ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden and his Republican rival, Donald Trump, meet Thursday for the first general election debate of the 2024 season — a chance for both candidates to try to reshape the political narrative and persuade undecided voters.
Biden, the Democratic incumbent, has the opportunity to reassure voters that, at 81, he’s capable of guiding the U.S. through a range of challenges. Meanwhile, the 78-year-old Trump could use the moment to try to move past his felony conviction in New York and convince an audience of tens of millions that he’s temperamentally suited to return to the Oval Office.
Thursday’s debate in Atlanta will mark at least a couple of firsts — never before have two White House contenders faced off at such advanced ages, and never before has CNN hosted a general election presidential debate.
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio says while he thinks Trump won the debate, ‘there’s a long way to go’
While many Republicans were gloating after the debate, one of Trump’s potential running mates was measured in his assessment.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio scored the former president as the big winner but said “there’s a long way to go,” noting “we haven’t even had conventions yet.”
He said the election won’t turn on one night but on what most Americans feels about inflation and their economic security, the border, and U.S. security amid multiple wars abroad.
“That’s going to influence a lot of voters in the real world, everyday people,” Rubio said, “not political junkies that are already kind of locked in one direction or another.”
Ultimately, the senator added, “I think Trump has an advantage with that.”
Vice president says Biden had a slow start but finished strong in the debate
Vice President Kamala Harris in an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow acknowledged President Joe Biden had a slow start, but said she “thought it was a strong finish.”
“What we had in Joe Biden is someone who wanted to have a debate based on facts, based on truths, and in Donald Trump we have what we’ve come to expect, which is someone who is going to push lies and distract from the reality of the damage he has created and continues to create in our country,” Harris said.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says Democrats shouldn’t panic after debate
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, in an interview on MSNBC after the debate, said in response to a question about panic in his party: “There shouldn’t be.”
“I think it’s unhelpful. And I think it’s unnecessary. We’ve got to go in, we’ve got to keep our heads high. And as I say, we’ve got to have the back of this president. You don’t turn back because of one performance,” Newsom said. “What kind of party does that?”
He continued defending President Joe Biden, saying, “This president has delivered. We need to deliver for him.”
Biden vs. Trump II
Wondering how the second debate might differ from tonight’s? You’re going to have to wait awhile.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump’s second debate is scheduled for Sept. 10 on ABC. The network hasn’t yet released details on the format.
Thursday’s faceoff was the earliest general election presidential debate ever. The second one is also early, and will be held more than six weeks before Election Day.
CNN moderators didn’t do much moderating
CNN’s moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash asked questions and not much more during Thursday’s presidential debate, as the two candidates essentially carried the show on their own.
Almost never did the moderators jump in and cut off or challenge a statement from Donald Trump or Joe Biden, and the candidates only fleetingly interacted directly with Bash and Tapper other than listening to — and sometimes answering — their questions.
It was a stark contrast from debates in previous presidential-election years, when other candidates — particularly Trump — jostled at times with moderators.
So for 90 minutes, Trump and Biden were largely left to do their thing — however the public chose to judge them.
How would the candidates tackle pricey child care?
How will the two candidates tackle the high cost of child care? It’s an issue that is important for millions of working parents of young children.
The presidential debate on Thursday didn’t exactly clarify things, even though Joe Biden has put his support for child care at the forefront of his campaign.
When Donald Trump was asked how he would lower the cost of child care, he ignored the question, and went back to defending his decision to fire his then-chief of staff John Kelly, who had confirmed that Trump made disparaging remarks about military veterans.
He was given another chance to answer the question, and he answered by talking about “polling, we have other things, they rate (Biden) the worst.”
Biden, in jumbled remarks, talked about child care in ways that were at times difficult to follow, even as the White House tries to make the case that Biden’s record investments in child care brought women back to the workforce.
When he was asked what he had to say to Black voters who were “disappointed he hadn’t made more progress” on closing racial disparities, he said, “We got to make sure we provide for child care costs … because when you provide those child care protections, you create economic growth because more people can be in the job market.”
After Trump’s non-answer on child care, Biden shot back that his opponent has “done virtually nothing” on child care.
“We should be significantly increase the child care tax credit. We should significantly increase the availability of women and men, er, single parents to be able to go back to work,” he said.
Trump’s niece urges Biden’s reelection
Donald Trump’s niece, Mary Trump, told reporters after the debate that her uncle has “one policy position – to keep himself out of prison.”
She called him a traitor to his country and noted that “the people who know him best can’t support him” before urging Biden’s reelection.
