Donald Trump and Joe Biden: The key moments in the first US presidential election debate

Published

12 months ago

June 28, 2024

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Joe Biden and Donald Trump have held the first presidential debate, where the president struggled to speak and the Republican was dogged by his criminal trials.

Held in Atlanta, Georgia, the CNN-hosted debate marked a rematch four years in the making.

With one candidate’s microphone turned off while the other was speaking, Mr Trump and Mr Biden slugged at each other’s record in office for 90 minutes.

Read the Trump v Biden debate as it happened live here

The mediators divided the debate in to subjects, but both candidates evaded questions and stuck to their favoured topics.

Here’s the key topics Mr Biden and Mr Trump clashed on….

Economy

With a hoarse voice – which his aides later briefed was because of a cold – Mr Biden started the debate by blaming Mr Trump for the state he left the economy in when he left office.

Mr Trump, however, praised his own record, saying: “We have the greatest economy in the history of our country, and we have never done so well.”

He claimed he ran a higher deficit to stop another Great Depression during the COVID pandemic, before accusing Mr Biden of doing a “poor job,” saying inflation is “killing” the country, and adding: “It’s probably the worst administration in history.”

Moderators noted Mr Trump’s administration approved $8.4tn in new debt, while so far Mr Biden has approved $4.3 trillion in new debt.

When asked about tax cuts he passed that are set to expire in 2025, Mr Trump said they “spurred the greatest economy we’ve ever seen just prior to COVID,” and added: “The country was going like never before, and we were ready to start paying down debt”.

Mr Biden then attacked Mr Trump over having the largest national debt of any president and insisted he would fix the tax system. But while saying his administration was “making sure that we’re able to make every single solitary person eligible for what I was able to do with the COVID,” Mr Biden stumbled.

He continued to say “excuse me – with dealing with everything we have to do with – look – if we finally beat Medicare,” before pausing until the end of his allotted time.

Mr Trump picked right up on it and fired back: “That’s right, he did beat Medicaid, he beat it to death. And he’s destroying Medicare.”

Abortion & Roe v Wade

Mr Trump has taken credit for appointing Supreme Court judges who revoked the Roe v Wade ruling in 2022. It underpinned federal protections for the rights to abortions, and has been a fixture of Mr Biden’s re-election campaign.

When asked about a recent Supreme Court ruling decision to approve abortion medication despite state bans, Mr Trump supported it and insisted returning power on abortion to state governments was what “everyone wanted”.

After discussing how “the states are working it out”, Mr Trump added: “I believe in the exceptions. I am a person that believes, and frankly, I think it’s important to believe in the exceptions.”

Mr Biden then told Mr Trump “it’s been a terrible thing what you’ve done” in overturning Roe v Wade, and said he was making it harder for women in large swathes of the country to get access to basic health care.

The president also said he supported abortions in the third trimester of pregnancy and that “no politician should be making that decision” on when one should take place.

“A doctor should be making those decisions,” he added. “That’s how it should be run. That’s what you’re going to do. And if I’m elected, I’m going to restore Roe v Wade.”

Watch a special programme with reaction to the US presidential debate on The World with Yalda Hakim on Sky News from 6pm

Immigration

While time was allotted for immigration as a topic on its own, Mr Trump hammered Mr Biden on the issue throughout the debate, including after the Democrat’s first answer on abortion.

“There have been many young women murdered by the same people,” the former president said. “He allows to come across our border.”

Later on, Mr Biden was asked why he should be trusted on immigration after a record number of illegal migrants have crossed the border from Mexico under his current administration.

He pointed to how he brought in “significant increased number of asylum officers”, and attacked Mr Trump’s record in office

After another rambling answer, Mr Trump said: “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either.”

He then claimed that under his administration, the US “had the safest border in the history of our country.” In a terse moment, Mr Biden spoke about Mr Trump’s previous comments on veterans, where he was alleged to have called those who died in war “suckers and losers”.

The president got personal in evoking his son, Beau Biden, who served in Iraq before dying of brain cancer, and told Mr Trump: “My son was not a loser, was not a sucker. You’re the sucker. You’re the loser.”

