Biden stumbles as Trump deflects in 'game-changing' presidential debate — as it happened (2024)

It's approaching 2am here in Washington, so this is where we'll wrap the blog — but plenty will be said about the debate in the days to come.

Here's a quick rundown of what took place:

• The debate took some strange turns, with an argument about golf handicapsamong some pretty unpresidential moments
• Many viewers felt it was a disastrous night for Joe Biden, and that he simply looked too old
• Biden, though, was upbeat afterwards
• Fact-checkers say both candidates made some false claims, but Trump far more so than the president

Thanks for coming along for the ride!

And if you're looking for a closer look at the key moments from the night, check out this piece from the ABC'sNorth America correspondent Barbara Miller and Basel Hindeleh:

Biden has paid a post-debate visit to a Waffle House in Atlanta, where he was met with a friendly reception — but also faced some questions from reporters on his performance.

The president said he thought he did well overall, but "it's hard to debate a liar".

"New York Times pointed how he lied 26 times [sic]. Big lies," he said.

Biden also said it was true that he was sick during the debate, telling reporters "I have a sore throat".

It's difficult to predict at this stage whether the panic sweeping through Democratic circles will translate into any serious moves to oust Joe Biden.

But there are a few names that tend to come up in chatter about possible alternatives.

Vice-president Kamala Harris would be an obvious choice, except she isn't polling strongly either.

Then there are a couple of prominent governors, including Gavin Newsom in California and Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan.

There's also a theory, pushed by some Republicans, that Michelle Obama could emerge as a candidate, despite the former first lady denying she'd be interested.

Newsom, for his part, has come out in Biden's defence, appearing on MSNBC to argue that Democrats need to "have the back" of the president.

I chatted to Michael Murphy after the debate wrapped up at a watch party in downtown DC. He was working an 11-hour shift at the bookstore/pub that hosted the viewing, but tuned into the debate at every chance he could in between running drinks and meals.

He said he voted for Joe Biden in the last election but that he thought former president Donald Trump won the debate "by a landslide".

"He was just able to clarify and elaborate more on those questions. There were times with Biden where you can see his mind wasn't completely there. There was a lot of tripping over words. It was a lot."

But Michael's vote isn't Trump's just yet. He says he's still just as undecided and unimpressed about his options as ever.

"Both candidates were super underwhelming to me. I think it was a lot of flak. No matter if you're a Democrat or Republican, I think you can see that.

"I mean is this the standard that we're holding our country up to?

"I don't think either one of them represents the American way completely.

"This is one of the strangest elections we've ever had in America. I think on both sides, we feel like they're unqualified. But we have to choose. So here we are."

For Robert F Kennedy Jr (remember him?) it seems like the winning move in this debate might have been not to play.

That's not to say he didn't try, though — he hosted his own event, complete with lectern and podium, and spliced himself into the footage while responding to moderators' questions.

He told NewsNation voters were "tired of choosing the lesser of two evils" and wanted a candidate younger than the 81-year-old Biden and 78-year-old Trump (Kennedy is 70).

"Hopefully some of them are going to start looking at me," he said.

I've just returned from a packed pub in downtown DC, where scores of Americans sat down to tune into the historic debate over beers and burgers.

Bingo cards with buzz words like "Jan 6", "Putin" and "Make America Great Again" lay on tables, with punters cheering every time another catchphrase was mentioned.

Even here in Washington, in a district known to be a Democratic stronghold, reactions were pretty mixed about who performed better.

One man told me he thought Trump "won by a landslide". Another said she was impressed with Biden's performance.

What was agreed on by those we spoke with is the grave dissatisfaction with the options on the table this election.

When former president Donald Trump was asked if he would accept the results of the upcoming election, the room erupted in boos and groans.

Moments later, President Joe Biden called Trump "a whiner" - a label that was met with laughs and claps.

"Is anyone excited about this debate?" an MC asked the crowd during a break in debate coverage.

"Noooo," the pub groaned back.

"Does anyone feel the American people are being served by this debate?"

"Nooooo," the crowd yelled louder.

