‘Unmitigated disaster’ for Biden in TV debate with Trump – as he faces calls from Democrats to step aside
Joe Biden and Donald Trump have faced off in the first debate in the 2024 presidential election campaign.
The format, with each taking turns to speak with their opponent’s microphone muted, was designed to prevent a shouting match with both candidates talking over each other.
In truth, it served to highlight the differences in the performances of the two men.
Joe Biden and Donald Trump during the presidential debate. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump appeared confident, on the front foot and in command, even if his claims sometimes stretched the truth to breaking point.
Mr Biden on the other hand was hesitant, sometimes stumbling over his words and at one point appearing to freeze, less than 10 minutes into the debate.
The only time the US president appeared to land any blows was when he lost his temper and attacked Mr Trump and his “alley cat morals”.
After the debate, political figures and commentators broached the idea of replacing Mr Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee.
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Joe Biden appears to stall during debate
It’s “time to talk about an open convention and a new Democratic nominee,” one Democratic politician told Sky’s US partner network NBC News.
Another said: “This was like a champion boxer who gets in the ring past his prime and needs his corner to throw in the towel.” They added he meant Mr Biden should exit the race.
David Axelrod, a senior aide to former President Barack Obama, told CNN: “There is a sense of shock at how he came out at the beginning of this debate. How his voice sounded. He seemed a little disoriented.
“There are going to be discussions about whether he should continue. Only he can decide if he’s going to continue,” Mr Axelrod added.
Sky’s US correspondent Martha Kelner said some Democrats had described Biden’s debate performance as an “unmitigated disaster”, “a meltdown”, and “a slow-motion car crash”.
Read more:
Excruciating Biden debate performance was among worst in presidential history
The presidential debate as it happened
Changing candidates at this stage of the campaign would be difficult and unprecedented. Unless Mr Biden chooses to step aside, delegates at the Democratic National Convention would have to revolt – despite being elected on their pledge to nominate the president.
The debate mediators divided the time in to subjects, beginning with the economy.
Mr Trump claimed under his presidency the US had the “greatest economy in the history of our country”, only stalling when COVID struck.
Mr Biden hit back saying he inherited “an economy that was in freefall”.
“The pandemic was so badly handled… the economy collapsed,” he said.
“What we had to do is try to put things back together again. That’s exactly what we began to do.”
Watch a special programme with reaction to the US presidential debate on The World with Yalda Hakim on Sky News from 6pm
For much of the debate, Mr Trump was forthright while President Biden, his voice hoarse, came across as hesitant.
On the issue of abortion, Mr Biden appeared to have slightly more success, describing the decision to overturn Roe v Wade as horrendous.
Pic: AP
“It’s been a terrible thing what you’ve done,” he told Trump.
For his part the former president said it was right for individual states to decide policy on abortion.
Next came immigration, previously something of a “trump” card for the former president.
Mr Biden was asked about his record.
“The Border Patrol endorsed me, endorsed my position,” he said, before turning on Mr Trump.
“He was separating babies from mothers, putting them in cages, making sure that the families are separated [when he was in office],” he said.
Mr Trump responded: “We have the largest number of terrorists coming into our country right now.”
Pic: Reuters
“That’s simply not true,” Mr Biden said.
“There’s no data to support what he said, once again, he’s exaggerating. He’s lying.”
Asked what he will do to address the crisis, Mr Trump said “we have to get them out” but didn’t specify any particular policy.
On Ukraine, Mr Trump was the first to answer, taking aim at Mr Biden’s handling of it.
“As far as Russia and Ukraine, if we have a real president, a president that was respected by Putin, then he would have never invaded Ukraine.”
Pic: AP
Asked what he thought of Mr Trump’s comments, Mr Biden replied: “I’ve never heard so much malarkey in my whole life.”
He warned that if Mr Putin wins the war there is a risk he will go after other countries like Poland and Belarus. However, the strength of his argument was undermined by appearing to confuse Mr Trump and President Putin at one point.
The Middle East was next, with Mr Biden saying the US had “saved Israel”, referencing the ongoing support from his government and the organised defence against a massive Iranian air attack.
Pic: AP
Trump however slammed his opponent’s handling of the crisis in the Middle East.
“He’s become like a Palestinian, but they don’t like him because he’s a very bad Palestinian. He’s a weak one,” he said.
Next came topics where Mr Biden genuinely had the chance to land some heavy blows: the Capitol riots and the litany of criminal cases facing Trump.
