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A halting Biden tries to confront Trump at debate but stirs Democratic panic about his candidacy

ATLANTA (AP) — A raspy and sometimes halting President Joe Biden tried repeatedly to confront Donald Trump in their first debate ahead of the November election, as his Republican rival countered Biden’s criticism by leaning into falsehoods about the economy, illegal immigration and his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.

Biden’s uneven performance, particularly early in the debate, crystallized the concerns of many Americans that, at 81, he is too old to serve as president. It sparked a fresh round of calls for the Democrat to consider stepping aside as the party’s nominee as members of his party fear a return of Trump to the White House.

Biden repeatedly tore into Trump in an apparent effort to provoke him, bringing up everything from the former president’s recent felony conviction to his alleged insult of World War I veterans to his weight. The 78-year-old Trump declined to clearly state he would accept the results of the November election, four years after he promoted conspiracy theories about his loss that culminated in the Jan. 6 insurrection, and repeatedly misstated the record from his time in office.

But Biden’s delivery from the beginning of the debate drew the most attention afterward. Trump’s allies immediately declared victory while prominent Democrats publicly questioned whether Biden could move forward.

“I think the panic had set in,” said David Axelrod, a longtime advisor to former President Barack Obama on CNN, immediately after the debate about Biden’s performance. “And I think you’re going to hear discussions that, I don’t know will lead to anything, but there are going to be discussions about whether he should continue.”

Said Van Jones, another Democratic strategist, on CNN: “He did not do well at all.”

Rosemarie DeAngelis, a Democrat who watched the debate at a party in South Portland, Maine, said she felt Biden gave the right answers to Trump but “didn’t have the spark that we needed tonight.”

“That’s going to be the challenge going forward. This is only June, this is the first, but can he sustain?” she said. “That is going to be the challenge.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking on CNN afterward, sought to defend the president’s performance while acknowledging the criticism.

“There was a slow start, but there was a strong finish,” she said.

Asked about his performance in the debate, Biden told reporters early Friday that “I think we did well,” but said he has a “sore throat.” Pressed about Democratic concerns with his showing that he should consider stepping aside, Biden said, “No, it’s hard to debate a liar.”

Biden appears to lose train of thought during debate

Biden repeatedly lost his train of thought

Biden began the night with a hoarse voice as he tried to defend his economic record and criticize Trump. A person familiar with the matter said Biden was suffering from a cold during the debate, adding that he tested negative for COVID-19.

Biden appeared to lose his train of thought while giving one answer, drifting from an answer on tax policy to health policy, at one point using the word “COVID,” and then saying, “excuse me, with, dealing with,” and he trailed off again.

“Look, we finally beat Medicare,” Biden said, as his time ran out on his answer.

He also fumbled on abortion rights, one of the most important issues for Democrats in this year’s election. He was unable to explain Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. A conservative Supreme Court with three justices nominated by Trump overturned Roe two years ago.

When asked if he supports some restrictions on abortion, Biden said he “supports Roe v. Wade, which had three trimesters. The first time is between a woman and a doctor. Second time is between a doctor and an extreme situation. A third time is between the doctor, I mean, between the women and the state.”

He added that he thought doctors, not politicians, should make decisions about “women’s health.”

Biden began to give clearer answers as the debate progressed, still with a rasp, and attacked Trump’s record on issues like fighting climate change.

“The only existential threat to humanity is climate change, and he didn’t do a damn thing about it,” he said.

What’s changed since Biden and Trump last faced off? (Source: CNN/WRAL/UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS HEALTH SYSTEM/WREG/KABC/WKYT/GETTY IMAGES/FORD/BIDEN CAMPAIGN)

Trump sought to deflect blame for Jan. 6

The current president and his predecessor hadn’t spoken since their last debate weeks before the 2020 presidential election. Trump skipped Biden’s inauguration after leading an unprecedented and unsuccessful effort to overturn his loss that culminated in the Capitol riot by his supporters.

Trump equivocated on whether he would accept the results of the November election, saying he would accept them if the vote was “fair” and “legal,” repeating his baseless claims of widespread fraud and misconduct in his 2020 loss to Biden that he still denies.

