Participants: President Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump
Moderators: Dana Bash and Jake Tapper from CNN
Key Issues Discussed: Economy, Immigration, National Debt, Abortion, Healthcare, Climate Change, etc.
Debate Rules
Coin toss determined screen positions: Trump on the left, Biden on the right.
Each candidate gets 2 minutes to respond, followed by 1 minute for rebuttal and a moderator's discretion for follow-ups.
Mics muted during opponent's speaking time.
No studio audience or pre-written notes/proposals allowed.
Closing statements: 2 minutes each.
Opening Statements
Biden: Addresses issues with current economic conditions, inflation, job creation, and manufacturing.
Trump: Credits himself for a strong pre-COVID economy, low unemployment, and claims effective COVID response.
Key Topics
Economy
Biden: Response: Economic Recovery
Start of presidency faced a troubled economy, pandemic.
Focus on creating jobs (15,000 new jobs, 800,000 manufacturing jobs).
Efforts to reduce prescription drug prices and housing costs.
Increasing focus on corporate greed as a root problem.
Trump: Greatest economy pre-COVID, blames Biden for inflation and poor job creation.
National Debt
Trump: Claims Biden's administration incurs high deficits, praises his own tax cuts.
Biden: Tax cuts benefitted the wealthy, intends to make billionaires pay fair share in taxes for debt reduction.
Abortion
Trump: Supports Supreme Court's abortion pill ruling, emphasizes state's rights over federal mandates, exceptions for rape, incest, life of the mother.
Biden: Supports Roe v. Wade principles, women's right to decide with their doctors, opposes radially restrictive state bans.
Immigration and Border Security
Biden: Bipartisan effort to manage border crisis, avoid Trump's family separation policies, increase asylum officers.
Trump: Insists on building the safest border, blames Biden administration for current border crisis, claims open borders lead to increased crime.
Foreign Policy (Russia, Ukraine, NATO)
Trump: Criticizes Biden’s handling of Russia’s Ukraine invasion; claims Russia wouldn't engage in wars under his leadership.
Biden: Emphasizes the importance of alliances and supporting other nations against aggressors.
Climate Change
Trump: Wants clean water and air, claims success in environmental policies without Paris Accord.
Biden: Highlights extensive climate legislation, commitment to reducing carbon footprints through innovation.
Social Security
Biden: Proposes increasing taxes on the very wealthy to secure Social Security.
Trump: Claims Biden's policies harm Social Security, criticizes the handling of illegal immigration alleging they wrongly benefit from social services.
Concerns and Capability
Biden: Defends his administration's progress, prepared to handle the second term despite age concerns.
Trump: Highlights his cognitive abilities, recent health exams, and fitness.
Closing Statements
Biden: Focus on fair tax system, continued inflation reduction, housing initiatives, childcare credit increases, and healthcare improvements.
Trump: Reminds viewers of his economic and military achievements, promises to