Trump adviser to Democrats: ‘You have your nominee’
Donald Trump adviser Jason Miller said the former president delivered Thursday on the debate stage and held mostly to discussing issues.
On Joe Biden’s performance and any talk of Democrats turning to another nominee, Miller said a move would be “structurally impossible.”
“Sorry, Democrats. You have your nominee,” Miller said.
Trump and Biden leave the studio
After the debate, President Joe Biden returned to the hotel where he spent much of the day to briefly address supporters at a debate watch party.
“I can’t think of one thing he said that was true,” Biden said about Donald Trump. “Look we’re going to beat this guy. We need to beat this guy and I need you in order to beat him.”
“God love you all,” he said before stepping off the stage to greet some of those supporters.
Meanwhile, Trump was on his way back to his private plane as his aides and supporters gloated about his performance Thursday night.
He’s not planning to stop by the spin room, leaving that job to surrogates, which include several of his vice presidential short-listers.
Some voters frustrated with how the debate went
McALLEN, TEXAS — Marco Perez, 53, voted for Joe Biden in the last election and said he was frustrated with the way Thursday’s debate was going.
“I want to hear more facts, more action as opposed to more finger-pointing, more accusations or false accusations,” Perez said while watching with friends at a McAllen, Texas, bar.
London’s Bar & Grill is normally loud on a day close to the weekend, but many patrons were quiet as they listened to the candidates.
Perez’s friend Virginia Lopez, 51, said she’s unsure which way she’s voting.
“I really feel that one of them — the Republican — I’m disappointed with what he’s done, with his behavior. And the other one, I just feel like he’s too old,” she said.
Lopez said she felt Biden took longer to respond, while Donald Trump had quick replies but the answers were unsatisfying. “Trump is just deflecting in all the answers and he’s just lying. It doesn’t feel like a real debate in the past.”
Fore more years? Biden, Trump take swings at each other’s golf skills
They debated the economy, immigration and foreign policy, but it was an argument over golf handicaps that brought out some of the feistiest comments in Thursday’s debate as Joe Biden and Donald Trump sparred over how far they can hit the ball and their stamina on the course, with Trump bragging about trophies he’s won and Biden noting that he’s a single-digit handicap.
Answering a question about his fitness, Trump, who would be 82 at the end of a second term, bragged that he was in “very good shape” and had recently won two championships at one of his golf courses. “To do that, you have to be quite smart and you have to be able to hit the ball a long way.”
Biden, he said, “can’t hit a ball 50 yards.”
Biden then touted his his own golf abilities. “I got my handicap, when I was vice president, down to six,” Biden said. He again challenged Trump to a golf match, but only if his foe carried his bag of clubs himself.
“Think you can do it?” asked Biden, whose handicap is listed on the United State Golf Association’s website as 6.7, with the last update in July 2018. Trump’s handicap last updated in June 2021 is listed as 2.5. Biden would be 86 at the end of his second term.
Trump called Biden’s handicap claim “the biggest lie of all,” adding: “I’ve seen your swing. I know your swing.”
Trump then sought to shut down the golf discussion.
“Let’s not act like children,” Trump said.
“You are a child,” Biden retorted.
In golf, a handicap is a measure of a player’s skill. The lower the handicap, better the player is.
Democrats weighing in
Georgia state Rep. Billy Mitchell, a leading Democrat in the suburban Atlanta Democratic heartland of DeKalb County, said he thought Joe Biden could overcome his debate performance.
“The bar was set so low by his opponent that he certainly exceeded that,” Mitchell said at the Biden campaign watch party in downtown Atlanta. “The reality is we love Joe Biden because of where his heart is, despite if he looked like he had a cold here and there.”
Former Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro said in a post on the social platform X that, “Biden had a very low bar going into the debate and failed to clear even that bar. He seemed unprepared, lost, and not strong enough to parry effectively with Trump, who lies constantly.”
Trump supporters react to his debate performance
As the debate came to a close, Donald Trump supporter retired police officer Nick Glaub, of Ross, Ohio, watched with his feet kicked up onto a nearby performance stage, a can of Corona beer sitting on the table.
Glaub was pleased with Trump’s debate performance and said he noticed the lack of attack lines from Trump.
“I just think he held his composure,” he said.
Chuck Thompson, a Trump supporter from Mason, Ohio, who came to the watch party decked in an American flag button-down shirt, was also pleased with Trump’s debate performance, noting the difference in tone from Trump’s last debate against President Biden in 2020.
“He didn’t lash out,” Thompson said. “He’s learned how to control his temper.
Biden bungles his answer to abortion question
President Joe Biden gave a nonsensical answer on abortion, one of the most important issues for Democrats in this year’s election.