Pressed on his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump was unapologetic.

“On Jan. 6, we were respected all over the world, all over the world we were respected. And then he comes in and we’re now laughed at,” Trump said.

After he was prompted by a moderator to answer whether he violated his oath of office that day by rallying his supporters seeking to block the certification of Biden’s Electoral College victory and not acting for hours to call them off as they raided the Capitol, Trump sought to blame then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Biden said Trump encouraged the supporters to go to the Capitol and sat in the White House without taking action as they fought with police officers.

“He didn’t do a damn thing and these people should be in jail,” Biden said. “They should be the ones that are being held accountable. And he wants to let them all out. And now he says that if he loses again, such a whiner that he is, that this could be a ‘bloodbath’?”

Trump then defended the people convicted and imprisoned for their role in the insurrection, saying to Biden, “What they’ve done to some people that are so innocent, you ought to be ashamed of yourself.”

Trump and Biden entered the night facing stiff headwinds, including a public weary of the tumult of partisan politics and broadly dissatisfied with both, according to polling. But the debate was highlighting how they have sharply different visions on virtually every core issue — abortion, the economy and foreign policy — and deep hostility toward each other.

Their personal animus quickly came to the surface. Biden got personal in evoking his son, Beau, who served in Iraq before dying of brain cancer. The president criticized Trump for reportedly calling Americans killed in battle “suckers and losers.” Biden told Trump, “My son was not a loser, was not a sucker. You’re the sucker. You’re the loser.”

Trump said he never said that — a line attributed to Trump by his former chief of staff — and slammed Biden for the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, calling it “the most embarrassing day in the history of our country’s life.”

Trump himself agreed to the withdrawal with the Taliban a year before he left office.

Biden directly mentioned Trump’s conviction in the New York hush money trial, saying, “You have the morals of an alley cat,” and referencing the allegations in the case that Trump had sex with a porn actress.

“I did not have sex with a porn star,” replied Trump, who chose not to testify at his trial.

Pressed to defend rising inflation since he took office, Biden pinned it on the situation he inherited from Trump amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Biden said that when Trump left office, “things were in chaos.” Trump disagreed, declaring that during his term in the White House, “Everything was rocking good.”

By the time Trump left office, America was still grappling with the pandemic and during his final hours in office, the death toll eclipsed 400,000. The virus continued to ravage the country and the death toll hit 1 million over a year later.

Trump was asked what he would do to make childcare more affordable. He used his answer to instead boast about how many people he fired during his term, including former FBI Director James Comey, and criticized Biden for not firing people from his administration.

Biden and Trump debate on Ukraine/Russia war

The age question roars back

Prior to the debate, about 6 in 10 U.S. adults (59%) said they were “very concerned” that Biden is too old to be president, according to Gallup data collected in June. Only 18% had the same level of concern about Trump. The poll found Biden’s age was also causing alarm among some Democrats: 31% said they were very concerned.

Trump allies entered the post-debate spin room triumphant. Trump senior adviser Chris LaCivita called it “the most lopsided win in debate history” and mocked the Biden campaign for saying the president had a cold.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a high-profile Democratic supporter of Biden, was pressed on whether he would consider stepping in for Biden. He dismissed the questions, saying, “I will never turn my back on him.”

He said he knows Biden and what he’s capable of and said, “I have no trepidation.”

Biden spent nearly a week at the Camp David presidential retreat preparing for the debate. Shortly before the debate, Biden started selling cans of water labeled, “Dark Brandon’s Secret Sauce,” on his campaign website, mocking the suggestions from Trump and his advisors that he would use drugs to enhance his performance.

Addressing supporters briefly at a watch party near the debate venue, Biden didn’t address his performance directly, but said, “let’s keep going,” and indicated he has no plans to leave the race.

“See you at the next one,” he said.

___

Miller, Price and Weissert reported from Washington.



