President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump clash in first 2024 presidential debate
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President Biden and former President Donald Trump faced off in the first presidential debate of the 2024 general election Thursday night in Atlanta, kicking off a new phase of the presidential race as the matchup remains extremely tight.
The debate started at 9 p.m. ET and lasted 90 minutes, with no studio audience and two commercial breaks.
It was hosted by CNN — rather than the debate commission that usually organizes them — and moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. It was also governed by new rules, which include turning off each candidate's microphone while the other is speaking.
Here's the latest:
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Debate moderators let whoppers and insults fly
By Tamara Keith, NPR
At the start of the debate, CNN's Jake Tapper described how he and co-moderator Dana Bash would be approaching their roles: “Our job is to facilitate a debate between the two candidates tonight,” he said.
Throughout the debate, Bash and Tapper mainly opted not to follow up or fact-check, sticking to the allotted times and often moving on to another topic. Biden struggled with this format, while Trump often filled his speaking time with wide-ranging comments and accusations that were unrelated to the question he had been asked.
Whoppers and insults were often followed with a pause of the mics being cut and a “thank you, next question.”
Finally, 90 minutes into the debate, Bash followed up three times when Trump failed to answer a question about whether he would accept the results of the election in November, something he refused to do four years ago. Trump never did fully commit to accepting the 2024 election results.
Heading into the debate, CNN political director David Chalian told AP that fact-checking wasn’t the role of the moderators.
“They are not here to participate in this debate,” Chalian said. “They are here to facilitate a debate between Trump and Biden.”
Trump wishes he was elsewhere
By Rachel Treisman, NPR
Towards the end of the debate, Trump suggested multiple times that he didn't necessarily want to be onstage — or in the presidential race at all.
Instead of answering the first (of three) questions about whether he would accept the election results regardless of the winner, Trump at one point returned to the topic of Biden.
"I'll tell you something, I wish he was a great president, because I wouldn't be here right now," he said. "I'd be at one of my many places, enjoying myself. I wouldn't be under indictment because I wouldn't have been his political ... opponent, because he indicted me, because I was his opponent."
He continued along those lines, adding at one point, "I would rather have that I wouldn't be here. I don't mind being here. The only reason I'm here is he's so bad at president."
Several minutes later, Trump — still dodging the election question — doubled down on that point.
"I wasn't really going to run until I saw the horrible job he did. He's destroying our country," he said. "I would be very happy to be someplace else, in a nice location."
Debate briefly derailed by golf as candidates spar over age
By Jeongyoon Han, NPR
Age is one of the biggest issues in this campaign, with the oldest-ever president (Biden, 81) squaring off against the second-oldest (Trump, 78.)
Asked about his age, Trump bragged that he passed two cognitive tests and had recently won golf tournaments.
"To do that, you have to be quite smart, and you have to be able to hit the ball a long way," he said. Trump claimed that Biden "can't hit a ball 50 yards."
Biden quickly replied, "Take a look at what he is," a dig at Trump's weight and appearance, and said he'd be willing
Biden said he'd be willing to play golf against Trump, and bragged about the impressive golf handicap he had when he was vice president.
"I'd be happy to have a driving contest with him," Biden said.
Trump avoids committing to accepting the election results
By Rachel Treisman, NPR
Addressing one of voters' primary concerns about Trump, Bash asked him to pledge tonight "that once all legal challenges have been exhausted, that you will accept the results of this election, regardless of who wins, and you will say right now that political violence in any form is unacceptable?"
Trump didn't exactly do so.
"Well, I shouldn't have to say that," he said. "But of course, I believe that it's totally unacceptable. And if you would see my statements that I made on Twitter at the time, and also my statement that I made in the Rose Garden, you would say it's one of the strongest statements you've ever seen, in addition to the speech I made in front of, I believe, the largest crowd I've ever spoken to."
Trump then went on a tangent about Jan. 6 and foreign policy, before Bash returned with a follow up: Would he accept the election results regardless of the winner?
"Just to finish what I said, If I might, Russia, they took a lot of land from Bush," Trump answered. "They took a lot of land from Obama and Biden. They took no land, nothing from Trump, nothing."
Bash tried a third time: "The question was, will you accept the results of the election, regardless of who wins? Yes or No."
Trump answered with remarks similar to those he made on the debate stage in 2020 — before he was charged with working to overturn the election results and trying to stop the peaceful transfer of power.
"If it's a fair and legal and good election, absolutely," he said. "I would have much rather accepted these, but the fraud and everything else was ridiculous, and if you want, we'll have a news conference on it in a week, or we'll have another one of these on in a week. But I will absolutely, there's nothing I'd rather do."
What will the candidates do to slow the climate crisis?
By Ximena Bustillo, NPR
Neither candidate had direct answers to how they plan to slow the climate crisis in their second terms.
Trump boasted having the “best environmental numbers ever,” after at first avoiding the question. But Trump has a history of casting doubt on the scientific consensus that burning fossil fuels is the main cause of climate change.
“I want absolutely immaculate clean water, and I want absolutely clean air. And we had it,” Trump said. Still, Trump has campaigned on the promise to “drill, baby, drill” and ending various energy efficiency and rescinding foreign and domestic climate policies.
Biden used the question to boast about passing the “most extensive climate change legislation in history,” referencing the Inflation Reduction Act — which Trump and various Republicans have vowed to repeal — and criticizing Trump for pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord, a decision Trump still stands by.