Foreign policy

Another topic Mr Trump returned to often was the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

After 20 years in the Middle Eastern country, the Taliban seized control almost immediately after American troops withdrew.

Near the start of the debate, he said: “It was the most embarrassing day in the history of this country’s life.”

Later, Mr Trump attempted to link Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the fall of Kabul, claiming that Vladimir Putin “watched” the US withdrawal.

In a sprawling answer, he claimed: “When Putin saw that, he said: ‘You know what? I think we’re going to go in and maybe take my’ – this was his dream. I talked to him about it, his dream.

“The difference is he never would have invaded Ukraine. Never. Just like Israel would have never been invaded in a million years by Hamas.”

Mr Biden said, “I never heard so much malarkey in my whole life” before defending his record on foreign policy, pointing to how “we got over 100,000 Americans and others out” of Afghanistan and to Mr Trump’s comments on NATO.

On Israel, both candidates vowed support. Mr Biden touted his May ceasefire offer, while Mr Trump said of the president: “He’s become like a Palestinian, but they don’t like him because he’s a very bad Palestinian.”

Democracy and January 6

When asked about what he would say to voters who were concerned about a possible second term for Mr Trump after the January 6th riots, the former president again touted his economic and immigration records.

When asked the question again by the moderators, Mr Trump then made false claims about former House speaker Nancy Pelosi and about an offer of sending the National Guard.

Mr Biden said Mr Trump “didn’t do a damn thing” to stop his supporters marching on Capitol Hill while the 2020 election results were being certified, saying the rioters “should be in jail… and he wants to let them all out”.

He then called Mr Trump a “convicted felon” over being found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Mr Biden added: “Think of all the civil penalties you have. How many billions of dollars do you own civil penalties for? For molesting a woman in public?

“For doing a whole range of things, of having sex with a porn star on the night and while your wife is pregnant? I mean, what are you talking about? You have the morals of an alley cat.”

Mr Trump repeated false claims the 2020 election was “rigged and disgusting” and added: “I did not have sex with a porn star.”

Moderators directly asked the former president towards the end of the debate whether he would condemn any form of political violence and whether he would accept the result of the upcoming election.

“The answer is, if the election is fair, free… and I want that more than anybody,” he said, before changing the subject mid-sentence – stopping just short of saying outright that he would accept the result.

World

Iran’s response to Israeli strikes a ‘matter of principle’, ambassador to UK says

Published

5 hours ago

June 15, 2025

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Iran's response to Israeli strikes a 'matter of principle', ambassador to UK says

Iran’s response to Israeli attacks on its nuclear facilities is “self-defence” and a “matter of principle”, the Iranian ambassador to the UK has told Sky News.

Speaking exclusively to The World With Yalda Hakim, Seyed Ali Mousavi said the “barbaric Israeli regime” is “violating international law” – describing Israel’s actions in recent days as “an act of aggression against the Iranian people”.

The conflict between Israel and Iran – once played out in a series of proxy wars – has escalated in the past three days.

Follow Israel-Iran conflict live

On Friday morning, explosions hit Tehran as Israel carried out a major attack on its top army leaders, nuclear sites, and nuclear scientists.

Iran threatened “severe punishment” and quickly retaliated with a wave of missiles.

When questioned about whether Iran could continue fighting Israel, the Iranian ambassador told Yalda Hakim that “it is a matter of principle”.

He said: “This is about self-defence, there is no doubt about it.

“We are a responsible member state of the UN and we do all activities according to our international obligations.

“Any activities are only in the framework of self-defence.”

He added that his country would “do our best to preserve our territorial integrity”, and that “with the help of God”, Iran will “materialise endeavours concretely against our enemy – the Israeli regime”.

Mr Mousavi also told Hakim that Iran’s nuclear activities are “monitored”, and that recent comments by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) were “politically motivated”.

The UN nuclear watchdog’s board of governors found Iran was not complying with its nuclear obligations for the first time in 20 years.

Iran said it has “always adhered” to the safeguarding obligations laid down by the watchdog.

