Joe Biden comprehensively defeated by Donald Trump in the first presidential debate

It was difficult to watch Joe Biden go head-to-head with Donald Trump in the first presidential debate.

On a human level it was difficult to watch Joe Biden debate Donald Trump in what was probably the most watched political event in history.

Biden, 81, came across as an old man well past his prime, while Trump was his bombastic, brash self, betraying not a hint of cognitive decline by comparison, despite there being only three years between them.

Biden appeared frail and confused, regularly lost his train of thought, stared blankly at the floor, his delivery occasionally descending into what’s sadly become his trademark gibberish. His voice was terribly hoarse, which didn’t help either.

“We finally beat Medicare,” Biden said early on, after a barely comprehensible jumble of words. Viewers could see the pain on his face; he knew he’d screwed up, and while the President’s performance steadily improved it wasn’t enough to redeem him.

Sympathy was not the emotion Democrat strategists were hoping to elicit in a tight race five months out from polling day.

Donald Trump was his bombastic, brash self, betraying not a hint of cognitive decline by comparison. Picture: AFP

Trump, 78, by contrast was relatively nimble, and less aggressive toward Biden than usual, as if he’d taken the advice of numerous Republican advisers who had publicly urged him to appear more statesmanlike, with the aim of letting the ageing Biden embarrass himself.

He hardly interjected at all. It’s a strategy that paid off in spades – perhaps too much if it ends Biden’s candidacy.

Two-thirds of viewers believed Trump won the debate, according to CNN’s poll, a far greater share than back in 2020 when the two men last faced off and Biden was deemed to have comprehensively won.

The arguments between the two men revolved around familiar issues – inflation, immigration, abortion, democracy, the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots, Trump’s legal woes, and the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Both variously exaggerated, lied and fulminated, neither making any new points for anyone who takes a passing interest in US politics. Rhetorically it was a very bland affair, interesting only because of the consequences for the US and the world of the outcome.

Biden made some good points about taxation – the massive US deficit can’t be solved by cutting taxes alone.

But the content of their discussions scarcely mattered. For the roughly three-quarters of American households who tuned in – not to mention world leaders – it was about the President’s physical, and especially mental, fitness.

They wanted to see whether he still had the stamina for another four years. It appears he doesn’t. The animated, focused and sprightly Biden who surprised everyone back in March for the State of Union address was nowhere to be seen.

Just minutes into the 90-minute debate in Atlanta, Georgia, Democrats were panicking, canvassing whether they should try to convince the President to step aside in favour of a new candidate, which could in theory happen at the party’s convention in August.

“It’s hard to argue that Biden should be our nominee,” one senior Democrat told CNN, one of many such comments that emerged after the clock stopped. “Do we have time to put somebody else in there?” prominent Democrat donor Mark Buell asked.

The fact the White House had telegraphed how much effort Biden had put into preparation – at least a week at Camp David hunkered down with his 16 advisers – made the whole performance look even worse.

Democrats have serious decisions to make in coming weeks: persuading a sitting president to voluntarily give up the chance at a second term won’t be easy.

Vice-President Kamala Harris put on a brave face defending the President after the debate, but it’s hard to imagine she, Californian Governor Gavin Newsom and other ambitious Democrats weren’t imagining themselves emerging as the party’s next candidate.

Towards the end, trying to burnish his credentials and experience, Biden noted that he was once among the youngest senators, and now was the oldest president. For many Americans, it seemed to suggest he’d been around too long.

It will be an awkward few days ahead for the Biden family.