Neither candidate had direct answers to how they plan to slow the climate crisis in their second terms.
Trump boasted having the “best environmental numbers ever,” after at first avoiding the question. But Trump has a history of casting doubt on the scientific consensus that burning fossil fuels is the main cause of climate change.
“I want absolutely immaculate clean water, and I want absolutely clean air. And we had it,” Trump said. Still, Trump has campaigned on the promise to “drill, baby, drill” and ending various energy efficiency and rescinding foreign and domestic climate policies.
Biden used the question to boast about passing the “most extensive climate change legislation in history,” referencing the Inflation Reduction Act — which Trump and various Republicans have vowed to repeal — and criticizing Trump for pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord, a decision Trump still stands by.
Biden uses term ‘illegal aliens’ while discussing immigration
By The Associated Press
Biden used the term “illegal aliens” while responding to Trump’s attacks on immigration during the debate.
He said that while Trump accuses migrants of taking away jobs, “there’s a reason why we have the fastest growing economy in the world.”
It’s not the first time Biden has used terms that are rejected by immigrant rights’ groups and are not favored by Democrats. In March, during his State of the Union speech, he referred to a suspect in the killing of a Georgia nursing student as an “illegal” and later said he regretted using that term.
“I shouldn’t have used illegal, it’s undocumented,” he said in an interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart.
Moderators question both Biden and Trump on their ability to be president at their age
By The Associated Press
More than 80 minutes into the debate, President Biden, 81, and former President Trump, 78, were asked about their age and ability to serve well into their 80s.
Biden, answering with the hoarse voice he’s had all night, launched on a litany of policy achievements and noted that Trump is only “three years younger.”
Biden also used the answer to slap at Trump for bad-mouthing the U.S.
“The idea that we are some kind of failing country? I’ve never heard a president talk like that before,” Biden said.
In his retort, Trump bragged on his golf game and said he’s in as good a shape as he was 25 years ago and perhaps “even a little bit lighter.”
Biden directly addresses concerns about his age
By Rachel Treisman, NPR
When asked about voters' concerns about his age, Biden — who would be 86 at the end of his second term — said he spent half his career as the "youngest person in politics."
Biden was 29 when he was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972, making him the seventh-youngest person ever elected to be senator. "Now I'm the oldest," Biden said.
"This guy's three years younger and a lot less competent," Biden added.
Trump denies his Charlottesville, Va., comments
By Elena Moore, NPR
About 40 minutes into the debate, Biden reiterated that he decided to run for president in 2020 in part because of former Trump’s response to the deadly violence at the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville.
Trump said at the time that there were “very fine people on both sides,” and Biden has likened that comment to Trump siding with white supremacists.
"What American president would ever say, Nazis coming out of fields, carrying torches, singing the same antisemitic bile, carrying swastikas, are fine people?" Biden said during the debate.
Trump, in response, argued that Biden "made up the Charlottesville story.”
Though Trump did not link the “fine people” to white supremacists, he did, in fact, say the statement.
Below is a quote from Trump’s press conference after the rally and subsequent violence between demonstrators and counter-protesters.
TRUMP: You had some very bad people in that group. But you also had people that were very fine people on both sides. You had people in that group, excuse me, excuse me, I saw the same pictures as you did. You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down of, to them, a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park, from Robert E. Lee to another name.
Trump attacks Biden for not 'draining the swamp'
By Clayton Kincade, NPR
Trump claimed that Biden has not fired “enough” people as president, bragging about his own layered history of firing senior officials while as president.
Trump is notorious for runningon the catchphrase of “draining the swamp” in 2016, which refers to the idea that Washington is inherently corrupt. Trump fired many officials during his time as president, such as terminating former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and former Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, who served on the National Security Council.
Trump also said that Biden “hasn’t fired anybody,” which is false. Biden fired former Architect of the Capitol J. Brett Blanton after bipartisan criticism that Blanton wasted taxpayer money, among other complaints.
FACT CHECK: Biden cites wrong numbers on a survey of presidential historians
By The Associated Press
At two different moments in the debate, Biden said either 159 or 158 presidential historians voted Trump the worst president in U.S. history.
He admitted he didn’t have the exact number, and he was right, though he wasn’t far off.
The survey in question, a project from professors at the University of Houston and Coastal Carolina University, included 154 usable responses, from 525 respondents invited to participate.
Candidates discuss climate change
By The Associated Press
More than an hour into the debate, the candidates finally talked about climate change, which Biden has called an existential crisis and a top priority of his presidency.
Trump, after initially declining to answer on climate, said he wants “absolutely immaculate, clean water and I want absolutely clean air.’’
He said that during his administration, “we were using all forms of energy, all forms, everything’’ and claimed he “had the best environmental numbers ever.’’
It was unclear what he was referring to.
Biden called climate change the greatest threat to humanity, adding that Trump “didn’t do a darn thing about it.’’
Biden cited the 2022 passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which is authorizes billions for clean energy. Biden called it the most significant climate legislation ever passed.
Who are you calling the worst president in history?
By Rachel Treisman, NPR
Each candidate has now called the other "the worst president in history."
Trump has made the claim twice, both in the context of Biden's stance on immigration. Biden fired back later, saying "159 presidential scholars voted him the worst president in the history of United States of America."
