WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The\u00a0presidential debate\u00a0was a re-run that featured two candidates with a combined age of 159, but it went especially poorly for one of them,\u00a0President Joe Biden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Already fighting voter concerns about his age, Biden, 81, was\u00a0halting and seemed to lose his train of thought\u00a0Thursday night, sparking quick concerns among Democrats about the man they hope will keep former President Donald Trump from returning to office. For his part, Trump made repeated false claims and provocative statements. But Trump seemed smoother and more vigorous than Biden, who is only three years older than the Republican ex-president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The debate covered a\u00a0wide range of topics\u00a0and included a former president \u2014 Trump \u2014 not backing down from his vows to prosecute members of Congress and even the man he was debating. But the overarching theme was the difference between the candidates\u2019 performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are some takeaways from the face-off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Presidential debates are often scored on style and impression more than substance. Trump was confident and composed, even as he\u00a0steamrolled facts\u00a0on abortion and immigration with false assertions, conspicuous exaggerations and empty superlatives. Biden was often halting, his voice raspy, even when he had the facts on his side. He had difficulty finishing his arguments and marshalling his attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u2019s supporters have seemed unconcerned about his relationship with the truth, and his performance and delivery helped him. Biden\u2019s supporters consistently express concern about the president\u2019s age and capacity and he did little to reassure them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the first glimpses viewers got of Biden was when he lost his train of thought while making his case on tax rates and the number of billionaires in America \u2014 trailing off and looking down at his lectern before mumbling briefly and saying \u201cwe finally beat Medicare.\u201d When he tried to finish his point, he was cut off because of the time limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At other times, Biden made some puzzling non sequiturs that seemed to undercut what the campaign has said are his strong points, including the economy and abortion rights. As Biden critiqued Trump\u2019s economic record, the president suddenly pivoted to Afghanistan and how Trump \u201cdidn\u2019t do anything about that\u201d \u2014 although the botched withdrawal of Afghanistan is widely considered one of the lowest points of Biden\u2019s presidency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later, as Biden singled out state restrictions on abortion, he confusingly pivoted to immigration and referred to a \u201cyoung woman who was just murdered\u201d by an immigrant. It was unclear what point he was trying to make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump was cruising through the opening of the debate when he suddenly stumbled over the question of how he would reassure voters that he would respect his oath of office after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He continued to engage in denialism about the attack and refused to denounced those who attacked police and stormed the building by breaking doors and windows. He suggested that those charged will somehow be found one day to be innocent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than 1,400 people have been charged with federal offenses stemming from the riot. Of those, more than 850 people have pleaded guilty to crimes, including seditious conspiracy and assaulting police officers. About 200 others have been convicted at trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump tried to avoid addressing the issue. He defended the people who stormed the Capitol, blaming Biden for prosecuting them. \u201cWhat they\u2019ve done to some people who are so innocent, you ought to be ashamed of yourself,\u201d Trump told Biden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump warned that the members of the congressional committee that investigated Jan. 6 could face criminal charges, as could Biden himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biden shot back: \u201cThe only person on this stage who\u2019s a convicted felon is the man I\u2019m looking at.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump didn\u2019t back down from his vow to seek vengeance. Coupled with his refusal to condemn the Jan. 6 attackers, it made for a stark moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked if he would accept the results of the election, Trump said, \u201cif it\u2019s a fair and legal and good election, absolutely,\u201d which notably is not an unqualified yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In what may well be a first in a presidential campaign, Trump called the president, Biden, a \u201ccriminal\u201d and said he could well be prosecuted after he leaves office. Biden then brought Trump\u2019s recent criminal trial in New York in which prosecutors presented evidence that Trump had sex with a porn actor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t have sex with a porn star,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abortion is an issue Democrats think could help deliver a victory in November. Trump in 2016 campaigned on overturning Roe v. Wade, and as president appointed three Supreme Court justices who provided the deciding