Biden falters in high-stakes debate, Trump spews falsehoods

Voters across Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania spoke with ABC News about their unhappiness with both candidates and what they're looking to hear from them during the debate.

"I'd like to see what they're going to do for small businesses in this country," said Scranton resident Jennifer Merceau, whose husband owns a masonry company.

Janee Johnson, who works at Toast 'N Jams in Muskegon, Michigan, said the focus should be on doing the "right things for America."

Michael Kordecki, the owner of that restaurant, wishes he could tell the candidates to "be more positive about America, about our future, and about what we can do with or without new people coming into the country."

Read more about these voters here.

3:05

Battleground state voters on the economy, inflation, abortion and immigration

Voters in battle ground states respond to what they want to hear on the debate stage, and their ideas to improve the everyday struggles confronting millions of families.

ABCNews.com

With 131 days until Election Day, this faceoff is occurring months ahead of the usual fall timeline.

"The combination of having so many people with doubts about both candidates, coupled with the first debate occurring before either convention, heightens its potential importance," Republican political strategist Whit Ayres told ABC News.

Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville told ABC News: "People's attitudes are very fixed and voters tend to be pretty entrenched. The person that 'wins' ... in this debate is going to be the one that provides voters with some new information."

-ABC News' Isabella Murray and Tommy Barone

Millions of eyeballs will be on Thursday's debate -- here's what to watch for as Biden and Trump face off.

Will any gaffes or knockout punches break through? Conversations on policy are unlikely to break through, but viewers could remember a serious lapse or a zinger that lands.

Will character or policy rule the day? Both sides have lobbed personal attacks -- Biden has dubbed Trump a "convicted felon" and threat to democracy, and Trump has essentially called the president, without evidence, the leader of a crime syndicate. Will the debate stay focused on issues like abortion, immigration and the economy? Or will the two candidates opt for a more scorched-Earth stance?

5:49

First-ever debate to take place between a sitting president and a former one

White House correspondent Maryalice Parks and political director Rick Klein discuss Biden and Trump facing off in Atlanta for the first presidential debate of the 2024 election.

ABCNews.com

Typically, a sitting president is debating a governor or senator, with the incumbent's record the main focus. But Trump also spent four years in the White House. Whose record will get more scrutiny?

The debate is happening uniquely early in an election cycle. It remains unclear if any big moments will be washed away by November, or if it'll help set the tone heading into the summer.

The debate is also featuring a novel format -- microphones will be cut off when candidates aren't recognized to speak, and there will be no audience to feed off of. That could deprive Trump of the energy he seeks, helping Biden. But the microphone cutoffs could help "enforce some discipline" on Trump, said GOP strategist David Kochel.

Read more here.

Hi everyone, I'm Aaron Sharockman, the executive director of PolitiFact. I'm excited to join the ABC/538 team to provide fact-checking of the candidates. If you don't know PolitiFact, we've been fact-checking political statements since 2007 using our Truth-O-Meter, which rates claims on a scale from True to Pants on Fire False.

We'll be providing you real-time updates throughout the night.

How? Well, it's not because we're super smart or super fast (though maybe we are a little bit). No, it's really because we've been fact-checking Biden and Trump for more than a dozen years. And over all those years, and all their campaigns, they've said a lot of things worth fact-checking.

And both candidates often repeat themselves.

Our team of 25 fact-checkers and editors have prepped dozens of instant fact-checks based on what we expect Trump and Biden might say. And if they do, we'll be able to share that analysis with you almost instantly.

If you want a primer of what we expect to hear tonight -- and how accurate those claims are -- you can take a look here.

-Analysis by Aaron Sharockman, PolitiFact