Donald Trump has kept everyone guessing on who he's going to select as his running mate, suggesting he'll announce his pick at next month's Republican national convention.

He added to the speculation by hinting the chosen candidate would be in Atlanta as he took to the debate stage.

Three of the top contenders are rumoured to be Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Ohio Senator JD Vance, and North Dakota governor Doug Burgum.

Rubio popped up in the post-debate 'spin room' and took aim at Joe Biden's performance, claiming there were times he "couldn't understand" what the president was saying.

Burgum took to X while the candidates were still on stage to question whether vice president Kamala Harris should take over part way through.

And Vance argued Trump had shown "so much more energy and clarity" than Biden.

Trump could still go with a surprise choice but for now, the frontrunners appear to be doing what they can to give themselves the best shot in the race.

The two men — who are asking for the American people to again put them in the White House — discussed their golf handicap.

Biden: "Look, I'd be happy to have a driving contest with him. I got my handicap when I was vice-president down to a six. By the way, I told you before, I'm happy to play golf if you carry your own bag. Think you can do it?"

Trump: "That's the biggest lie — that he's a six handicap — of all."

Biden: "I was eight handicap."

Trump: "Yeah … Never. I've seen your swing. I know your swing. Let's not act like children."

Indeed.

They also exchanged barbs over the allegation Trump once called American veterans "losers and suckers".

Biden: "I went to the World War I cemetery. He refused to go to. He was standing with his four-star general … [who] told me he didn't want to go there because they're a bunch of losers and suckers. My son was not a loser or a sucker. You're the loser. You're the sucker."

Biden: "A four-star general standing to your side who was on your staff said you said it."

Trump: "The losers and suckers story is a lie. It's a disgrace."

Considering just how many legal woes Trump has at the moment and his recent felony conviction, those issues didn't come up a whole lot during the debate.

But when Biden did go on the attack, he accused Trump of having sex with a p*rn star while his wife was pregnant.

Trump: "I did not have sex with a p*rn star."

Planet America host John Barron has this analysis of today's debate:

"Four years ago, when Trump and Biden first debated, it degenerated into an unedifying, unpresidential squabble.

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"This time, the mute button kept the cross-talk to a minimum, but given uninterrupted time to talk, Biden struggled to make his points clearly, and on one potentially catastrophic occasion, failed to complete a sentence.

"That seemingly senior moment may well define this campaign, and doom Biden's candidacy.

"Beyond that blank, Biden looked and sounded frail. The White House says he has a cold. He's three years older than Trump, but it looked like 20.

"Trump meanwhile projected confidence, certainly, strength, and simplicity — everything is terrible now and was great when he was in charge. The fact checkers will have a field day with his many distortions, but that's unlikely to matter.

"Many Democrats are now in a panic and looking at whether they can replace Biden.

"Donald Trump, twice impeached, tossed out by voters, whose own vice-president won't endorse him — some of whose former top advisors say he's unfit — must for now be considered the favourite to win a second term in November."

Host broadcaster CNN said in advance that its moderators weren't in an ideal situation to fact-check live, but it would produce some fact-checks afterwards.

CNN's fact-checker Daniel Dale has just appeared on the network. He says Trump made at least 30 false claims, and Biden made about nine, based on early counts.

Trump's included:

• the suggestion Democratic leaders support killing babies in the eighth and ninth months of pregnancies, "or even after birth" (there are no Democratic leaders calling for this).
• that the US currently has its largest trade deficit with China (even if you only count trade in goods, and not services, the deficit is at its lowest since 2010).
• that Iran was broke during his presidency and China therefore stopped doing business with Iran (China's oil imports from Iran did briefly go down when Trump was president, but then they rose sharply while he was still president).
• that the US would have had to pay $US1 trillion under the Paris climate accord (this is "wildly inflated").

But Biden:

• said illegal crossings at the US-Mexico border had fallen 40 per cent under his watch (the number of people crossing the border was generally lower under Trump).
• said he was the only president this decade who didn't have "troops dying anywhere in the world" (US servicemembers have died abroad, such as 13 killed in a suicide bombing during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan).
  