votes revoking the 49-year right to the procedure. In response to a question from the moderators, Trump vowed not to go further if he returns to the White House, where his administration would have the authority to outlaw the abortion pill mifepristone, which is widely used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overturning Roe is one of Trump\u2019s greatest political vulnerabilities, but on Thursday the former president contended everyone was happy with what he did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs far as abortion\u2019s concerned it\u2019s back to the states,\u201d Trump said, contending the Founding Fathers would have been happy with the end of Roe. \u201cEverybody wanted it brought back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s not true. Polls have shown significant opposition to overturning Roe and voters have punished Republicans in recent elections for it. \u201cThe idea that the founders wanted the politicians to be the ones making the decisions about women\u2019s health is ridiculous,\u201d Biden shot back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a unanimous decision this month, the Supreme Court preserved access to mifepristone, a pill that was used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Until Thursday, Trump had not detailed his position on access to the medication, but during the debate he indicated he supported the justices\u2019 decision, saying: \u201cI will not block it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But when it was his turn to speak, Biden stumbled through his explanation of Roe, which he said \u201chad three trimesters\u201d \u2014 a lost opportunity for the Democrat to make a strong rhetorical case on an issue vital for his party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe first time is between a woman and a doctor,\u201d Biden continued. \u201cSecond time is between a doctor and an extreme situation. A third time is between the doctor, I mean, between the women and the state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In recent months, Biden has tried to reverse his poor public standing over his handling of immigration, first by endorsing a bipartisan Senate proposal with some of the toughest border restrictions in recent memory and then, after that legislation collapsed, taking executive action to clamp down on migrants seeking asylum at the southern border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But as Biden tried to tout the progress he\u2019s made, particularly the 40% drop in illegal border crossings since his border directive was implemented this month, Trump invoked his trademark dark and catastrophic rhetoric to paint a portrait of a chaotic border under Biden\u2019s watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, Trump argued that the migrants arriving at the U.S. border are coming from \u201cmental institutions\u201d and \u201cinsane asylums\u201d \u2014 a frequent refrain of his at rallies for which he has offered no evidence. He also claimed the U.S.-Mexico border is the \u201cmost dangerous place anywhere in the world\u201d and cited examples of immigrants in the U.S. illegally who had committed violent crimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though some immigrants do commit horrific crimes, a 2020 study published by the National Academy of Sciences found \u201cconsiderably lower felony arrest rates\u201d among people in the United States illegally than among legal immigrants or native-born. But Trump often benefits from his certitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The debate began with Biden defending his record on the economy, saying he inherited an economy that was \u201cin a freefall\u201d as it was battered by the coronavirus pandemic and that his administration put it back together again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But after Biden touted his administration\u2019s accomplishments \u2014 such as lowering the cost of insulin and the creation of millions of new jobs \u2014 Trump boasted that he oversaw the \u201cgreatest economy in the history of our country\u201d and defended his record on the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biden retorted: \u201cHe\u2019s the only one who thinks that.\u201d But Trump responding by attacking him on inflation, arguing that he inherited low rates of inflation when he came into office in January 2021 yet prices \u201cblew up under his leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biden \u2014 whose deceased son, Beau, served in Iraq \u2014 had one of his most forceful moments when he went on the attack against Trump\u2019s reported comments in 2018 that he declined to visit a U.S. military cemetery in France because veterans buried there were \u201csuckers\u201d and \u201closers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was an argument that Biden, then the Democratic challenger, made against Trump in their first 2020 debate and one that the incumbent president has regularly used against Trump, framing him as a commander in chief who nonetheless disparages veterans. \u201cMy son was not a loser, was not a sucker,\u201d Biden said. \u201cYou\u2019re the sucker. You\u2019re the loser.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump responded that the publication that initially reported this comments, The Atlantic, \u201cwas a third-rate magazine\u201d and had made up the quotes. But undercutting Trump\u2019s retort is the fact that his former chief of staff, John Kelly, confirmed those private remarks in a statement last fall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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