia’s state-operated publication, Komsomolskaya Pravda, mostly focused its reporting on what was said about Russian President Vladamir Putin and the ongoing conflict. The publication labelled Trump as “more convincing than Biden”. Conversely, it characterised Biden as a “flabby” liar who insulted the “Russian president along the way.”

Also heavily discussed was immigration. The Mexican political magazine Proceso pointed out Trump’s criticisms of Biden’s immigration policies, including his accusations that Biden has allowed “criminals, murderers and rapists” into the US.

The article led with a headline highlighting one of Trump’s many disputable claims from the debate: “We live in a rat’s nest because of Biden’s stupid immigration policies: Trump.” 

After a shaky and historically early debate, Biden has months before he can recover in the next one. A second debate is set to take place on September 10. Meanwhile, polling shows Trump – a criminally-convicted ex-president – at a virtual tie with Biden.

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