He was mostly right, off by just a few numbers: As NPR reported back in February, 154 historians and presidential experts ranked Trump dead last of all U.S. presidents.
The 2024 edition of the Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey has Biden in 14th place, just ahead of Woodrow Wilson and Ronald Reagan. Trump comes in 45th, behind fellow impeachee Andrew Johnson and James Buchanan, the perennial cellar-dweller in such ratings due to his pre-Civil War leadership.
Biden doubled down later, though he said "don't hold me to the exact number."
"They've had meetings, and they voted who was the worst president in American history," he added. "They said he was the worst in all of American history. That's a fact. That's not conjecture."
Trump shot back that "we have other things that they rate him the worst, because what he's done is so bad." Despite his muted mic, Biden can be seen — and heard slightly on Trump's mic — saying "show me."
Trump continued on that he was actually rated "one of the best," and said "if I'm given another four years, I will be the best."
Biden says Trump wants to cut Social Security
By The Associated Press
Biden pointed to a plan from some House Republicans to cut $1.5 trillion in Social Security benefits by raising the retirement age as proof that Trump wants to cut the program.
Republican leaders in Congress have backed off slashing Social Security benefits, but many see the current state of the program as untenable in the long term.
Trump namedrops one VP contender: Tim Scott
By Jeongyoon Han, NPR
While the moderators asked Trump what he would do about climate change, Trump pivoted back to the topic of Black voters and criminal justice to respond to Biden's answer on Black Americans.
In answering the question, Trump commended South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott for implementing opportunity zones in the state as an economic development initiative.
"Tim Scott was incredible. He did a great job. Great senator from South Carolina," Trump said of Scott.
Scott ran for the 2024 Republican nomination before dropping out in January. In recent weeks, he was one of eight people Trump requested financial documents from as he decides who his running mate will be. Scott has ardently supported Trump in his bid for the presidency and made numerous TV appearances to defend Trump's record.
Trump brags about ‘immaculate, clean water’ during his presidency
By The Associated Press
When Trump was asked what he would do about climate change, he said that the U.S. had “absolutely immaculate, clean water” and air when he was president.
Biden retorted: “He hasn’t done a damn thing” for the environment.
Climate change isn’t an area where Americans think Trump performed especially well as president. Nearly half of Americans said Trump hurt the country on climate change while he was president, while relatively few Americans — only about 1 in 10 — said Trump’s presidency helped the country. About 4 in 10 say he neither helped nor hurt.
They’re more likely to see a positive effect from Biden’s presidency, but it’s not an overwhelming endorsement. Nearly half say Biden neither helped nor hurt the country on climate change, while about 3 in 10 say he helped a lot or a little and roughly 2 in 10 say he hurt the country.
Trump's criminal conviction and alleged affair
By Ximena Bustillo, NPR
Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts — but he still says he did nothing wrong.
In May, Trump became the first former or sitting president to both be tried on criminal charges and to be found guilty. A 12-person New York jury convicted Trump of 34 counts of falsified business records.
Still, Trump has long argued without evidence that the trial, the prosecution and the verdict was politically motivated against him.
“We have a system that was rigged and disgusting. I did nothing wrong,” Trump said during the CNN presidential debate.
In a letter to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the Justice Department said it found no emails about the Trump probe between Justice Department leadership and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office who prosecuted him. The letter underscored that the District Attorney’s office is a separate entity from the DOJ.
Biden argued that Trump has also received multiple civil penalties — citing other New York trials Trump has been found liable in. These included when Trump was found liable of sexually assaulting columnist E. Jean Carroll. Biden also accused Trump of having the “morals of an alley cat” for allegedly having an affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Trump denied the alleged affair, which was at the center of the criminal conviction. The falsified business records were the invoices, ledgers and checks used to pay his former lawyer Michael Cohen for originally paying Daniels to keep quiet about the alleged affair as Trump ran for president in 2016.
FACT CHECK: Trump's claim Pelosi turned down his offer to send National Guard members on Jan. 6, 2021
By The Associated Press
Trump falsely claimed that then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “turned down” his offer to send “10,000 soldiers or National Guard” to the Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Pelosi does not direct the National Guard. Further, as the Capitol came under attack, she and then-Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell called for military assistance, including from the National Guard.
The Capitol Police Board makes the decision on whether to call National Guard troops to the Capitol. It is made up of the House Sergeant at Arms, the Senate Sergeant at Arms and the Architect of the Capitol. The board decided not to call the guard ahead of the insurrection but did eventually request assistance after the rioting had already begun, and the troops arrived several hours later.
There is no evidence that either Pelosi or McConnell directed the security officials not to call the guard beforehand.
Here's what recent polling shows about Black voters' preferences
By Rachel Treisman, NPR
When asked about the climate crisis, Trump swiftly pivoted to other topics: police, criminal justice and Black voter support.
He said he has "the best numbers with them in maybe ever," based on his work in criminal justice and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. And he said the opposite of Biden: "He's lost much of the Black population because he's done a horrible job for Black people."
Black voters were critical to Biden's win in 2020. He has intensified his push to court them in recent months, with signs that support from people of color may be dropping this time around.
A Pew Research Center survey released last month shows early signs of where Black voters stand:
Black voters remain largely aligned with the Democratic Party (83% identify with or lean to the Democrats), and 77% of Black registered voters say they would prefer to vote for Biden over Trump in 2024.
