![Takeaways from CNN’s presidential debate with Biden and Trump](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/c-wl2-0386.jpg?c=16x9&q=w_800,c_fill)
Takeaways from CNN’s presidential debate with Biden and Trump
CNN
Takeaways from CNN’s presidential debate with Biden and Trump
President Joe Biden is three years and seven months older than former President Donald Trump. In their debate Thursday night on CNN, the gap between the 81-year-old incumbent and his 78-year-old challenger seemed much larger. Biden, hoarse and displaying little vocal range, was often unable to express his differences with Trump with clarity. At one point, after Biden had trailed off as he defended his record on border security, Trump said: “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said, either.” Trump, meanwhile, at times repeated his frequent election denialism. He said he’d accept the results of the 2024 election if it’s “fair and legal,” but then repeated his lies about fraud in the 2020 election. “You’re a whiner, and you lost the first time,” Biden said. It was the first time either man had debated since 2020, and they made history Thursday night: It was the first time a sitting president and a former president had ever debated. The two clashed over abortion, immigration, foreign policy, inflation and more.
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President Joe Biden’s dismal showing at the CNN presidential debate against former President Donald Trump resonated around the world, with foreign diplomats expressing shock and concern while raising questions about the implications for a consequential US election that could upend the foreign policy status-quo should Trump be reelected.
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Vice President Kamala Harris knew she had to go to bat for President Joe Biden as devastating reviews of the president’s debate performance rolled in late Thursday night, aiming to strike a balance between sounding reasonable about the president’s performance while also hammering home the contrast between the two candidates, two sources told CNN.