| First impressions count for a lot, especially in politics, and Joe Biden’s performance in the first half of the debate did not impress anyone, even those in his own camp. Vice-president Kamala Harris admitted to CNN’s Anderson Cooper that the president had a “slow start”. “The conventional wisdom had become that expectations were so low for Biden that all he had to do was show up and not die and people would say that was a great performance,” David says. “Somehow he fell short of those expectations, certainly at the beginning of the debate at least.” Biden rattled through the first few questions too quickly, verging on incoherent at points and trailing off at the end of sentence. This was all amplified by the “frog on his throat” David says – whether it was due to acid reflux or a cold he could not shake off, Biden’s raspy voice made it even more difficult to follow what he was saying, even though the points he was making were more truthful, substantial and policy based. It was a sentiment shared by our panel of experts and Moira Donegan, who wrote: “when the cameras cut to Biden, he was often slack-jawed, his eyes unfocused, seeming to stare into the middle distance with a look of vacant horror”. There is a caveat though – Biden’s performance picked up as the debate went on. He became stronger, his voice became marginally clearer, as did his arguments and ideas. It is unlikely however that this will offset the initial image. Trump benefited greatly from CNN’s hands-off approach of “facilitating” not “participating” in the debate. The broadcaster said ahead of time that it would not be factchecking either president, a wise decision for the flow of a television show perhaps, but less wise when one of the debaters reportedly lied at least 30,573 times in four years. This meant that Trump’s false claims about the economy, immigration, January 6 and abortion received no pushback or correction. “It created a false equivalence” David says, as “Donald Trump’s falsehoods appeared to be given just as much weight as Joe Biden’s facts and I think for viewers tuning in to the election for the first time in some cases, it would be very hard for them to know when Trump is lying”. Trump lied (surprise surprise) While much attention has been, and will continue to be paid, to Joe Biden’s performance and the political upset it has caused in the Democratic party, it is important to take a look at the substance of the debate. Though he was more restrained than he has been in previous debates, Trump’s exaggerations, misleading claims and outright falsehoods were many. On immigration he claimed that Biden’s policies have meant that “people are coming in and killing our citizens” at high levels – he said he calls it “Biden-migrant crime”. There is no evidence that immigrants are more likely to commit violent crimes or push up crime rates. He also said that the president will destroy Social Security and Medicare by giving migrants entering the US these welfare benefits – which there is also no evidence to support. He said the only jobs that Biden created were for illegal immigrants – also patently false. Trump also made the claim that Democrats support abortion until birth: “They will take the life of a child in the eighth month, ninth month, even after birth.” This is also not true – an abortion “after birth” is infanticide and late term abortions are exceedingly rare. The former president also bizarrely added, when asked about the climate crisis, that “he had the best environmental numbers ever” during his time in office. No one knows what numbers he is referring to here but this Guardian investigation highlights 75 ways that Trump made America dirtier during his time in office. For a comprehensive fact check of Trump and Biden’s presidential debate claims, read this helpful explainer by Guardian US reporters. The low moments The contrast between the images presented by Biden and Trump about what America looks like right now could not be starker. To Trump, America is collapsing. It is not respected. It has become “stupid” and lost global standing. To Biden, America is “the most admired country in the world” and there is nothing beyond its capacity. The end of the debate perhaps offered us the most insight into what we can expect to come: a frustrated, bemused Biden who is barely able to conceal his contempt at his opponent who lies frequently and easily. And Trump, who when asked whether he would respect the election results in November three times, reluctantly accepted that he would but only “if it’s a fair and legal and good election”, before repeating the widely debunked claims of voter fraud in 2020, making it clear that “if” is doing a lot of heavy lifting. The mood In the minutes after the debate ended, it was clear which side thought they had won. David says the spin room was flooded by Trump supporters soon after the broadcast ended, eager to talk, spinning a message that Donald Trump won spectacularly and how they felt sorry for Joe Biden because he’s so old, feeble and unable to run a campaign. “It was only about 10 minutes later that the Democrats finally emerged,” he adds. On social media, Democrats panicked at Biden’s faltering performance, with some calling into question something that, up to this point, felt very settled: his nomination. Frenzied discussion has started to emerge about the prospects of replacing Biden before the Democratic National Convention. Three strategists close to potential presidential candidates spoke to Politico anonymously, saying that they had received calls from major sponsors and donors expressing their desire for Biden to step aside. “Obviously that would be hugely dramatic,” David says, but the biggest contenders, however, remain vocal supporters of Joe Biden and ultimately it is the presidents decision whether or not he steps aside. “It feels like despite the nuances and the caveats, ultimately, it all falls into a narrative and it’s clear what the narrative is shaping up to be about Biden in particular,” David says. | 