Black voters are simultaneously critical of Trump, with 72% believing he was a poor or terrible president.
Even so, 49% of Black voters ay they would replace both Biden and Trump with different candidates if they had the ability to decide, which Pew notes is similar to the share of all voters who say this.
No, the Southwest border is not open
By Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, NPR
Trump has accused Biden of opening the U.S. borders to unauthorized migrants.
“He decided to open up our border, open up our country,” Trump said tonight.
While it is true that under President Biden unauthorized crossings hit an all-time high and, at times, the number of migrants overwhelmed certain border communities, the border is not open.
In fact, the border is arguably more reinforced than ever.
The federal government has added more sections of the U.S. Southern border walls, and there have been more military operations at the border. Biden has also severely restricted asylum claims between ports of entry, blocking most unauthorized migrants from attaining asylum.
The administration has also increased the number of expedited removals.
Biden has tried to work with Congress to overhaul the immigration system, but a majority of Republican lawmakers have not advanced the proposals.
Trump’s hush money conviction mentioned for the first time
By The Associated Press
Almost 45 minutes into the debate, President Biden finally referenced former President Trump’s recent felony conviction in New York.
During a discussion about the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, Biden said: “The only person on this stage that’s a convicted felon is the man I’m looking at right now,” referring to Trump.
Trump then sought to pivot from his own legal troubles by referring to Biden’s son, Hunter, as a “convicted felon.”
He was referencing the younger Biden’s felony conviction this month on three firearms charges. Trump also repeated long-running claims related to the Bidens and Ukraine, a frequent attack point for Republicans.
Biden asks Trump to disavow the Proud Boys, again
By Rachel Treisman, NPR
While talking about democracy and Jan. 6, Biden asked Trump point blank to denounce the Proud Boys — in a flashback to their first presidential debate in 2020.
At that debate, moderator Chris Wallace asked whether Trump would denounce white supremacists, and Trump asked for a name. Both Wallace and Biden suggested the Proud Boys.
“Proud Boys, stand back and stand by,” Trump said, in what sounded more like a call to action, and quickly became part of the far-right extremist group’s new social media logo.
Biden recalled that moment onstage tonight, as Trump visibly rolled his eyes. Then Biden addressed him directly.
"Will you denounce these guys?" he asked, a few times.
Trump seemed momentarily at a loss for words. The moderators jumped in to change the subject, asking Trump instead about comments he made recently about going after his political opponents.
Questioning turns to the events of Jan. 6, 2021
By The Associated Press
Debate questions are turning to Jan. 6, 2021, when supporters of then-President Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol during the certification of the Electoral College vote count.
Trump was asked by host Jake Tapper whether he violated his oath to protect and defend the Constitution.
Asked about the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump quickly pivoted to immigration and taxes. Pressed on his role, he said he encouraged people to act “peacefully and patriotically,” then attacked former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The rioters on Jan. 6 engaged in hand-to-hand combat with police and used makeshift weapons, including flagpoles, a table leg, hockey stick and crutch, to attack officers. Police officers were bruised and bloodied as they were dragged into the crowd and beaten. One officer was crushed in a doorframe and another suffered a heart attack after a rioter pressed a stun gun against his neck and repeatedly shocked him.
More than 1,400 people have been charged with federal offenses stemming from the riot. Of those, more than 850 have guilty people have pleaded guilty to crimes, including seditious conspiracy and assaulting police officers. About 200 others have been convicted at trial.
Trump falsely accuses Biden of orchestrating his prosecutions
By Shannon Bond, NPR
Asked about Trump supporters’ attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump accused Biden of weaponizing the government to persecute a political opponent.
Trump and his supporters have repeatedly accused Biden of orchestrating his prosecutions.
That includes the false claim that the president was behind Trump’s historic conviction in New York on 34 counts of falsifying business records to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. That case was brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is an official of New York state, not the federal government.
The first half hour
By The Associated Press
In first half hour of debate, a raspy Biden has delivered rambling answers that sometimes trail off as he defends his policies and record.
Trump has countered with falsehoods on issues including the economy, abortion and NATO members’ defense spending.
The two have also exchanged deeply personal attacks.
Biden pushes back on Trump's NATO comments
By The Associated Press
Biden pushed back at Trump bragging about pushing European allies to put more money into defense. “This is a guy who wants to pull out of NATO,” Biden said, adding that he “got 50 other nations” to support Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.
Biden forcefully responded to Trump’s NATO comments, saying: “He has no idea what the hell he’s talking about.”
About 6 in 10 Americans see NATO membership as a very or somewhat good thing for the U.S., while about one-quarter say it’s neither good nor bad and only about 1 in 10 say it’s very or somewhat bad, according to an AP-NORC poll conducted in February.
Trump claims Russia’s attack on Ukraine would not have happened with him as president
By The Associated Press
The questioning during Thursday's debate turned to foreign policy beginning with the Russian war in Ukraine, which is now in its third year.
Trump suggested Russia never would have attacked Ukraine if he had been in office.
“If we had a real president, a president that knew that was respected by Putin, he would have never he would have never invaded Ukraine,” he said.
Trump has a long history of positive comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s toughness, including calling Putin’s tactics in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine “genius” and “very savvy.”
Trump expresses no such warmth for Ukraine or Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, most recently calling him a “salesman” this month for the Ukrainian leader’s military aid requests to the United States.