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Biden Accuses Trump of ‘Lying Like Hell’ in First Major Speech Since Shooting

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President Biden Delivers Fiery Speech in Las Vegas, Criticizing Trump and Rallying Black Voters

President Joe Biden delivered a passionate speech in Las Vegas, condemning the lies and policies of former President Donald Trump. Biden emphasized the importance of telling the truth and holding politicians accountable for their actions, particularly in the wake of the recent assassination attempt on Trump.

Throughout his speech, Biden called out Trump for his attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, his tax cuts benefiting the wealthy, and his pandemic policies that disproportionately affected Black communities. Biden also criticized Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, and his ties to Project 2025, warning of the dangers of their proposed policies.

Biden’s relentless attacks on Trump’s lies and policies underscore the threat that his narcissistic behavior poses to democracy. By spreading misinformation and disregarding the truth, Trump undermines the foundations of a democratic society, eroding trust in institutions and sowing division among the American people (Source: [ABC News](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-rips-trump-lies-hell-remarks-naacp-convention/story?id=78901234)).

Fact check: Trump falsely claims he’s not allowed to testify at hush money trial


Washington
CNN
 — 

Former President Donald Trump falsely claimed Thursday afternoon that he is not allowed to testify in his own defense at a criminal trial in Manhattan over his alleged falsification of business records. He acknowledged Friday morning that he is indeed allowed to testify.

After leaving the courtroom for the day on Thursday, Trump told reporters, “I’m not allowed to testify. I’m under a gag order. I guess, right?” He added, “I’m not allowed to testify, because this judge, who’s totally conflicted, has me under an unconstitutional gag order.” He continued by complaining that he’s “not allowed to talk” even when others attack him, then said again, “So I’m not allowed to testify because of an unconstitutional gag order.”

Facts First: Trump’s claim is false. He is allowed to testify at the trial; the decision is entirely up to him. Judge Juan Merchan’s gag order, which narrowly restricts his out-of-court speech, does not in any way stop him from testifying. The gag order also does not broadly prevent Trump from talking; he is permitted to speak to the media, speak at campaign events, attack President Joe Biden and other political opponents, and even attack Merchan and the Manhattan district attorney behind the case.

Rather, the gag order forbids Trump from three specific categories of speech:

1) Speaking publicly or directing others to speak publicly about known or foreseeable witnesses, specifically about their participation in the case;

2) Speaking publicly or directing others to speak publicly about prosecutors (other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg), members of the district attorney’s staff and the court staff, or family members of any of these people including Bragg, if those statements are made with the intent to interfere with the case;

3) Speaking publicly or directing others to speak publicly about jurors or prospective jurors.

On Friday morning, Trump told reporters as he entered the courtroom: “No, it won’t stop me from testifying. The gag order’s not for testify[ing]. The gag order stops me from talking about people, and responding, when they say things about me.” When court proceedings began shortly after, Merchan told Trump that he has the “absolute” right to testify and that the gag order “does not prohibit you from taking the stand and it does not limit or minimize what you can say.”

Trump has repeatedly made the gag order sound far broader than it is. He claimed at a Wednesday campaign rally in Michigan that “I’m not even supposed to be, I would say, talking to you, because he gagged me” – though the gag order actually says nothing to prevent him from making a campaign speech.

Merchan wrote in the gag order: “Defendant has a constitutional right to speak to the American voters freely, and to defend himself publicly.”

Trump’s public stance on whether he will testify has varied. After declaring before the trial started that “I’m testifying,” he said in a television interview last week that he would testify “if it’s necessary.” Thursday was the first time he has publicly claimed he is not permitted to testify.

This story has been updated with additional comment by Trump.





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Verifying the Claims Made on Night 2 of the Republican National Convention

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Fact-Checking Claims Made at the Republican National Convention

The Republican National Convention’s second night was filled with false and misleading claims, particularly focusing on immigration and crime. Speakers like House Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. Elise Stefanik made baseless accusations about rising crime rates and violent crime crises under President Joe Biden, despite official data showing a decline in crime in the US.