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The odd punch did hit home but – as throughout the debate – Mr Trump appeared in charge, confident in his own version of the truth. He repeatedly said he did nothing wrong, claiming any action he encouraged was to be carried out “peacefully and patriotically”.
Mr Biden retorted: “He encouraged his folks up on Capitol Hill.
“Now he says if he loses again, [he’s] such a whiner, it is basically [going to be] a bloodbath.”
Joe Biden embraces first lady Dr. Jill Biden after the conclusion of the presidential debate. Pic: Reuters
The only time Mr Trump appeared even slightly uncomfortable was when Mr Biden pointed out his recent criminal charges and called him a convicted felon.
“The only person on this stage that is a convicted felon is this man I’m looking at right now,” he said of the former president.
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The former president denies ‘sex with a porn star’
In one of his most forceful moments of the debate, Mr Biden referred to Mr Trump’s alleged sexual relationship with porn star Stormy Daniels, telling him: “You have the morals of an alley cat.”
The debate continued, covering racial inequality, climate change and the US opioid crisis, but in truth the optics varied little.
People at a watch party for the first presidential debate at Union Pub on Capitol Hill in Washington. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump – a chin-jutting picture of arrogance and self belief. Mr Biden – often seeming to feel his age, only coming into his own when he lost his temper over what he clearly regarded as his opponent’s lies.
The debate revealed little of substance with regard to policy, with podcaster and analyst Tim Miller tweeting that it was “the worst debate in history”.
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Biden and Trump squabble about golf handicaps
The level of the debate was put into sharp relief with the two candidates defending their mental capabilities and squabbling about golf.
Taking a shot at Mr Biden, Mr Trump said the US president “can’t hit a ball 50 yards”.
Mr Biden replied, saying: “I’d be happy to have a driving contest with him.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris says Biden had a ‘slow start’
The hour and a half of to-and-fro is unlikely to have done Mr Trump any harm, but it may well have damaged President Biden.
As one observer pointed out, the problem for Joe Biden and the Democratic Party is “that Trump lies so well and Biden tells the truth so badly”.
World
‘At least 798 killed’ at Gaza aid points – as medical charity warns acute malnutrition at all-time high
At least 798 people in Gaza have reportedly been killed while receiving aid in the past six weeks – while acute malnutrition is said to have reached an all-time high.
The UN human rights office said 615 of the deaths – between 27 May and 7 July – were “in the vicinity” of sites run by the controversial US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
A further 183 people killed were “presumably on the route of aid convoys,” said Ravina Shamdasani, from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Its figures are based on a range of sources, including hospitals, cemeteries, and families in the Gaza Strip, as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs), its partners on the ground, and Hamas-run health authorities.
Aid agency Project Hope said on Thursday that 10 children were among at least 15 people killed as they waited for its clinic in Deir al Balah to open.
Ten children were reportedly killed when Israel attacked near a clinic on Thursday. Pic: AP
The GHF has claimed the UN figures are “false and misleading” and has repeatedly denied any violence at or around its sites.
Meanwhile, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) – also known as Doctors Without Borders – said two of its sites were seeing their worst-ever levels of severe malnutrition.
Cases at its Gaza City clinic are said to have tripled from 293 in May to 983 in early July.
“Over 700 pregnant or breastfeeding women and nearly 500 children are now receiving emergency nutritional care,” MSF said.
The humanitarian medical charity said food prices were at extreme levels, with sugar at $766 (£567) per kilo and flour $30 (£22) per kilo, and many families surviving on one meal of rice or lentils a day.
It’s a major concern for the estimated 55,000 pregnant women in Gaza, who risk miscarriage, stillbirth and malnourished infants because of the shortages.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, after Israel eased its 11-week blockade of aid into the coastal territory.
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US aid contractors claim live ammo fired at Palestinians
It has four distribution centres, three of which are in the southern Gaza Strip.
The sites, kept off-limits to independent media, are guarded by private security contractors and located in zones where the Israeli military operates.
Palestinian witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire towards crowds of people going to receive aid.
The Israeli military says it has fired warning shots at people who have behaved in what it says is a suspicious manner.
It says its forces operate near the aid sites to stop supplies from falling into the hands of militants.
Read more:
GHF aid distribution linked to increased deaths
Gaza situation ‘apocalyptic’, says UN expert
After the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach the aid hubs, the United Nations has called the GHF’s aid model “inherently unsafe” and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
In response, a GHF spokesperson said: “The fact is the most deadly attacks on aid sites have been linked to UN convoys.”