Candidates questioned on immigration and the country’s borders
By The Associated Press
Trump complained that migrants who arrive in the country illegally are housed in “luxury hotels” while veterans are on the street.
As expected, he also leaned heavily on discussing migrant crime. He also said migrants are coming into the U.S. illegally from “mental institutions” and “insane asylums.” He has not provided evidence for that claim, which he has frequently made at rallies.
Trump also said he had the “safest border border in history” — a highly questionably claim and a familiar talking point.
Biden has stuck to his talking points on immigration, highlighting 40% drop in arrests for illegal immigration since issuing an executive order suspending asylum.
He’s trying to gain ground on immigration, which has risen as a national priority, not just among Republicans.
Just 3 in 10 Americans approve of Biden’s handling of immigration, according to an AP-NORC poll from June. About 6 in 10 Democrats approve of Biden’s approach to the issue, but only about 2 in 10 Independents and fewer than 1 in 10 Republicans agree.
FACT CHECK: Trump on abortion
By The Associated Press
During the debate, Trump inaccurately referred to abortions “after birth.” He has previously falsely claimed states were passing legislation “where you can execute that baby after birth.”
This is false.
Infanticide is criminalized in every state, and no state has passed a law that allows killing a baby after birth.
Abortion rights advocates say terms like this and “late-term abortions” attempt to stigmatize abortions later in pregnancy. Abortions later in pregnancy are exceedingly rare. In 2020, less than 1% of abortions in the United States were performed at or after 21 weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Abortions later in pregnancy also are usually the result of serious complications, such as fetal anomalies, that put the life of the woman or fetus at risk, medical experts say. In most cases, these are also wanted pregnancies, experts say.
Rewind: Biden trails off
By The Associated Press
Biden lost his train of thought during Thursday's debate while trying to make a point about tax rates and the number of billionaires in America.
Biden trailed off and looked down before mumbling about COVID and saying something to the effect that “we finally beat Medicare.”
When he tried to come back to finish his point, moderator Jake Tapper cut him off because his time was up.
Trump quickly interjected: “He’s right he did beat Medicare. He beat it to death.”
Debate turns to subject of abortion access
By The Associated Press
Biden blamed Trump during the debate for the deluge of state abortion restrictions since the fall of Roe v. Wade.
As president, Trump appointed three justices to the U.S. Supreme Court who helped form the majority that overturned the constitutional right to abortion — and he has taken credit for that during his campaign.
Highlighting Trump’s connection to the overturning of Roe v. Wade and its impact on pregnant people across the U.S. has become a cornerstone of Biden’s campaign. Biden has also warned that a second Trump term could lead to nationwide abortion restrictions.
Trump said on the debate stage that he believes in abortion ban exceptions “for rape, incest and the life of the mother.”
Those exceptions are at the heart of a case the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling on Thursday. Under Idaho’s abortion ban, women have been unable to get abortions in medical emergencies because the state only has an exception to save the life of the mother — not to save her health.
Trump repeated his catchall states-rights response when abortion rights came up, touting that he returned the abortion question to individual states after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which once granted a federal right to abortion.
It’s an attempt to find a more cautious stance on the issue, which has become a vulnerability for Republicans and driven turnout for Democrats.
While Trump has repeatedly claimed “the people” are now the ones deciding abortion access, that’s not true everywhere.
Voters don’t have a direct say through citizen-led ballot measures in about half the states. In those that do allow such measures, abortion rights coalitions in several states this year have faced intense efforts by anti-abortion groups to thwart citizen initiatives on reproductive rights.
Voters in seven states, including conservative ones such as Kentucky, Montana and Ohio, have either protected abortion rights or defeated attempts to curtail them in statewide votes over the past two years.
Trump and Biden make multiple factual missteps
By The Associated Press
Both Joe Biden and Donald Trump made multiple factual missteps as the debate began on Thursday.
Biden started out his debate with a gaffe, claiming he had created 15,000 jobs. The correct number is more than 15 million, a dramatic undercount by someone trying to renew voters’ confidence in his economic leadership.
Biden also said, “It’s $15 for an insulin shot, as opposed to $400.” But out-of-pocket insulin costs for older Americans on Medicare were capped at $35 in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act that President Joe Biden signed into law. The cap took effect last year, when many drugmakers announced they would lower the price of the drug to $35 for most users on private insurance.
Trump said the U.S. economy was ready to start paying down its national debt before the pandemic. That’s not true. Budget deficits were increasing under Trump because his 2017 tax cuts didn’t pay for themselves as he had promised they would. Trump inherited a budget deficit of $585 billion and it ballooned to $984 billion in 2019, only to climb above $3 trillion in 2020 after the pandemic hit, according to the White House Office of Management and Budget.
And Trump’s claim that “millions” were admitted to the country from prisons and mental institutions is unsubstantiated. There is no evidence of that.
Trump opens debate by bragging about the state of the economy while he was in office
By The Associated Press
Donald Trump opened Thursday's debate by bragging about the state of the economy while he was in office as well as his handling of the pandemic.
He said: “Everything was rocking good.
He also said the U.S. economy was ready to start paying down its national debt before the pandemic.