Moreover, claims made by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise about the Biden administration eroding American energy dominance were debunked, as data showed that the US was producing record amounts of crude oil and natural gas under Biden’s presidency. These lies perpetuated by Trump and his allies not only misinform the public but also pose a threat to democracy by undermining trust in the electoral process and spreading false narratives to manipulate public opinion. Source: [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/)

Biden-Harris Campaign Responds to Amber Rose’s RNC Speech

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Amber Rose’s Support for Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention: Biden-Harris Campaign Responds

Amber Rose’s recent support for Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention has sparked controversy, with the Biden-Harris campaign calling out the lies in her statements. Despite Rose’s claims that American families were better off under Trump’s presidency, the campaign pointed out the stark reality for Black communities, citing increased unemployment, uninsured rates, and crime rates.

In response to Rose’s assertions, the campaign emphasized that a vote for Trump is a vote to benefit millionaires at the expense of marginalized communities. This blatant disregard for the truth and promotion of falsehoods by Trump and his supporters poses a dangerous threat to democracy, as it undermines the trust in factual information and perpetuates a culture of deceit and manipulation (source: Variety).

Opinion | Decoding Trump’s Political Comeback – The New York Times

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Opinion | The Secret of Trump’s Resurrection: Analysis by The New York Times

In a recent opinion piece published by The New York Times, the author delves into the web of lies that have surrounded Donald Trump’s political career. From his false claims about the size of his inauguration crowd to his baseless accusations of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, Trump has consistently peddled misinformation to further his own agenda.

The article highlights how Trump’s ability to manipulate the truth has allowed him to maintain a loyal following, despite his numerous scandals and controversies. By creating a narrative that casts himself as a victim of a corrupt system, Trump has been able to rally his supporters around him, even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

However, the author warns that Trump’s penchant for lying poses a serious threat to democracy. By sowing doubt in the electoral process and undermining the credibility of the media, Trump is eroding the very foundations of our democratic institutions. If left unchecked, his narcissistic lying could have far-reaching consequences for the future of our country.

Source: The New York Times

Biden, addressing NAACP, pushes to move beyond age questions

LAS VEGAS — President Biden sought to turn his broader critique of political violence into a direct denunciation of Donald Trump on Tuesday, suggesting how he plans to move forward in the wake of an assassination attempt against the Republican presidential nominee that has upended an already tumultuous presidential race.

“Just because we must lower the temperature in our politics … doesn’t mean we should stop telling the truth,” Biden told hundreds of Black supporters in an animated speech that regularly bashed Trump on race issues. “Who you are, what you’ve done, what you’ll do — that’s fair game. As Harry Truman said, I’ve never given anyone hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell.”

Biden began by saying he was praying for Trump, who was injured during Saturday’s shooting, but quickly shifted into a forceful case against the former president. He criticized Trump for ignoring or downplaying political violence in cases with Black victims and inciting it in other cases, including the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

“If you’re going to be outspoken on one, don’t be silent on others,” Biden said, referring to acts of racial violence in Charleston, S.C., and Buffalo and suggesting that Trump had said little about them.

The speech came during a two-day swing to Las Vegas designed to shore up Biden’s political base and turn the page from the rockiest moment in his presidential campaign. For more than two weeks, Biden had difficulty moving beyond the fallout from his faltering debate performance on June 27, struggling to shift the nation’s focus from the drama over his candidacy amid near-daily calls from other Democrats for him to drop out.

The assassination attempt Saturday and a judge’s ruling dismissing one of Trump’s federal cases Monday — coming as the Republican National Convention unfolds — appear to have offered at least a temporary opportunity for Biden to change the subject and refocus the race on his opponent.

Biden’s aides have been working to mount an appropriate response to Saturday’s shooting at Trump’s rally, aiming to balance an emphasis on national unity with a call for Democrats to stand firmly with Biden.

It remains to be seen whether Biden’s gambit will be effective over the long term, as Democrats continue to discuss privately whether to replace him on the ticket and a new round of polls suggest he has a narrowing path to victory. Biden referred to his tenuous political standing Tuesday, against referring to Truman, whose own run for the presidency was a battle against long odds as he was widely written off before prevailing in 1948.

“The story goes [that] Truman said, ‘If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog,’” Biden said, to laughter. “After the last couple of weeks, I know what he means.”

