After the US debate: Biden's age dominates global coverage
Kyiv • UNN
Biden's shaky and incoherent performance during the first presidential debate in 2024 raised serious concerns about his age and and his ability to serve another term as President of the United States. Trump delivered his usual false attacks and boasts, but with energy and confidence.
Joe Biden and Donald Trump met for the first time in four years. Age and ability was a major theme in the coverage after Thursday's first round, as one candidate is 81 years old and the other is 78. But experts also pointed out that of Trump's statements are not true.
Written by UNN with reference to Reuters, Tagesspiegel and Axios.
Details
Joe Biden wants to be president of the United States for another four years, and Donald Trump wants to be president again. The day before, the two candidates for what is arguably the most important presidential post in the world had their first live TV match since 2016.
The first half of Thursday night's presidential debate did not dispel concerns about the age of incumbent President Joe Biden. Observers called Biden's performance shaky and intermittent.
"(Biden) is tired and exhausted," Tagesspiegel writes.
President Biden's responses during the first debate of the 2024 election were at times incoherent (...) allies immediately expressed serious concerns about the impact on his campaign against Donald Trump
Donald Trump, on the other hand, attacked Biden with a series of often false attacks, but the Democratic candidate did not respond effectively to his opponent's numerous lies. Biden was often at a loss for words and became more confident only at the end.
"It was a disastrous evening for Biden. He could not keep up with Trump. It's hard to imagine that he will be able to rule the country for another four years," political adviser Jan Bremmer told Tagesspiegel.
The impression of President Biden's speech has stirred up his fellow Democrats.
"Likely to exacerbate voter concerns that the 81-year-old president is too old to serve another four-year term," Reuters notes.
According to the news agency, one of Biden's largest donors, who did not wish to be named, criticized the president and called his speech "disqualifying." He is currently expecting a new round of calls for Biden to resign ahead of the party's national convention.
It is important to note that experts are also reluctant to talk about Trump's unequivocal success. The Republican has "persistently and pathologically lied" and done little to allay concerns about his fitness for office, says Asher Hildebrand, who teaches public policy at Duke University in North Carolina.
(Trump) delivered "his usual list of petty complaints and loud boasting. But he did so with energy and confidence
This was facilitated by CNN's inexplicable decision not to question or verify his lies, the expert added.
Context
The 90-minute televised confrontation on CNN took place much earlier than any modern presidential debate, more than four months before Election Day on November 5.
Both candidates spoke without a live audience, and their microphones were automatically turned off when it was not their turn to speak - both atypical rules put in place to avoid the chaos that derailed their first debate in 2020, when Trump repeatedly interrupted Biden.
The two men, who did not hide their mutual hostility, did not shake hands or recognize each other either before or after the debate.
But there were many more moments in which their animosity was evident. Each called the other the worst president in history; Biden called Trump a "loser" and a "whiner," and Trump called Biden a "disaster.