But that’s not true. Budget deficits were increasing under Trump because his 2017 tax cuts didn’t pay for themselves as he had promised they would. Trump inherited a budget deficit of $585 billion and it ballooned to $984 billion in 2019, only to climb above $3 trillion in 2020 after the pandemic hit, according to the White House Office of Management and Budget.
First question covers state of the U.S. economy
By The Associated Press
With the economy as the first issue of the debate, Joe Biden detailed what he described as an American economy “in freefall,” while Trump bragged about the state of the economy while he was in office, as well as his handling of the pandemic.
About 3 in 10 Americans said the economy was the most important problem facing the country in a May Gallup poll, but that included a range of economic issues.
About 1 in 10 pointed specifically to the high cost of living or inflation. About 2 in 10 Americans said immigration was the top problem facing the country, and another 2 in 10 said the government/poor leadership were the most important problem.
Biden drinks ‘MAGA Tears’ before the debate
President Joe Biden took a jab at Donald Trump’s insinuations that he’s using drugs to enhance his debate performance.
Biden posted photos on social media and a message that he’s been drinking a canned beverage called “Dark Brandon’s Secret Sauce.” It’s just water in a can, but the ingredient label notes Trump’s 34 felony convictions and stresses that the main ingredient in the aluminum can is “MAGA Tears.”
While Biden has tried not to dignify Trump’s criticisms, his campaign is now selling the canned water for $4.60 apiece. Biden noted that his wife, Jill, took the photos of him holding the beverage.
Biden has arrived at CNN
President Joe Biden has arrived at CNN in Atlanta for Thursday's general election debate. He was accompanied by his wife Jill.
Ramaswamy says he hasn’t been asked, but would be ‘honored’ to serve in a Trump administration
Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says he hasn’t been asked by Trump to serve in an administration but says he’d be happy to do so.
Ramaswamy told reporters in the spin room ahead of the debate that he’d be “honored” to serve in some capacity, like White House chief of staff.
Ramaswamy also noted that he saw copious Trump supporters on his way to the debate and said the former president’s backers would “walk on hot coals” to support him.
The scene from downtown Atlanta
Outside the downtown hotel where President Joe Biden’s campaign is based, a crowd was waiting to watch the president depart for Thursday's presidential debate. Some Biden campaign workers were giving away ice cream, in a nod to the president’s love for the frozen treat.
They were offering vanilla, chocolate and birthday cake flavors.
A crowd of supporters came out of the hotel to see Biden off to the debate, blowing horns, ringing cowbells and chanting “Let’s go Joe!” and “Four more years!”
CNN counts down
Even during commercials, CNN kept a countdown clock on its screen as Thursday's presidential debate neared, along with a camera view of the near-empty studio where the two candidates would be.
It’s the network’s big moment. CNN’s Kate Bolduan took viewers on a tour of the stage, showing the lights that signal to the candidates how much time they have to talk, and when the mute button will turn their microphone off.
Several of the network's personalities sat in the CNN “spin room,” recalling the first time Donald Trump and Joe Biden met in a debate four years ago. It was a less-than-pleasant memory for the moderator, Chris Wallace, who worked for Fox News back then and is now at CNN. Then-President Trump interrupted Biden so often that at one point the exasperated Democrat told him to shut up.
“I knew it was a disaster,” Wallace recalled.
Trump was relaxed on plane ride to Georgia, adviser says
Donald Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski flew to Georgia with the former president and said Trump was in a “good mood” ahead of Thursday's general election debate.
Lewandowski said a “small footprint” of Trump’s inner circle was on the plane including top aides Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita.
Trump heard some last-minute advice, Lewandowski said, but was relaxed on the trip.
He also showcased the difficulty Republicans have had in setting expectations for President Joe Biden. At one point, Lewandowski told reporters that Biden “had to practice standing for 90 minutes.” But then Lewandowski noted Biden has “debated for 50 years” and should have a “good night.”
Trump has a modest enthusiasm advantage with his base
Donald Trump is going into tonight’s debate with more enthusiastic support from his GOP base than President Joe Biden has from Democrats. According to a new AP-NORC poll, 6 in 10 Republicans are extremely or very satisfied with Trump as a likely nominee, compared to about 4 in 10 Democrats who say they’re satisfied with Biden as a likely nominee.
But overall, Americans are displeased with their options.
According to the poll, most U.S. adults are “very” or “somewhat” dissatisfied with Biden (56%) being the Democratic Party’s likely nominee, and a similar majority (55%) of Americans are very or somewhat dissatisfied with Trump as the likely Republican Party nominee.
Most U.S. adults say they have a very or somewhat unfavorable view of Biden (57%), and about 6 in 10 (59%) have a very or somewhat negative view of Trump.
Republican representative raises concerns over how long Biden took to prep for the debate
U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican, says he expects Biden to be prepared and do well in the 90-minute debate, but he argued Americans should be concerned that the 81-year-old president took so much time “away from the job” to prepare for the debate.
Donalds sidestepped questions about whether presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump and Republicans have lowered expectations too much for Biden by casting him as an old man in decline.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom embraces his role in drumming up support for Biden
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is embracing his role as one of Biden’s top surrogates, talking up the president’s record and blasting Trump as “unserious and unhinged.”
It’s good practice for Newsom: He’s widely viewed as a future presidential candidate himself.
Newsom, who spoke to reporters in the spin room Thursday evening, said tonight’s debate matters because “everything is important” in a close election. But he said it won’t be determinative.