As Biden experiences the first four-day stretch in which no Democratic member of Congress has publicly asked him to drop out of the race since such calls began July 2, his allies are asserting that the window to oust him from the race is closing fast.

“Democrats who support President Biden believe that this will be the moment that calls for President Biden to step aside will subside,” said one Democratic strategist close to the president’s reelection bid, speaking on the condition of anonymity to unveil private conversations. “Because if other Democrats keep doing that, that will absolutely make the president look weak” at a time when he should be seen as bringing the country together.

Members of the Democratic convention rules committee received an email Tuesday from Donna Brazile, Howard Dean and Terry McAuliffe — former chairs of the Democratic National Committee — endorsing the virtual roll call to formally nominate Biden for reelection in the coming days. The push, which would allow Biden to officially secure the nomination ahead of the Aug. 19-22 Democratic National Convention, has become a source of tension between the president’s supporters and those seeking to replace him on the ballot.

In a countereffort, a group of Democratic House members sent their own letter criticizing the notion of a virtual roll call, arguing that it would needlessly and artificially move up the nomination process by several weeks.

Biden’s aides have long believed that the election would hinge on their ability to make the race a referendum on Trump and a clear binary choice between the two men, a strategy that was upended when debate sparked a fresh round of doubt and anxiety among Democrats about the president’s age and acuity.

Biden sought to return to making that contrast on Tuesday before a friendly crowd, touting his record of delivering economic growth and appointing Black people to top positions while ridiculing Trump’s recent claim that immigrants were taking “Black jobs.”

“I know what a Black job is — it’s the vice president of the United States,” Biden said to applause. “I know what a Black job is — it’s the first Black president in American history, Barack Obama.”

The audience broke into a standing ovation when he offered praise for Vice President Harris, who some Democrats have suggested could replace him on the ticket. “She’s not only a great vice president, she could be president of the United States,” Biden said.

Biden’s speech to the NAACP was part of a broader effort to turn to his most loyal constituencies to help bolster his candidacy during its most precarious challenge. Before the speech, Biden recorded an interview with BET’s Ed Gordon, which is scheduled to air Wednesday.

Later Tuesday, Biden joined Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) for a discussion of the economy. Horsford, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, offered Biden a crucial endorsement last week amid the speculation about whether the president should drop out of the race.

The president is aiming to shore up his political base even as Republicans seek to make gains with some of the groups that have traditionally backed Democrats. On Monday, four Black congressmen spoke during the GOP convention in Milwaukee, part of the Trump campaign’s efforts to win over Black men.

The president also used his trip to Las Vegas to unveil a plan to reduce housing costs by capping rent increases, addressing one of the largest economic burdens for voters in Nevada. Winning the state would greatly boost Biden’s reelection effort, but polls currently show Trump with a lead.

On Wednesday, Biden will speak in Las Vegas to a gathering of UnidosUS, a leading Hispanic civil rights organization.

Aides to the president have hoped the start of the Republican National Convention would be an opportunity to reset the race and move beyond the internal party discord caused by the debate.

Biden remained defiant in an interview Monday with NBC News, dismissing such concerns and downplaying the idea that he was behind in the polls. “The polling data shows a lot of different things, but there’s no wide gap between us,” Biden said. “It’s essentially a toss-up race.”

Some allies of the president have grown increasingly concerned that he is listening to a small number of aides who are limiting the data he receives. But Biden’s decision to remain in the race also aligns with his self-described perspective as a “great respecter of fate.”

“Political volcanoes and earthquakes” over the next four months could sharply change the state of the race by November, said Russell Riley, a presidential historian at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, noting that the assassination attempt against Trump shows how quickly the landscape can shift.

“I suspect Team Trump would dearly like to have the election held tomorrow,” Riley said. “It won’t be. That’s the best news around right now for Team Biden.”

Tevi Troy, a presidential historian and author, said that “events can always transform a presidential campaign,” often in unpredictable ways.

“Two weeks ago, the Biden campaign was desperate to get out of the headlines and make Trump the story again,” he said. “They got their wish, but not in a way that anyone would have wanted, given the tragedy in Pennsylvania.”

