President Joe Biden spoke incoherently with a weak voice and looked down often.
Challenger Donald Trump made a powerful impression, but used more questionable arguments. Among other things, he claimed that Russia's Vladimir Putin would never have invaded Ukraine if he himself had been in the White House.
This is the guy who wants to leave NATO, replied Joe Biden, in the historic TV debate between rivals ahead of this year's presidential election.
As expected, personal attacks flew between 81-year-old Biden and the 78-year-old former president.
If we had a real president, who was respected by Putin, he would never have invaded Ukraine, Trump said in the live duel.
Joe Biden countered by claiming that Trump doesn't know what he's talking about.
Does he want to start a nuclear war, as he's talking about? Let Putin go in and take Ukraine, and then continue with Poland and other places, he said.
Panic in the party?
The Democrats had hoped that Joe Biden would show himself to be vital and powerful. But the president, who was said to be ill and often lost his train of thought, gave the opposite impression.
Just minutes after the debate ended, reports emerged of panic within the Democratic Party. A discussion about whether the president must step aside before the election is ongoing behind the scenes, according to American media.
During the broadcast, Donald Trump challenged Biden to take a cognitive test.
I took two cognitive tests, I did great, said the former president.
I would like to see him take one, just one, a really simple one.
When asked what he wanted to say to voters who are concerned about his high age, Biden responded by referring to Trump:
This guy is three years younger and much less competent.
Like a tomcat
With the deadly congressional storming on January 6, 2021, in mind, Donald Trump was asked about his view on political violence, which he said was "completely unacceptable". Will he then accept the election result, the debate leaders asked.
If it's a fair and legal and good election, absolutely, replied the former president.
A large part of the debate dealt with other than policy issues. Donald Trump brought up his opponent's son Hunter Biden, who was recently found guilty of lying about his drug use when buying a gun.
Biden, in turn, referred to the former president's conviction for accounting fraud in connection with payments to, among others, a porn star ahead of the 2016 election. The president said that Trump had "sex with a porn star" while his wife was pregnant – something Trump denied.
You have morals like a tomcat, said Biden.
The two refrained from shaking hands with each other before the duel. Not unexpectedly, they blamed each other for the USA's problems and argued over who was the country's worst president in history.
90 minutes long without a studio audience.
Organized by CNN in Atlanta, with anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash as moderators.
Two commercial breaks, but neither debater is allowed to contact their staff.
The microphone is turned off when the other person speaks.
The debaters are allowed to have a pen, a block, and a bottle of water on the table. Notes with pre-written entries or replies are not allowed.
Biden chose to choose the location, to the right on the stage. This gave Trump the right to conclude the debate.
The TV debate was held earlier in the election campaign than usual, even before the party conventions where the rivals are formally elected as presidential candidates by their parties.
The two last met in a debate in 2020.
Source: CNN, Politico