What about VP debates?
Donald Trump’s campaign has accepted an invitation from Fox News for his yet-to-be-chosen running mate to debate Vice President Kamala Harris, and he urged her to accept as well. In fact, Harris has already said she’ll debate — but on a rival network.
Fox News said in a statement it offered to host a VP debate on July 23, August 13 or a day after both party conventions. Harris’ team previously told CBS she would debate in-studio on the July or August dates Fox mentioned.
President Joe Biden’s campaign signaled it would reject Trump’s offer, an official pointing to the acceptable debate parameters it detailed earlier this week. Under those conditions, a Fox News-hosted debate would not qualify.
Trump’s post on his social media network came after Harris accepted a different invitation from CBS News.
CNN responds to request for an independent journalist to be present
CNN has responded to calls from the White House Correspondents’ Association to allow an independent print reporter into the studio during tonight’s presidential debate to send out behind-the-scenes reports. The network says the event is “closed to press” — meaning that outside journalists are not allowed access to it.
“As proud members of the White House Correspondents Association, we respect the role the organization plays and their support for press freedom and access,” CNN said in a statement. The debate was “being held without an audience in a CNN studio and is closed to press.”
Kennedy fell short of CNN's requirements to participate in the debate
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. won't be with his better-known rivals, U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, tonight in Atlanta.
CNN invited candidates who showed strength in four reliable polls and ballot access in enough states to win the presidency. Kennedy fell short on both requirements.
Aside from a livestreamed response to the debate, Kennedy has nothing on his public schedule for the coming weeks. Nor does his running mate, philanthropist Nicole Shanahan.
First Lady arrives in Georgia ahead of the debate
First Lady Jill Biden has arrived for the debate at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta.
Her plane taxied past Air Force One where her husband had deplaned about 90 minutes earlier.
Like the president, Jill Biden was greeted by Democratic officials from metro Atlanta.
She then made a brief stop at a Biden-Harris fundraising retreat at the Ritz-Carlton in downtown Atlanta, where she said of her husband: "I know Joe's ready to go. He's prepared; he's confident. You've all seen him today. You know what a great debater he is. And good is on his side."
Atlanta as debate backdrop
Atlanta is providing quite the backdrop for the first presidential debate of the 2024 general election.
In 2020, Georgia went into Joe Biden's win column by 11,779 votes out of about 5 million cast. The city of Atlanta quickly became the epicenter of Donald Trump's efforts to overturn Biden's victory. Trump would later be indicted by a Fulton County grand jury after he was caught on tape pressuring GOP officials "to find 11,780 votes."
He awaits trial at the downtown Atlanta courthouse, a few miles from CNN's debate studio. Trump already had a complicated relationship with the city: In a 2017 feud with civil rights icon John Lewis, he cast Atlanta as "crime infested."
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, meanwhile, have campaigned often in and around Atlanta.
"Georgia is the reason I'm president right now," Biden said at a May fundraiser.
Trump is changing his tune on Biden's ability
After months of casting U.S. President Joe Biden as a senile shell of a man incapable of putting two sentences together, Donald Trump has changed his tune.
The former president and presumptive GOP nominee and his campaign are trying to adjust expectations amid concerns that Biden's bar has been set so low that he is sure to exceed it. The effort to recalibrate expectations underscores the stakes for both men in a race that has appeared largely static for months.
Trump — who has never admitted he lost fairly to Biden in 2020 and continues to spread false and unproven theories about election fraud — may also be setting up a series of excuses in case he is outperformed by Biden during Thursday's debate.
"Maybe I'm better off losing the debate," Trump quipped in an interview with Real America's Voice earlier in June. "I'll make sure he stays. I'll lose the debate on purpose, maybe I'll do something like that."
Trump's niece to be among Biden supporters in post-debate spin room
Donald Trump's niece Mary Trump will be among U.S. President Joe Biden's supporters in the post-debate spin room at Georgia Tech, the president's campaign confirmed.
Mary Trump has been among her uncle's most personal critics, publishing a book about him and the dynamics of her extended family.
Trump and Biden's preparations for debate night differ significantly
U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have taken starkly different approaches in preparing for their debate Thursday evening.
Biden had an intense period of private preparations at Camp David. The 81-year-old Democrat's team is aware he cannot afford an underwhelming performance when he faces Trump.
The president's aides have been reluctant to share details about his preparations, but they've signaled he's preparing to be aggressive and wouldn't shy away from using the term "convicted felon" to describe his opponent.
They expect aggressive attacks on Biden's physical and mental strength, his record on the economy and immigration, and even his family.
Quentin Fulks, Biden's deputy campaign manager, said that while the president will speak broadly to all Americans, he plans to "talk to Republican voters" specifically "because of who Donald Trump is and his extremism."
Meanwhile, Trump, 78, largely remained on the campaign trail before heading to his Florida estate for two days of private meetings as part of an informal prep process.
Trump's allies are pushing him to stay focused on his governing plans but expect him to be tested by pointed questions about his unrelenting focus on election fraud, his role in the erosion of abortion rights and his unprecedented legal baggage. The debate is being held just two weeks before Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on 34 felony counts in his New York hush money trial.
Although Trump's advisors have refused to share any of his strategy, hours before the debate, Trump posted an image of what appeared to be debate talking points provided to him by Andrew Wheeler, former Environmental Protection Agency head, suggesting ways he should go after Biden on climate questions.
