Biden falters in high-stakes debate, Trump spews falsehoods

The contest was seen as a test of each man's fitness for office.

ByAlexandra Hutzler, Tal Axelrod, Meredith Deliso, and Ivan Pereira
Last Updated: June 27, 2024, 6:02 PM EDT

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.

Top headlines:

Here's how the debate developed:
Jun 27, 2024, 9:55 PM EDT

Trump: ‘If I didn't bring in the National Guard [in Minneapolis], that city would have been destroyed’

False. During an exchange on the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, Trump pivoted to the quick action he says he took to stop rioting in Minneapolis after George Floyd was killed in the custody of a Minneapolis police officer.

"If I didn’t bring in the National Guard, that city would have been destroyed," Trump claimed.

It was Gov. Tim Walz who activated 500 Minnesota National Guardsmen to provide support to local law enforcement in Minneapolis.

-Analysis by Aaron Sharockman, PolitiFact

Jun 27, 2024, 9:50 PM EDT

Biden calls Trump a 'convicted felon' and Trump brings up Hunter

Amid questioning about democracy and the Trump mob attack on the U.S. Capitol, Biden took a shot at Trump's historic conviction in the hush money case.

ABC News chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas details the exchange between the current and former president.
2:47

Donald Trump’s felony conviction brought up on debate stage

ABC News chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas details the exchange between the current and former president.
ABCNews.com

"The only convicted felon is the guy standing on the stage with me now," Biden said.

Trump then quickly brought up Hunter Biden's recent conviction on federal gun charges.

President Joe Biden speaks as he participates in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections with former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at CNN's studios in Atlanta, on June 27, 2024.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
Jun 27, 2024, 9:45 PM EDT

Trump deflects when asked about Jan. 6, violating oath

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.<

Jun 27, 2024, 9:42 PM EDT

Biden addresses Trump's alleged 'suckers' veterans comment: 'You're the sucker'

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."