Other fact-checks around tonight include this from PolitiFact, this from the Associated Pressand this from the New York Times. (But no, we haven't had time to fact-check the fact-checks, so sharing these resources isn't an ABC endorsem*nt.)

Joe Biden stopped by a campaign event just after the debate, striking an upbeat tone in front of his supporters.

"We're going to beat this guy, we need to beat this guy," he said to cheers from the crowd.

"And I need you in order to beat him, you're the people I'm running for."

It was a brief but energetic appearance that stood in contrast to his stumbles on the debate stage.

And the president gave no sign that he might be rethinking his candidacy, as some have suggested he should, instead pointing to a rally he has planned for tomorrow.

"Heading to North Carolina!" he said.

Both campaigns are now in spin mode, with each side criticising the other candidate's performance.

Joe Biden's campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon issued a statement claiming the president presented a "positive and winning vision" for the US, in contrast with a "dark and backwards window" from his predecessor.

Trump's campaign argued the former president had delivered the "greatest debate performance" in history.

"Despite taking a week-long vacation at Camp David to prepare for the debate, Biden was unable to defend his disastrous record on the economy and the border," campaign officialsChris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said.

Vice-President Kamala Harris has just been interviewed by CNN's Anderson Cooper. "Yes, there was a slow start, but it was a strong finish," she says of Biden's performance.

Harris is trying to take the focus off the debate, and put it on Biden's record in office.

"I'm not going to spend all night with you talking about the last 90 minutes when I've been watching the last three and a half years."

Cooper puts to her that Democratic politicians who watched the debate are worried behind the scenes. "One said it was a disaster and another calls it a trainwreck," he tells her. He asks if she's honestly not concerned herself.

"It was a slow start. That's obvious. To everyone. I'm not going to debate that point. I'm talking about the choice in November. I'm talking about one of the most important elections in our collective lifetime."

The Australia Institute's Emma Shortis tells the ABC that Biden's clear inability to prosecute Trump's lies about reproductive rights and other issues will have major electoral consequences.

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It's not just American commentators who are united in their takes on the two candidates' performances.

Darren Perth: Awkward beginning. The choice is like choosing to suck on a lemon or a lime. Both not overly palatable.

Mohamed:This is very hard to watch

O:How is Biden's age such a big topic when a) he's only three years older than Trump and b) there is hours of video footage of Trump being incoherent, etc - much more often than Biden!

weev:It's an agonising contest. A guy who is too old but believes in democratic values versus a slightly younger and more energised chap who relies on lies and bluster with authoritarian tendencies. What a state of affairs.

Mary:Please explain how in a country of 300million plus the only candidates for president are a geriatric and a convicted felon ?!!

Scott:Same old Trump, can't stay on topic and answer a question, no facts, just rambling. Unfortunately it doesn't feel like Biden is sharp enough to hold Trump to account.

Michael Woodley: Biden is doing so poorly in this debate. This could turn the election.

The US political landscape is famously polarised, and so is the media here.

But across the spectrum there appears to be broad agreement that Democrats sense real trouble following Joe Biden's performance.

We've already heard from CNN correspondent John King, who suggested some in the party were discussing whether the president should step aside.

The conservative network Fox News ran a ticker along the bottom of its post-debate coverage, headed "Biden's disastrous debate performance."

And even the left-leaning MSNBC raised the alarm, with presenter Joy Reid reporting the reaction from Democrats was "somewhere approaching panic" because of a view that Biden seeming "extremely feeble" and "extremely weak".

It will make for a very difficult environment for any of Biden's supporters to step into with the aim of defending how he did.

As both sides desperately court black voters, Donald Trump accused Joe Biden of previously using the term "superpredators" in the 1990s — seen as a racially charged term at the time.

In fact, Donald Trump is confusing Biden with his former opponent, Hillary Clinton.

In a 1996 speech in New Hampshire, then-first lady Hillary Clinton did use the term, while speaking in support of her husband Bill Clinton's controversial 1994 crime bill.

While Biden did support the bill, he did not use the term. In fact, he rejected it in 1997, saying most youth weren't "superpredators".