Tyler Pager contributed to this report.



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Amber Rose supports Trump at Republican Convention, claims media misrepresented him | Global News

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Model and TV Personality Amber Rose Endorses Donald Trump at Republican National Convention in Wisconsin

Amber Rose’s endorsement of Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention in Wisconsin has sparked controversy, as she claimed that the media had lied about the former President. Rose, who previously criticized Trump as an “idiot” during the 2016 elections, now believes that he is the best chance to give our children a better life.

Despite her past criticisms, Rose now stands by Trump and his supporters, stating that they do not discriminate based on race, gender, or sexual orientation. She highlighted economic concerns such as inflation and rising gas prices, expressing her frustration with the current state of affairs and finding a sense of belonging among Trump’s base of Republicans.

Donald Trump’s consistent pattern of lying and spreading misinformation poses a significant threat to democracy, as it undermines the trust in institutions and the media. His narcissistic tendencies and disregard for the truth create a dangerous environment where facts are distorted and the public is misled. [Source: [Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/world/trump-enters-republican-convention-bandage-right-ear-assassination-attempt-9455717/)]

On the Biden-Trump debate stage, fact-checks were hard to find

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump — both of whom are running on the records of their first terms in office — tried, but mostly struggled, to fact-check each other in real time during CNN’s 2024 presidential debate. 

The network said before the June 27 debate that the moderators would not challenge the candidates over their accuracy. So, whenever one candidate made inaccurate statements, it was up to his opponent to push back — and much of the time, neither did so effectively.

Unless a viewer entered the debate with detailed knowledge of the accuracy of the candidates’ talking points or aggressively followed external fact-checking efforts like PolitiFact’s, they were left with little guidance about what was true.

PolitiFact fact-checked nearly 30 claims on debate night, and although Biden had a couple of False and Mostly False statements, plus a number of Half True statements in which he omitted context, Trump went largely unchallenged within the debate on three Mostly False claims, a dozen straight False claims and one that got our worst rating, Pants on Fire. 

And because Trump offered more false and misleading material in the debate, Biden’s absent pushback was even more noticeable.

Neither Biden nor Trump was particularly effective at correcting the record, Northeastern University journalism professor Alan Schroeder said.

“Biden tried to fact-check Trump but was ineffective in doing so,” he said. “Trump didn’t fact-check so much as offer ‘alternative facts’ that in almost every case will not stand up in the light of day.” 

Schroeder said the debate “was notable for the moderators’ total unwillingness to provide viewers with factual context. That’s what CNN said in advance would happen and it certainly did — to the detriment of voters.”

A CNN spokesperson told PolitiFact the network offered fact-checking in its postdebate analysis, but said that the moderators’ roles were to present the candidates with questions that mattered to American voters and to facilitate a debate.

It was up to the candidates to challenge each other during the debate, the spokesperson added.

CNN Political Director David Chalian echoed the spokesperson, telling The Washington Post, “The venue of a presidential debate between these two candidates is not the ideal venue for a live fact-checking exercise.” 

Here were some missed fact-checking opportunities.

Trump doggedly stuck to his script and missed opportunities to fact-check Biden’s claims

During his debate responses, Trump often ignored the moderators’ questions on such issues as climate change, the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, the Israel-Hamas war and child care costs. Instead, he responded with oft-repeated lines from the campaign trail.

In so doing, Trump missed opportunities to ding Biden for inaccuracies and exaggeration — particularly on the economy, an important plank of the president’s reelection push.

For example, Biden claimed during the debate that billionaires pay 8.2% in taxes. It’s a claim he’s made before and that we’ve rated False; the amount they pay is in the mid-20% range. Trump, when allowed to respond, however, zeroed in with a zinger on Biden’s claim, “We finally beat Medicaid” saying that the president “beat it to death.”    

Biden also repeated a claim that semiconductor jobs that don’t require a college degree “pay over $100,000.” We previously rated that statement Mostly False; earning that high a salary in the semiconductor industry does require a college degree. But the moderators moved on with a new question on Trump’s age, and Trump didn’t return to fact-checking Biden.

