The contest was seen as a test of each man's fitness for office.
In a historic clash of personality and policy, Joe Biden and Donald Trump took the stage for the first presidential debate of the 2024 election.
The showdown provided a rare opportunity for both candidates to move the needle in what has been a stubbornly tight race for the White House, but at the end of the night, Biden's halting performance raised new concerns among Democrats and cause Republicans to celebrate.
The debate was a rematch for Biden and Trump, who faced each other twice in 2020, but a first-of-its-kind format and a vastly different political landscape presented new challenges for the two rivals.
Trump largely avoiding taking on a question about what he would say to Americans who believe he violated his oath on Jan. 6, 2021, and are worried he would do it again.
Instead, he pivoted to the border and to criticizing Biden's record.
Moderator Jake Tapper pressed him again, saying there was 80 seconds remaining to answer the question. Trump went on to attack former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.<
In a heated moment in response to Trump's claim that the president "doesn't care about our veterans," Biden referenced a 2020 Atlantic article in which Trump was reported to have called Americans killed as "suckers" while on a trip to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France in 2018.
On the subsequently canceled visit, the Atlantic reported that Trump told senior staff members, "Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers."
Referring to his late son Beau during the debate, Biden said to Trump, "My son was not a loser, was not a sucker. You're the sucker, you're the loser."
Trump responded by saying it was in a "third-rate magazine" and the source had "made it up."
During the debate, Trump claimed that Democrats "support abortion up to and even beyond the ninth month," and contended that some Democratic states have had such a stance.
Democrats have never advocated for killing a baby after it is born as this would be murder, which is illegal in every state. Nine states have no abortion restrictions in place; however, it should be noted that late-term abortions are exceedingly rare, representing 1%, according to KFF.
False. Unemployment was near historical lows under Trump. However, growth in gross domestic product was well below what previous presidents achieved, and other metrics such as wages and business investment ranged from decent to mediocre.
The annual increases in GDP under Trump were broadly similar to what they were during the final six years under his predecessor, Barack Obama. And GDP growth under Trump was well below that of prior presidents.
-Analysis by Aaron Sharockman, PolitiFact