The GHF says it has delivered more than 70 million meals to Gazans in five weeks and claims other humanitarian groups had “nearly all of their aid looted” by Hamas or criminal gangs.
At least 798 people in Gaza have been killed while receiving aid in six weeks, the UN human rights office has said.
A spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said 615 of the killings were “in the vicinity” of sites run by the controversial US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
A further 183 people killed were “presumably on the route of aid convoys,” Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.
The office said its figures are based on numbers from a range of sources, including hospitals, cemeteries and families in the Gaza Strip, as well as NGOs, its partners on the ground and the Hamas-run health authorities.
The GHF has claimed the figures are “false and misleading”. It has repeatedly denied there has been any violence at or around its sites.
The organisation began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, after Israel eased its 11-week blockade of aid into the enclave.
It has four distribution centres, three of which are in the southern Gaza Strip. The sites, kept off-limits to independent media, are guarded by private security contractors and located in zones where the Israeli military operates.
Palestinian witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire towards crowds of people going to receive aid.
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US aid contractors claim live ammo fired at Palestinians
The Israeli military says it has fired warning shots at people who have behaved in what they say is a suspicious manner.
It says its forces operate near the aid sites to stop supplies falling into the hands of militants.
Read more:
GHF aid distribution linked to increased deaths
Gaza situation ‘apocalyptic’, says UN expert
After the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach the aid hubs, the United Nations has called the GHF’s aid model “inherently unsafe” and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
In response, a GHF spokesperson told the Reuters news agency: “The fact is the most deadly attacks on aid sites have been linked to UN convoys.”
The GHF says it has delivered more than 70 million meals to Gazans in five weeks and claims other humanitarian groups had “nearly all of their aid looted” by Hamas or criminal gangs.
Ten children and two women are among at least 15 killed in an airstrike near a Gaza health clinic, according to an aid organisation.
Project Hope said it happened this morning near Altayara Junction, in Deir al Balah, as patients waited for the clinic to open.
The organisation’s president called it a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law, and a stark reminder that no one and no place is safe in Gaza“.
“No child waiting for food and medicine should face the risk of being bombed,” added the group’s project manager, Dr Mithqal Abutaha.
“It was a horrific scene. People had to come seeking health and support, instead they faced death.”
Operations at the clinic – which provides a range of health and maternity services – have been suspended.
Some of the children were reportedly waiting to receive nutritional supplements, necessary due to the dire shortage of food being allowed into Gaza.
Israel‘s military is investigating and said it was targeting a militant who took part in the 7 October terror attack.
“The IDF [Israel Defence Force] regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm as much as possible,” added.
The deaths come as an agreement over a 60-day truce hangs in the balance – with President Trump cautiously saying it could happen “this week, or next week”.
Elsewhere in Gaza, the Nasser Hospital reported another 21 deaths in airstrikes in Khan Younis and in the nearby coastal area of Muwasi.
It said three children and their mother were among the dead.
Israel said its troops have been dismantling more than 130 Hamas infrastructure sites in Khan Younis over the past week, including missile launch sites, weapons storage facilities and a 500m tunnel.
On Wednesday, a soldier was shot dead when militants burst out of a tunnel and tried to abduct him, the military added.
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Do Trump and Netanyahu really get along?
Eighteen soldiers have been killed in the past three weeks – one of the deadliest periods for the Israeli army in months.
A 22-year-old Israeli man was also killed on Thursday by two attackers in a supermarket in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said the Magen David Adom emergency service.
People on site reportedly shot and killed the attackers but information on their identity has so far not been released.
Read more:
IDF chief says conditions ‘created’ for Gaza ceasefire
What is the possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal ?
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Lack of food and water ‘lethal’ for Gaza children
Negotiations over a proposed 60-day ceasefire are ongoing and President Trump reportedly put “heavy” pressure on Israel’s leader, who visited the US this week.
A major sticking point is said to be the status of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) inside Gaza during the 60-day ceasefire and beyond, should it last longer.
However, Sky News understands the Israeli government thinks the chances of a permanent truce are “questionable”.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
More than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war – more than half are women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-controlled health ministry.
Its figure does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.
The war began in October 2023 after Hamas killed around 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 251 others.
Some of them remain In Gaza and are a crucial part of ceasefire negotiations, which also include a planned surge in humanitarian aid into the strip.
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