Announcing Operation Rising Lion on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Iran had recently taken steps to weaponise enriched uranium, which could be used to make nuclear weapons.

But Mr Mousavi stressed that Iran’s “peaceful activities” at its “nuclear fields” were only for the “generation of electricity, and other peaceful” things.

Iran was due to continue its round of negotiations with the US in Muscat – however, this was cancelled, given recent tensions.

World

UK government advises against all travel to Israel

Published

14 hours ago

June 15, 2025

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UK government advises against all travel to Israel

The government is warning people not to travel to Israel under any circumstances, as the country’s missile exchange with Iran shows no sign of abating.

On Friday, the Foreign Office warned against “all but essential travel” to most of Israel.

The areas around Gaza, the West Bank and the Golan Heights were already classed as red zones, with warnings to avoid travel to these areas.

But the government has now updated the warning for the remainder of the country to red.

Follow live: Tehran and Israel exchange strikes

This puts Israel on the same level as Iran, and the change of advice is also likely to impact travel insurance.

However, with Israel’s airspace closed, it is unlikely many people will be attempting the journey, and Israel’s national airline El Al has announced it is cancelling flights to and from many European cities, as well as Tokyo and Moscow, until 23 June.

The change in travel advice comes after a second night of ballistic missile barrages from Iran following Israel’s attack in the early hours of Friday morning.

On Sunday morning, Israel’s health ministry said 12 people had been killed over the past day, taking the total since Friday to 15. It also said 385 people had arrived at hospital with injuries overnight.

Iran has not provided a total number of deaths or overall casualties, but has claimed dozens have been killed.

Iran’s health minister has said most of those injured and killed in Israeli strikes were civilians. According to comments carried by news agency IRNA, he said the majority were women and children.

What is the UK doing?

The UK government is sending military assets, including fighter jets, to the Middle East.

While the prime minister would not confirm to reporters that UK forces could be used to defend Israel from future Iranian attacks, the chancellor told Sky News earlier that the government is “not ruling anything out”.

Speaking to Sky’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Rachel Reeves said sending military assets to the Middle East “does not mean that we are at war”, and emphasised that “we have not been involved in these strikes or this conflict”.

“But we do have important assets in the region,” she continued. “And it is right that we send jets to protect them. And that’s what we’ve done. It’s a precautionary move, and at the same time, we are urging de-escalation.”

Pushed on the question of what the UK would do if Israel asked for support with its operations, the chancellor replied: “I’m not going to rule anything out at this stage. It’s a fast-moving situation, a very volatile situation. But we don’t want to see escalation.”

World

Helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashes in India, killing seven people

Published

15 hours ago

June 15, 2025

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Helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashes in India, killing seven people

A helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims has crashed in India, killing seven people on board.

The accident happened within minutes of the helicopter taking off, officials said, on what should have been a 10-minute flight.

The helicopter was flying to Guptkashi, a prominent Hindu pilgrimage site in the Himalayas, from Kedarnath temple town in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand.

It comes three days after an Air India flight crashed less than a minute after taking off from Ahmedabad airport in northwestern India, killing at least 270 people.

The helicopter, which was operated by private helicopter service Aryan Aviation, went down in a forested area several miles from the Kedarnath pilgrimage route at around 5.30am local time.

Officials said the crash was believed to have been caused by poor weather conditions.

Authorities say they have launched a search and rescue operation and are expected to review operational protocols for flights in the region.

The dead include the pilot and pilgrims from the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh and western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, according to officials. The bodies were badly burned in a fire that followed the crash, they said.

Tens of thousands of pilgrims visit Kedarnath, which is home to one of the four most sacred Hindu temple shrines, each summer. Many use helicopter services due to the difficult mountainous terrain.

Helicopter mishaps are not uncommon in the region, where sudden weather changes and high-altitude flying conditions can pose risks.

Earlier this month, a helicopter operating in the Kedarnath Valley made an emergency landing shortly after taking off on a highway due to a technical fault. The pilot was injured but all five passengers on board were unharmed.

In May, a helicopter crashed in Uttarkashi district, killing six people, including the pilot. One person survived.