He was unable to explain Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion.
When asked during the debate if he supports some restrictions on abortion Biden said he “supports Roe v. Wade, which had three trimesters. The first time is between a woman and a doctor. Second time is between a doctor and an extreme situation. A third time is between the doctor, I mean, between the women and the state.”
He added that he thought doctors, not politicians, should make decisions about “women’s health.”
The candidates’ closing statements
President Joe Biden began his closing statement with a voice that was even scratchier than earlier and was at times hard to understand.
He said of his administration, “We’ve made significant progress from the debacle that was left by President Trump is in his last term” but also flubbed the price cuts on insulin he helped champion, saying $35 when he meant $15.
In his closing statement, former President Donald Trump tried again to lump Biden in with other career politicians, calling Biden “a complainer.”
He also said that the public and foreign leaders don’t respect Biden, saying, “The whole country is exploding because of you.”
Trump asked if he will accept the results of the 2024 election
Though asked three times, former President Donald Trump never directly affirmed that he would accept the election results, no matter who wins.
Several times Trump noted that he would accept the results “if it’s a fair and legal and good election” but wouldn’t give a “yes” or “no” answer to moderator Dana Bash’s inquiries.
The follow-ups came after Trump ultimately denounced political violence as “totally unacceptable.”
After the moderator asked Trump three times whether he would accept the results of the November election, Joe Biden responded that he doubted Trump would “because you’re such a whiner.”
Biden noted there was no evidence of any widespread fraud in the 2020 election and that multiple courts had dismissed challenges brought by Trump’s campaign.
Biden uses term ‘illegal aliens’ while discussing immigration
Joe Biden used the term “illegal aliens” while responding to Donald 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
More than 80 minutes into the debate, President Joe Biden, 81, and former President Donald 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.”
Fact check: Biden cites wrong numbers on a survey of presidential historians
At two different moments in the debate, Joe Biden said either 159 or 158 presidential historians voted Donald 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.
Biden says Trump wants to cut Social Security
Joe 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 Donald 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 brags about ‘immaculate, clean water’ during his presidency
When former President Donald 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.
Joe 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.
Fact check: Trump’s claim Pelosi turned down his offer to send National Guard members on Jan. 6, 2021
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.
Trump’s hush money conviction mentioned for the first time
Almost 45 minutes into the debate, President Joe Biden finally referenced former President Donald 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.
Questioning turns to the events of Jan. 6, 2021
Debate questions are turning to Jan. 6, 2021, when supporters of then-President Donald 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.
The first half hour
In first half hour of debate, a raspy Joe Biden has delivered rambling answers that sometimes trail off as he defends his policies and record.
Donald 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
Joe Biden pushed back at Donald 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
The questioning during Thursday’s debate turned to foreign policy beginning with the Russian war in Ukraine, which is now in its third year.
Former President Donald 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
Former President Donald 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.
President Joe 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.
Rewind: Biden trails off
Joe 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
President Joe Biden blamed Donald Trump during teh 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
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
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.
During the commercial breaks
Both Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s campaigns will continue to press their cases during the debate’s commercial breaks.
Trump’s campaign is out with two new ads that will air in key battleground states and in Washington, D.C., during the broadcast Thursday night.
The first questions whether Biden can make it four more years in the White House, featuring footage of him tripping up the stairs of Air Force One and falling off his bike.
“Vote Joe Biden today. Get Kamala Harris tomorrow,” a narrator says.
The second asks voters whether they are better off today than when they were four years ago when it comes to the economy, public safety and national security.
“After four years of failure under Joe Biden, it’s time to make America prosperous and strong again,” it says.
Biden’s campaign is also planning a new ad on abortion as part of its ad buy, which includes digital and print ads and billboards.
First question covers state of the U.S. economy
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.
The debate begins
Thursday’s debate has begun with a recitation of the rules by the hosts, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. No audience is present.
President Joe Biden and presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump both slowly walked to their respective podiums as they arrived on the debate stage. They did not shake hands.
Trump’s likely VP picks are in the building
The Republicans seen as Donald Trump’s most likely picks for his running mate will be among those speaking on his behalf to the media after Thursday’s debate.
Ohio Sen. JD Vance, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio will be advocating for Trump in the post-debate analysis, according to a person familiar with the plan who was not authorized to speak publicly.
They’re all seen as being on Trump’s shortlist for a potential running mate and their performances tonight are expected to be a factor in their audition for the role.
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.
___
This version corrects that CNN only responded to requests for an outside journalist to be present in the studio during the debate, not that it agreed in that response to let an outside journalist be present.