Biden falters in high-stakes debate, Trump spews falsehoods
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.
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Candidates asked to address opioid crisis
The candidates were asked what they could do to help Americans battling the opioid crisis in the U.S.
After being prompted to respond to the question, Trump said that during his term as president they had "great equipment" and drug-detecting dogs to find illicit drugs at the border.
Biden said the U.S. needs machinery that can detect fentanyl and more agents at the border, and added that the U.S. is coming down "very hard" on countries in Asia that are producing fentanyl.
Biden, Trump asked about voter concerns about their age
Moderator Dana Bash asked Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, to address voter concerns about their age.
"First of all, I spent half my career being criticized for being the youngest person in politics," Biden said. "I was the second youngest person ever elected to the United States Senate. And now I'm the oldest. This guy's three years younger and a lot less competent."
Biden said voters should look at his record and what his administration's accomplished.
Trump pointed to the "cognitive test" he's taken. In 2018, he took the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a test designed to detect early signs of memory loss and other mild cognitive impairment.
"He took none," Trump said of Biden. "I'd like to see him take one, just one, a really easy one. Like go through the first five questions, he couldn't do it."
Incumbent presidents have often had a tough first debate
Biden had a poor start to this debate, and if he ends up being viewed as the "loser" tonight, he'd be just the latest incumbent president to go through this. Incumbent presidents like Ronald Reagan in 1984, George W. Bush in 2004, Barack Obama in 2012 and Trump in 2020 all lost 2 to 3 points in the polls after their first debate.
Reagan, the last president to face real questions about his age -- he was 73 in 1984 -- had a meandering performance that prompted questions about whether he had gotten too old for the job. Reagan shot back in the second debate against Democratic nominee Walter Mondale, who was in his mid-50s, with the famous line: "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience." Reagan, however, also had a roaring economy, which helped him win a landslide reelection victory.
-Geoffrey Skelley, 538
Biden has a cold, campaign says
An hour in and here is the Biden campaign spin on what so far has been a rocky performance by the president.
Biden has a cold (but tested negative for COVID-19), the campaign confirms. They haven't offered any explanation for why they didn't disclose this sooner.
Overall, the campaign says they are feeling fine. They agree it was a slow start but say he's found his groove.
-ABC News' Mary Bruce and Molly Nagle
Trump deflects when asked if will accept election results
Trump went to other topics when asked if he would accept the results of the 2024 election and had to be asked the question several times.
The former president finally responded, "If it's a fair and legal and good election absolutely," before adding that he would have accepted the last election if not for "the fraud." There was no evidence of widespread election fraud in the 2020 election.
Biden pushed back that Trump's fraud claims were debunked by courts, telling him, "You can't stand the loss."
"I doubt you'll accept it because you're a whiner," he said.