US President Joe Biden and his Republican rival Donald Trump clashed in a tense debate that focused on the war in Ukraine and Donald Trump’s criminal convictions.
The two candidates laid out their competing visions for the presidency in a debate in which both tried to convince voters ahead of the November election.
The meeting, which was held in Atlanta, started in a frosty manner: the two candidates did not shake hands.
Well-known to voters, widely unpopular (according to polls), the two men expressed radically different views on virtually every major issue.
Trump accuses Biden of starting Ukraine war
Asked if he would accept Putin’s terms for ending the war in Ukraine, Donald Trump claimed that Joe Putin decided to invade the country after seeing how the Biden administration handled its exit from the war in Afghanistan.
While confirming that he would not accept Vladimir Putin’s conditions for ending the war, he asserted that he would ensure that the war was “settled“, without going into details.
Doanld Trump reiterated his campaign argument that the United States was providing Ukraine with too much financial aid.
Joe Biden responded by claiming that Vladimir Putin was a “war criminal“that would not stop with Ukraine. He also noted that NATO was doing “as much for Ukraine“that the United States and that the strength of America”lies in its alliances“.
Donald Trump repeated the argument that European allies do not spend as much on NATO as the United States, saying he had successfully pressured them to increase their spending.
The stakes of the November presidential election are high for Ukraine, which is currently the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid and depends on military help to repel Russian troops.
Joe Biden promotes Gaza ceasefire deal
During a tense exchange over the war between Israel and Hamas, Donald Trump sidestepped a question about whether he would support an independent Palestinian state. He also said that Israel should “finish the job” and accused Joe Biden of acting like a “Palestinian“.
Joe Biden reaffirmed his support for Israel, but focused on Hamas, saying it must be eliminated. He presented a plan involving the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners and the maintenance of a “ceasefire with additional conditions“.
In May, he had already presented a proposal for a three-phase ceasefire including a pause in fighting, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of the last hostages taken from Israel.
As he did with Ukraine, Donald Trump claimed that the war would not have happened if he had been in power, declaring that Iran was “broke“when he was president and Tehran”had no money for Hamas“.
Clashes over immigration, abortion and golf
The two candidates also disagreed on their respective policies on immigration, the economy and abortion rights.
Donald Trump reiterated his anti-immigration rhetoric, saying that the policies of “open borders“Joe Biden’s policies had led to an increase in crime, and that it was necessary”expel many of these people“.
Both candidates also discussed overturning Roe v. Wade, with Biden calling it “terrible thing“the repeal of this law which granted citizens a constitutional right to abortion.
The debate was a bit more muted than the previous time the candidates faced off in 2020, largely because microphones were muted when either candidate spoke to avoid interruptions.
Despite this, the debate took a personal turn when Donald Trump’s criminal convictions came up, with Joe Biden launching a series of criticisms of the former president, calling him “convicted“having the morality of a”depraved“.
The candidates spoke briefly about age, with Trump saying he had “successful” his cognitive tests, before directing the conversation towards golf, saying that Biden “couldn’t hit a ball 50 yards“.
Several Democratic supporters noted after the debate that Joe Biden’s performance had been weak. The president spoke in a hoarse voice and appeared to lose his train of thought when he tried to answer a question about tax policy, ending his sentence by referring to Medicare.