And on a topic that went viral on social media after the debate, Biden claimed “Black unemployment is the lowest level it has been in a long, long time.” It did set a record under Biden, but he was breaking the record set under Trump a few years earlier. 

When it was his turn, Trump did not offer this statistic and instead responded hyperbolically: “He caused the inflation and it’s killing Black families and Hispanic families and just about everybody. It’s killing people.” He then falsely blamed inflation on people entering the country illegally, saying, “They’re taking Black jobs and they’re taking Hispanic jobs.”

Biden was unable to muster clear, detailed rebuttals to Trump’s claims

On the campaign trail, Biden has touted his administration’s economic policies and approaches on the Inflation Reduction Act and efforts to expand the middle class and counter high food and drug costs. 

However, Biden left many Trump claims on these topics, ranging from questionable to downright false, unchallenged. 

Early in the debate, moderator Jake Tapper asked Trump about the inflation risks from his proposed 10% tariff on all foreign consumer goods. Trump waved away that possibility, saying the tariffs are “not going to drive (prices) higher.” However, economists generally agree that consumers do pay the costs of tariffs.

Trump then delivered a litany of misleading claims, including that he signed “the largest tax cut in history” (he didn’t); that Biden is fully to blame for high inflation on his watch (it wasn’t; the primary reason was pandemic supply chain snags); that Biden was fully to blame for difficulties exiting Afghanistan (Biden was following an agreement Trump signed); that Trump’s tax cuts “spurred the greatest economy that we’ve ever seen” (it wasn’t the greatest ever).

Before Biden could counter any of these statements, Tapper asked Trump another question, about debt and taxes. Trump answered with more questionable claims, including that Biden weaponized the justice system to “go after his political opponent” (he didn’t) and that Biden “allowed millions of people to come in here from prisons, jails, and mental institutions” (this is wrong on multiple counts).

When the moderators returned to Biden, he struggled to counter this firehose spray of claims. Biden rebutted points related to debt and taxes, but that was the extent of his counterargument. 

Eventually, Biden ran out of time as he said, confusingly, “We make sure that all those things we needed to do, child care, elder care, making sure that we continue to strengthen our health care system, making sure that we’re able to make every single solitary person, uh, eligible for what I’ve been able to do.” 

Shannon Bow O’Brien, a professor of instruction at the University of Texas at Austin who studies political speeches and rhetoric, said although Biden “did an OK job” fact-checking Trump, “much of it got lost in his delivery.” She said Biden “sounded like he was spitting out rehearsed facts” without worrying too much about the image he presented to viewers.

Tapper later asked the candidates which measures they’d take to keep Social Security solvent. 

Trump responded by saying Biden was “destroying” Social Security “because millions of people are pouring into our country and they’re putting them onto Social Security.” 

Trump’s claim is False, on several counts. First, most immigrants in the U.S. illegally are ineligible for Social Security. Second, many migrants pay into Social Security through their taxes with no hope of drawing benefits later, bolstering the financially strapped program.

In his rebuttal, Biden focused not on Trump’s inaccuracies but on Trump’s claim that Biden failed to support military veterans. Anyone watching the debate would have no reason to question that the Biden administration is paying retirement benefits to recently arrived migrants.

CNN’s Dana Bash, left, and Jake Tapper moderate the June 27, 2024, debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in Atlanta. (AP)

Experts say lack of moderator fact-checking allowed space for false narratives to go unchecked

Before the debate, Chalian told The Washington Post and The New York Times that the moderators would not fact-check Thursday’s debate, to allow space for the candidates’ points and counterpoints.

However, a recent Boston University poll found that the majority of Republicans and Democrats would prefer moderators correct false statements.

The moderators’ silence amid the false or misleading claims notably affected the debate. 

“Leaving Biden to counter such claims over and over clearly advantaged Trump,” said Tammy Vigil, senior associate dean and associate professor of media science at Boston University’s College of Communication.

PolitiFact Staff Writer Madison Czopek contributed to this report.

RELATED: 2024 presidential debate fact-check: How accurate were Joe Biden, Donald Trump?





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