The first presidential debate was held on June 27th. This debate was perhaps the earliest time in which a major presidential discourse was held and televised nationally during a modern presidential election cycle. The two likely nominees for the major political parties of the United States, Joe Biden the incumbent president and Donald Trump the former 45th president squared off. Held by CNN, the debate did not feature an audience, the moderators had the ability to mute respondents’ microphones, and there were clear time limits for the candidate when giving responses. The debate was organized well, and questions were generally fair, with both candidates being asked about their previous performance records. Ultimately, many individuals believe that Donald Trump appeared the more adequate candidate, and the incumbent president Joe Biden struggled at times to deliver coherent responses. A CBS poll released following the debate claimed that 72% of respondents said Biden is not cognitively fit to be president.
Trump and Republicans have long tried to make the growing crisis at the nations southern border a major political issue and Trump was largely successful in using the topic to attack Biden and weaken his performance. Trump claimed that Bidens handling of the border was destroying the nation, and that the reality is that America’s cities have been turned into volatile and chaotic places. Trump also correctly tied in inflation and the poor economic realities for America’s working class into the crisis- stating that many progressive politicians have given migrants food, shelter, housing, clothing and health benefits while ordinary Americans are struggling to make ends meet.
Many Democrats have called for Biden to step down after the unsightly performance. A political historian named Allan Lichtman who has correctly predicted the outcome of every general presidential election for four decades weighed in on the situation. Lichtman is against Democrats replacing Biden close to the election and claims it would be a huge political mistake.
