US presidential debate LIVE updates: Donald Trump, Joe Biden clash over abortion, economy and foreign affairs ahead of 2024 US election

The first presidential debate of the 2024 US election rapidly descended into a nightmare for Democrats as 81-year-old incumbent Joe Biden tried unconvincingly to persuade a deeply sceptical nation that he’s capable of a second term.

Five months from an election involving two candidates many voters say they don’t want, the debate also put the spotlight on the issue of Donald Trump’s criminal convictions, as Biden accused his Republican opponent of having “the morals of an alley cat” while highlighting Trump’s affair with porn star Stormy Daniels and his sexual abuse of writer E. Jean Carroll.

But about 12 minutes in Biden, who looked sluggish from the moment he took the stage, appeared to lose his train of thought, partway through an answer about the economy.

The occasionally incoherent performance sent shockwaves through the Democratic Party, some of whose members began discussing whether the party ought to find another candidate before the Democratic National Conventions in August, when a nominee is formally announced.

“It was a really disappointing debate performance from Joe Biden. I don’t think there’s any other way to slice it,” said former White House communications director Kate Bedingfield.

You can read more of North America correspondent Farrah Tomazin’s report on the debate, and the fallout, here.

Biden ’s halting debate performance has led some in his own party to begin questioning whether he should be replaced on the ballot before November.

There is no evidence Biden is willing to end his campaign. And it would be nearly impossible for Democrats to replace him unless he chooses to step aside.

Why?

Every state has already held its presidential primary. Democratic rules mandate that the delegates Biden won remain bound to support him at the party’s upcoming national convention unless he tells them he’s leaving the race.

Biden indicated that he had no plans to do that, telling supporters in Atlanta shortly after he left the debate stage, “Let’s keep going.” Biden campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hill was even clearer, saying: “Of course he’s not dropping out.”

The conventions and their rules are controlled by the political parties. The Democratic National Committee could convene before the convention opens on August 19 and change how things will work, but that isn’t likely as long as Biden wants to continue seeking reelection.

The current rules read: “Delegates elected to the national convention pledged to a presidential candidate shall in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them.”

Joe Biden walks from the stage during a break in a presidential debate with Donald Trump.Credit: AP

Vice President Kamala Harris in an interview with US broadcaster MSNBC acknowledged President Joe Biden had a slow start, but said she “thought it was a strong finish.”

“What we had in Joe Biden is someone who wanted to have a debate based on facts, based on truths, and in Donald Trump we have what we’ve come to expect, which is someone who is going to push lies and distract from the reality of the damage he has created and continues to create in our country,” Harris said.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, in an interview on MSNBC after the debate, said in response to a question about panic in his party: “There shouldn’t be.”

“I think it’s unhelpful. And I think it’s unnecessary. We’ve got to go in, we’ve got to keep our heads high. And as I say, we’ve got to have the back of this president. You don’t turn back because of one performance,” Newsom said. “What kind of party does that?”

He continued defending Biden, saying, “This president has delivered. We need to deliver for him.”

President Joe Biden boards Air Force One after the debate.Credit: AP

After the debate, President Joe Biden returned to the hotel where he spent much of the day to briefly address supporters at a debate watch party.

“I can’t think of one thing he said that was true,” Biden said about Donald Trump. “Look we’re going to beat this guy. We need to beat this guy and I need you in order to beat him.”

“God love you all,” he said before stepping off the stage to greet some of those supporters.

Meanwhile, Trump was on his way back to his private plane as his aides and supporters gloated about his performance.

He’s not planning to stop by the spin room, leaving that job to surrogates, which include several of his vice presidential short-listers.

President Joe Biden and Jill Biden speak at a presidential debate watch party.Credit: AP

Wondering how the second debate might differ from this one? You’re going to have to wait awhile.

President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump’s second debate is scheduled for September 10 on US broadcaster ABC. The network hasn’t yet released details on the format.

This debate was the earliest general election presidential debate ever. The second one is also early and will be held more than six weeks before Election Day.

As for how this debate flowed? CNN’s moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash asked questions and not much more during the debate, as the two candidates essentially carried the show on their own.

Almost never did the moderators jump in and cut off or challenge a statement from Donald Trump or Joe Biden, and the candidates only fleetingly interacted directly with Bash and Tapper other than listening to — and sometimes answering — their questions.

