Biden shows fragility in 1st presidential debate

The oldest president in the history of the United States to hold office, Joe Biden showed fragility during the 1st presidential debate, promoted by CNN on Thursday (June 27, 2024).

During the clash with Donald Trump, the Democrat’s advanced age (81 years) appeared to have an impact on him. At several moments, he seemed to be rambling. He also had an apparent irritation in his throat that caused him to cough and clear his throat several times.

At other times, he got stuck and was unable to finish his thoughts, such as when he discussed Medicare and immigration.

Watch moments when the Democrat freezes during the debate:

#Debates2024 This was savage. I walked by the TV and all I heard was: pic.twitter.com/juc9eJolm0

— nik t. hatziefstathiou (@nikthehat) June 28, 2024

Biden INCOHERENTLY struggles to make a point about rape and abortion, Trump DESTROYS him:

“There are many young women murdered by the same people he allowed across the border” pic.twitter.com/uOTdaV3YDr

— Vince Dao (@VinceDaoTV) June 28, 2024

Newspapers highlight problems

The gaffes did not go unnoticed. Major international media outlets reported negatively on the Democrat’s performance:

• CNN – analysts from the channel that broadcast the debate they said that Biden has shown himself to be fragile and has failed to demonstrate that he can lead the country for another 4 years;
• New York Times – he writes that Biden’s performance in this debate was worse than usual, but that he did a good job of describing some of his accomplishments;
• Washington Post – analysts consider what “the first few minutes of the debate were brutal for Biden” and that the outcome was frustrating for Democratic aides;
• Politico – states what “Democrats are in a panic” with Biden’s performance and fear that the debate will scare his main campaign financiers;
• Financial Times — it says that Biden “stumbled through a whole bad-tempered debate”. Highlights an improvement of the president in the last block and a growing “indiscipline” of Trump, but claims that such moments were rare;
• Wall Street Journal – he writes that Biden performed “as the Democrats feared” and that your “age problem” overshadows the political debate. He says that, in the meantime, Trump “atypically managed to maintain his composure”;
• USA Today – headlined report with the title “Democratic Panic”. states what “the main moment of the night” that’s when Biden “it seemed to freeze”;
• New York Post – published editorial entitled “We have just witnessed the end of Joe Biden’s presidency”. He says the Democrat “didn’t look old”but yes “old” e “empty”and that is “a political negligence” keep it in contention;
• Los Angeles Times – it says that candidates “they beat each other up” in a “controversial opening” of the debates. He claims that commentators “yearn for a debate with real substance”.

Impact on the campaign

The Democrat’s age is an obstacle to possible re-election. His cognitive aptitude became a topic in the election campaign because of the gaffes he has made during his term in office. If he wins the November election, Biden will be 86 years old when he leaves government.

In an opinion poll conducted by the North American newspaper Wall Street Journal In 7 states, in March, 28% of respondents said that Biden was better physically and mentally for the presidency than Trump, while 48% said the opposite.

In June, the American newspaper also published a long report listing moments in which Biden makes mistakes, such as disconnecting from conversations, closing his eyes and giving the impression of having some memory confusion.

O WSJ interviewed more than 45 people over several months. Republicans and Democrats who participated in meetings with Biden or were informed of these meetings and government officials are among those interviewed.

According to the vehicle, most of those who said that Biden has shown signs of age are from the Republican Party, but some members of the Democratic Party also described this type of situation.