"Mr. President, I am sure that a climate question will come up during your debate this week and I suggest the following talking points," Wheeler wrote.
The former president posted the talking points without comment.
Trump lands in Atlanta
Donald Trump's private plane has landed in Atlanta ahead of Thursday's first general election presidential debate.
A group of his supporters gathered on the tarmac to witness the landing and cheered as he touched down.
No live audience
There is no live audience in the CNN studios where Donald Trump and U.S. President Joe Biden will debate on Thursday evening.
That means there is no red carpet stream of elected officials, campaign donors and leaders in Midtown Atlanta, and it makes for an unusual atmosphere around the debate site.
Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., is hosting a watch party and fundraiser elsewhere in metro Atlanta.
There's a $10,000 get-in price, according to an invitation to the event, and several of Trump's prospective running mates will be there. Trump may speak to attendees after the debate.
Georgia's Republican and Democratic state parties are hosting their own watch parties too. Biden and first lady Jill Biden are scheduled to stop by the Democratic event late Thursday night.
Who are the moderators?
CNN's Dana Bash and Jake Tapper will moderate the presidential debate between U.S. President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, and there's a lot on the line for their network as it fights for relevance in a changing media environment.
CNN has hosted dozens of town halls and political forums through the years, but never a general election presidential debate, let alone one so early in a campaign. No network has.
"This is a huge moment for CNN," said former CNN Washington bureau chief Frank Sesno, now a media and public affairs professor at George Washington University. "CNN has to reassert itself. It has to show that it led a revolution in news before and can do it again."
The ground rules for this presidential debate are unusual
The candidates have agreed to meet at a CNN studio in Atlanta, where each candidate's microphone will be muted, except when it's his turn to speak.
Additionally, no props or prewritten notes will be allowed onstage. The candidates will be given only a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water.
There will be no opening statements. A coin flip determined Biden would stand at the podium to the viewer's right, while Trump would deliver the final closing statement.
Going without a live audience was important to the Biden campaign, but also to CNN. The network's town hall with Trump in 2023 was panned in large part because of the presence of Trump partisans.
Security tightening as debate hour approaches
The security around the debate site and nearby press filing center is tightening up as tonight's showdown draws nigh.
Unscalable fencing has gone up around the CNN studios where President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will meet, as well as the Georgia Tech arena where hundreds of journalists are gathered to cover the debate.
There have been at least a few protesters near the site, including a man clad in a black-and-white prison-style outfit and a sign reading "Lock Biden Up."
Various groups have indicated their intent to gather near the debate site, but a downpour of mid-afternoon rain may be dampening — literally — some of those plans.
White House correspondents upset CNN won't allow pool reporter into studio mid-debate
White House correspondents are upset with CNN for not allowing one of its members inside the Atlanta studio during the debate to file pool reports on what happens there that isn't captured by cameras.
CNN offered to give access to one print reporter during a commercial break, but White House Correspondents' Association President Kelly O'Donnell of NBC News said that's not enough.
"The White House pool has a duty to document, report and witness the president's events and his movements on behalf of the American people," O'Donnell said in a letter to CNN. "The pool is there for the 'what ifs?' in a world where the unexpected does happen."
O'Donnell says the White House Correspondents Association has been pressing its case for weeks with CNN, which is running the debate, as well as with the Biden and Trump campaigns.
CNN has no immediate response to O'Donnell, but has maintained there is no room for a pool reporter — even though there will be photographers present.
The network noted that the debate is being held in one of its studios without an audience and is considered a private event — even though tens of millions of people are expected to watch on television or streaming.
About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say they are "extremely" or "very" likely to watch the debate live or in clips, or read about or listen to commentary about the performance of the candidates in the news or social media, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Republican Party leader says Trump should focus on the future, not the past during debate
Former President Donald Trump's handpicked party leader wants the former president to talk about the future rather than the past in tonight's debate.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley told The Associated Press that Trump should "talk about the opportunity we have as a country to pick change" and "to lay out his vision for where we need to go" after the "failure under Joe Biden's four years."
Whatley notably did not mention the 2020 election and Trump's lies that his defeat was fraudulent. He also did not mention Trump's felony conviction and other pending indictments. Asked specifically whether he thinks Trump should avoid those issues, Whatley said the debate is "an opportunity in front tens of millions of Americans to talk to them about this election cycle. We need to take advantage."
Biden arrives in Atlanta before presidential debate
A lively crowd of supporters greeted President Joe Biden as he arrived at his Atlanta hotel ahead of tonight's debate.
The crowd of about 50 chanted "Four more years." Many wore campaign T-shirts. Some held placards with Biden's trademark aviator sunglasses on them. Others had signs with the face of Biden's alter ego "Dark Brandon."
The president pumped his fist and embraced one man, a possible sign of how he's getting energized for the evening's showdown with former President Donald Trump.
How to watch tonight's presidential debate
Choosing public service over pure profit, CNN offered to let other networks carry the debate feed; ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, PBS and C-SPAN will all do so. The other networks also have the right to sell their own ad time during the two commercial breaks.
The networks had to agree to CNN's rules — they must keep CNN's insignia onscreen and can't interrupt with their own commentators while the debate airs. Internationally, only CNN is carrying it.
The debate begins at 9 p.m. EDT and will last for 90 minutes.