It was a stark contrast from debates in previous presidential-election years, when other candidates — particularly Trump — jostled at times with moderators.

So for 90 minutes, Trump and Biden were largely left to do their thing — however the public chose to judge them.

AP

What did we just see – the spectacle of an emperor with no clothes, or an aged president unfit to continue for a second term in office?

Make no mistake. This was an outright win by Donald Trump – because it was an outright fail by Joe Biden. Trump confounded Biden at every opportunity, from inflation to immigration to America’s standing in the world. It does not matter whether Trump lied – and he lied constantly – it only mattered that he kept pushing the hottest political buttons that drive the most votes in order to deliver the election to him in November.

As the two presidents stepped onto the stage, the race had been static for nearly a year. Biden and Trump have been tied head-to-head in the national popular vote in the mid-40 per cent range. Trump has consistent leads in most of the swing states – anywhere from two to seven points. If the election were held before this debate began, Trump would win.

Going into this debate, Trump enjoyed a significant lead over Biden in support on who is best to manage the three biggest issues: the economy and inflation, immigration, and crime. Biden does better on Trump’s threats to democracy and abortion rights. But Trump’s issues are stronger drivers of the outcome of this election.

Read the full opinion piece here.

Bruce Wolpe is a senior fellow at the University of Sydney’s United States Studies Centre. He has served on the Democratic staff in the US Congress and as chief of staff to former prime minister Julia Gillard.

The first presidential debate of the 2024 US election rapidly descended into a nightmare for Democrats as 81-year-old incumbent Joe Biden tried unconvincingly to persuade a deeply sceptical nation that he’s capable of a second term.

Five months from an election involving two candidates many voters say they don’t want, the debate also put the spotlight on the issue of Donald Trump’s criminal convictions, as Biden accused his Republican opponent of having “the morals of an alley cat” while highlighting Trump’s affair with porn star Stormy Daniels and his sexual abuse of writer E. Jean Carroll.

But about 12 minutes in Biden, who looked sluggish from the moment he took the stage, appeared to lose his train of thought, partway through an answer about the economy.

The occasionally incoherent performance sent shockwaves through the Democratic Party, some of whose members began discussing whether the party ought to find another candidate before the Democratic National Conventions in August, when a nominee is formally announced.

“It was a really disappointing debate performance from Joe Biden. I don’t think there’s any other way to slice it,” said former White House communications director Kate Bedingfield.

You can read more of North America correspondent Farrah Tomazin’s report on the debate, and the fallout, here.

Georgia state representative Billy Mitchell, a leading Democrat in the suburban Atlanta Democratic heartland of DeKalb County, said he thought Joe Biden could overcome his debate performance.

“The bar was set so low by his opponent that he certainly exceeded that,” Mitchell said at the Biden campaign watch party in downtown Atlanta. “The reality is we love Joe Biden because of where his heart is, despite if he looked like he had a cold here and there.”

Former Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro said in a post on the social platform X that, “Biden had a very low bar going into the debate and failed to clear even that bar. He seemed unprepared, lost, and not strong enough to parry effectively with Trump, who lies constantly.”

AP

How did US political reports view the debate?

The Washington Post’s national political reporter Maeve Reston said the first few minutes of the debate were “brutal for Biden” and while he got better as it progressed he won’t have done anything to have assured voters who backed him in 2020 who are now worried he’s no longer up for the job.

“I’m baffled by why Democrats pushed so hard for this debate. It’s hard to imagine that they’ll want him to do another one”.

For The New York Times, Reid Epstein who is covering the Biden campaign, writes the president’s performance was “indeed quite bad” but that won’t surprise anyone who has watched the 81-year-old through his term.

“His campaign is already spinning that on the issues Biden did better than Trump, but the question is how many voters will simply see Biden as someone who is not physically capable of running the country.”

Former special adviser to Barack Obama and now CNN pundit Van Jones has delivered a scathing appraisal of Biden’s debate performance.

“That was painful, I love Joe Biden, I worked for Joe Biden, he didn’t do well at all. He did not do well at all,” Jones told CNN. “He’s doing the best that he can, but he had a test tonight to restore the confidence of the country and … he failed to do that.”

“And I think there’s a lot of people who are going to want to see him consider taking a different course. Now we’re still far from our convention, and there is time for this party to figure out a different way.

“But that was not what we needed for Joe Biden, and it’s personally painful for a lot of people. It’s not just panic, it’s pain”.