A version of this story appears in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here
In CNN’s presidential debate, President Joe Biden was halting and, at times, trailed off and confused words, feeding a nagging narrative about his fitness for the presidency.
Former President Donald Trump refused to answer simple questions about accepting election results and repeatedly overinflated his record, confirming concerns about the chaos his potential victory in November could create.
Insults over policy
Given the opportunity to answer questions about policy, like how to lower the staggering cost of child care, the men engaged in a back-and-forth about whether presidential scholars think Trump was the worst president in history.
Biden called Trump a “whiner.” Trump said Biden, “like so many politicians … is just a complainer.”
Later, a question about whether either of the elderly men is fit to lead the country turned into a dispute about who is the better golfer. Trump said Biden couldn’t drive a golf ball 50 yards, and Biden challenged Trump to a golf match but only if Trump carries his own clubs. It was that kind of night.
It is difficult to include detailed quotes about their policy statements, Trump’s in particular, because they were so misleading. Read CNN’s full fact check.
Here’s a look at some of the lines that stood out:
On the economy
CNN’s Jake Tapper, who moderated the debate in Atlanta with Dana Bash, noted the well-documented angst in the country about the economy and asked Biden what he’d say to people who feel they’re worse off on his watch.
Trump, as he frequently does on a range of issues, embellished the facts in his response by saying that the economy he oversaw was the best in history until the Covid-19 pandemic.
Trump repeatedly tried to blame inflation entirely on Biden.
Biden argued inflation was not an issue four years ago because the economy was in such bad shape.
When Biden trailed off
The president was making a point about the tax cuts, enacted by Trump, which have helped grow the national debt. Biden was trying explain that he supports tax increases on the wealthiest Americans to pay for many social goals, but the words got jumbled.
It was an awkward moment since it was not clear what Biden meant. Trump was quick with a misleading response.
That’s misleading since Medicare and Social Security also need more younger workers paying into them to cover the costs of older workers currently looking toward retirement.
On abortion rights
Trump said “everybody” wanted Roe v. Wade overturned, which is not at all true since opinion polls suggested most Americans wanted it kept in place. Not in Trump’s telling.
Trump also misread the divided politics of abortion rights at the moment, in which voters in some states are protecting abortion rights and legislatures in other states are curtailing them. Voters, given the opportunity, have generally tried to protect abortion rights. That’s hardly a picture of unity.
Trump then said some incorrect things about late-term abortions under Roe v. Wade before trying to end on a high note.
Biden clearly disagreed and argued allowing states to each have completely different abortion policies is like allowing states to have completely different civil rights laws.
But on an issue that Democrats hope will unify voters against Trump and Republicans, Biden offered one of his least coherent answers. Instead, apparently trying to make a point about the need for abortion access for people who have been raped, the president fed Trump’s flawed narrative about migrant crime. Try to follow this:
On immigration
This a top issue for Trump, and he kept returning to it, arguing the country was safer under him.
Biden noted there’s no evidence to support these broad claims about people seeking asylum in the US from other parts of the world and said Trump was lying. These are claims Trump frequently repeats.
In a new riff at the debate as he tries to siphon African American support from Democrats, Trump said an influx of migrants at the border were “taking Black jobs.”
Biden argued voters should trust him on immigration since he tried to get a bipartisan agreement passed in Congress to give the president new powers to address an influx of migrants, cut down on the flow of drugs and give new money to border patrol and immigration courts. Biden also pointed out Trump’s policy of intentional family separation during a portion of his presidency.
On veterans
Biden turned from the immigration debate to his treatment of veterans, pointing out he signed legislation to expand care for veterans exposed to burn pits and toxic substances. He mentioned his late son, Beau, who died of cancer years after serving in Iraq.
And Biden repeated a story told by Trump’s former White House chief staff, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, that Trump declined to visit a World War I cemetery in France because he thought people who fought in wars were “suckers.”
Biden’s description of this anecdote seemed to anger Trump. The former president kept coming back to it, disputing it throughout the debate.
On Russia’s war against Ukraine
Trump, when pressed, said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demand to keep territory in Ukraine to end the war was unacceptable. But he also said the US is spending too much money helping Ukraine. Those separate points led Trump to make a bold claim.
Biden noted the aid to Ukraine is mostly in the form of weapons, which are manufactured in the US. He also said Putin’s goal is to reconstitute the Soviet Union. Putin will not stop at Ukraine, Biden said.
There’s not a way to verify this, of course. And Trump has a history of making bold claims that do not become true.
On Israel and Gaza
Biden said he will continue to push for a peace plan that has been endorsed by Israel and other countries but rejected by Hamas. He will also, he said, both support Israel and try to moderate the war when it comes to urban areas.
Trump said he would not pressure Israel to moderate its actions.
Biden, who describes himself as a Zionist and who has largely stood up to progressive Democrats who want him to more forcefully condemn Israel’s actions in Gaza, said Trump had it wrong. “I’ve never heard so much foolishness,” Biden said.
When Trump was asked if he supported the creation of a Palestinian state, he would not directly answer, but instead complained about US foreign aid. “We’re paying everybody’s bills,” Trump said.
On protecting democracy
Trump was asked by Tapper what he’d say to voters who worry he violated his oath to uphold the Constitution on January 6, 2021, with his actions and inactions, and who worry that he’ll do it again. He pointedly did not answer the question, but said this instead:
Biden said Trump deserves blame for watching the riot at the Capitol unfold for hours without doing anything to intervene.
On political retribution
Trump was asked what he means by saying, after his conviction in a New York courtroom, that he’d have every right to go after his political opponents.
But then, after pointing out Biden’s son, Hunter, was also recently convicted of a crime, Trump dialed back up on the idea of using the justice system against Biden.
To which Biden said presidents should not be using the justice system in that way.
Biden also went into more salacious territory, listing off Trump’s civil penalties for “molesting a woman in public.” Actually, Trump was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation after the former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll accused him of raping her in a department store dressing room.
Biden also referenced Stormy Daniels – he referred to her as a “porn star” – who said she had an affair with Trump.
Trump denied the affair with Daniels before attacking his criminal conviction in New York for hiding reimbursements to his then-attorney for hush money payments to Daniels before the 2016 election. The prosecution helped his polling and his fundraising “because the public knows it’s a scam,” Trump said.
On Hitler
Biden said he initially ran for president in 2020 because of the deadly White nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, after which Trump said there were “fine people” on both sides.
That was another reference to Kelly’s recollection of Trump’s comments. Trump, meanwhile, disputed Biden’s own reason for running for president.
On climate change
Trump didn’t actually acknowledge that climate change is a thing, but said that when he was president there was clean air and water.
Trump’s broad and unprovable comment almost seemed to flabbergast Biden, who stumbled over words in pointing out that on his watch, Democrats passed legislation to address climate change, which is an existential threat to people.
On who is the worst president
The question from Tapper was about the cost of child care, but the answers turned to who is a worse president.
On golf
Bash asked about Trump’s age and his capabilities to serve, and his answer went from cognitive tests, which he claimed to have aced, to golf, where he claimed to be winning recent tournaments.
Biden also bragged about his golf game, saying he had close to a six handicap before correcting himself to saying it was, at one point, an eight.
On accepting election results
Trump repeatedly deflected when asked if he would accept the election results, finally settling on “if it’s a fair and legal and good election,” before suggesting, again, that fraud kept him from the White House in 2020.
Biden noted that no court or serious investigation ever found any evidence of any fraud. That’s not a good sign for Trump accepting a potential 2024 loss, according to Biden.
