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.
Image: 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.
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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”.
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.”
Early debate was a gamble Joe Biden may regret
This was an extraordinary evening.
Joe Biden’s debate performance was among the worst by any presidential candidate in history, if not the worst.
It was an “unmitigated disaster”, “a meltdown”, and “a slow-motion car crash”.
Those are not descriptors from Republican voters, they are the words of Democrats. Even former aides of President Biden admit it was a really horrible night for him.
I was literally gripping the sides of my seat at times it was so excruciating. Team Biden hoped to see State of the Union Joe on the stage, when the President gave a slick, impassioned and well-delivered speech.
Right from the start it became apparent this would be an entirely different version of him. His voice was hoarse, he was stumbling and there were long pregnant pauses.
I was struck by how much older he looked than the last time he was in the same room as Donald Trump four years ago.
“We finally beat Medicare,” he said with a misspeak that is sure to go viral, a sentence that does not make sense and was pounced upon by Donald Trump.
Biden was asked by the debate moderator about abortion, one of the strongest issues for the Democratic Party, a subject where he has the opportunity to really nail Donald Trump to the wall.
He somehow managed to ramble his way off-topic to talk about immigration, one of his biggest vulnerabilities. It was an open goal missed in spectacular style.
The debate descended near the end into a row between two senior citizens about who had a lower golf handicap and who could drive the ball further.
It summed up the quality, or lack thereof, of this debate. It might have been funny if it weren’t so depressing for American voters.
It is hard to believe that President Biden fought for this debate at this time, the earliest there has ever been.
His team calculated that, given he was trailing Trump in the polls and there were growing questions about his age and vitality, it was a risk worth taking.
But it was a huge gamble, given that this format is so exposing on the national stage. It could well be a gamble they come to regret.
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.
Image: 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.”
Image: 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.”
Image: 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.
Image: 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.”
Image: 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.
Image: 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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The search for Jay Slater in an area of Tenerife has been called off, police have said, nearly two weeks after his disappearance.
The British teenager, from Oswaldtwistle, near Blackburn in Lancashire, has been missing in Tenerife since 17 June, when he vanished the morning after a rave.
The Civil Guard called for volunteers to join a new search in the Masca area – near his last-known location – on Saturday.
It has now confirmed to Sky News that the search has ended. Police are keeping the investigation open and could yet open up searches in the south of the island, but have not provided an update.
A handful of volunteers turned up to help rescue teams on Saturday, forming a total group of 30 to 40 people scouring a huge area of rugged and hilly terrain.
Image: The Los Carrizales ravine where Jay Slater was being searched for. Pic: Reuters
Mr Slater, 19, had been on holiday with friends on the Spanish island and was last pictured at Papayago, a nightclub hosting the end of the NRG festival, late on 16 June.
After the event ended, he got in a car travelling to a small Airbnb in Masca with two men, who police said on Saturday are “not relevant” to the case.
His last known location was the Rural de Teno Park in the north of the island – which is about an 11-hour walk from his accommodation.
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‘I just want him back’
A local cafe owner told Sky News he tried to catch a bus back to Los Cristianos, where he was staying.
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Ofelia Medina Hernandez said she spoke to the teenager at 8am on 17 June, telling him a bus was due at 10am – but he set off walking and she said she later drove past him “walking fast”.
Image: A missing persons poster for Jay Slater in Tenerife
The apprentice bricklayer called a friend holidaying with him at around 8.30am on 17 June and said he was going to walk back after missing the bus.
He also told his friend he was lost and in need of water, with only 1% charge on his phone.
On Friday, Mr Slater’s friend Brad Hargreaves told ITV’s This Morning he had been on a video call with him before his disappearance when he heard him go off the road.
He said he could see his friend’s feet “sliding” down the hill and hear he was walking on gravel.
Meanwhile, Mr Slater’s family shared a blurry image of what they believe could be the missing teenager captured on CCTV in a nearby town 10 hours after he was first reported missing.
Image: Mr Slater’s family shared a blurry image of what they believe could be the missing teenager
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Voters in France are heading to the polls today for a parliamentary election that could usher in the country’s first far-right government since the Second World War.
French President Emmanuel Macron called a surprise vote after his centrist alliance was soundly beaten in the European elections by Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally earlier this month.
Voting began at 8am (7am UK time), closing at 4pm in smaller towns and 6pm in bigger cities. A winner may be apparent on Sunday night.
France has a semi-presidential system, which means it has both a president and a prime minister.
The voting taking place today will determine who is prime minister but not president, with Mr Macron already set on remaining in his role until the end of his term in 2027.
If Ms Le Pen’s party wins an absolute majority, France would have a government and president from opposing political camps for only the fourth time in post-war history.
How does the election work?
There are 577 constituency contests, one for each seat in the National Assembly, which is the lower house of parliament.
Candidates with an absolute majority of votes in their constituency are elected in the first round.
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In most cases, no candidate meets this criteria and a second round is held, which will be next Sunday – 7 July – when the final outcome will be confirmed.
To qualify for the run-off, candidates need first-round votes amounting to at least 12.5% of registered voters.
The top scorer wins the second round.
When will we have a result?
Voting ends at 8pm (7pm UK time), when pollsters publish nationwide projections based on a partial vote count.
Official results start trickling in, with counting usually fast and efficient and the winners of almost all seats likely to be known by the end of the evening.
Adding to those calls, The New York Times urged the president to quit the race to give another candidate a better chance at defeating Trump.
“Mr Biden has been an admirable president,” the newspaper said in a piece by its editorial board.
“But the greatest public service Mr Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election.”
It added: “As it stands, the president is engaged in a reckless gamble. There are Democratic leaders better equipped to present clear, compelling and energetic alternatives to a second Trump presidency.
“There is no reason for the party to risk the stability and security of the country by forcing voters to choose between Mr Trump’s deficiencies and those of Mr Biden.”
More on Joe Biden
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‘I can do this job’
Mr Biden has tried to quell anxieties since his performance. At a rally in North Carolina, he appeared to acknowledge the criticism, but struck a defiant tone.
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“I don’t walk as easy as I used to, I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to, I don’t debate as well as I used to, but I know what I do know,” said Mr Biden. “I know how to tell the truth.”
“I give you my word as a Biden, I wouldn’t be running again if I did not believe, with all my heart and soul, I can do this job,” he told the rally.
Mr Biden attacked the former president’s criminal record, calling Trump a “one-man crimewave”.
Image: President Biden greets supporters as he arrives in Raleigh. Pic: AP
“My guess is he set a new record for the most lies told in a single debate,” he added, telling the crowd he spent “90 minutes on the stage debating a guy with the morals of an alley cat”.
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‘Biden, you are fired’
Hours later, Donald Trump was jubilant at a rally in Chesapeake, Virginia.
“Never mind that crooked Joe Biden spent a week at Camp David, resting, working, studying – he studied so hard he didn’t know what the hell he was doing,” Mr Trump told the crowd.
“Biden’s problem is not his age, […] he’s got no problem other than his competence. He’s grossly incompetent,” he added.
Bad debate nights happen
Barack Obama tweeted his support for President Biden on Friday evening, saying: “Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know.”
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Joe Biden had a cold and sore throat during last night’s debate, the White House said.
But others remained unconvinced he should run for president.
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Joe Biden appears to stall during debate
“I do not think President Joe Biden can be the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer in 2024,” former White House director of global engagement Brett Bruen told Sky News’ Yalda Hakim.
“Last night’s performance was astonishingly bad. You cannot just be strong on the teleprompter,” he said.
But Anthony Scaramucci, former White House communications director, blamed the president’s poor performance on his preparation.
“He wasn’t prepped right for that debate. He’s an older man,” Mr Scaramucci told Yalda Hakim.
“You don’t fill his head with facts and figures he’s never going to remember.”
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Biden v Trump: What you need to know
There have been repeated calls for President Biden to step down.
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.
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Kamala Harris says Biden had a ‘slow start’ but he ‘pushed facts’ while Donald Trump ‘pushed lies’.
However, while Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledged that President Joe Biden had a “slow start” in the debate, she insisted that he finished “strong”.
President Biden’s campaign spokesperson said there are no conversations taking place about the president stepping aside from his re-election bid.
He also still plans to take part in the next debate against Donald Trump, which is slated for 10 September, said the spokesperson. They added that last night’s debate has not changed the campaign strategy.
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At a Waffle House restaurant in Atlanta after the debate, Biden told reporters he did not have concerns about his performance. “It’s hard to debate a liar,” he said.