CNN flash poll shows Trump as clear winner of first presidential debate: ‘Stunning number’
A flash poll conducted by CNN following Thursday night’s presidential debate showed former President Trump soundly defeating President Biden. The CNN poll posted on air showed that 67% of debate watchers felt that Trump won the debate compared to 33% who believe Biden won the debate. CNN’s poll following the final 2020 presidential debate showed 53% of viewers felt Biden won compared to 39% who said Trump won. The majority of users on social media seemingly agreed with the CNN poll including liberal pundits. BIDEN MAKES STUNNING OMISSION WHILE CLAIMING NO TROOPS DIED ‘ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD’ ON HIS WATCH “This debate was a total and complete disaster for Biden,” former CNN commentator Chris Cilizza wrote on X. “He looked old. His answers trailed off repeatedly. He was hard to understand. He would stop in mid sentence and move on to something else. I NEVER thought he would be this bad. Stunning. Truly.” TRUMP VOWS HE ‘WILL NOT BLOCK’ ABORTION PILLS OR MEDICATION IF ELECTED, SAYS HE BELIEVES IN ‘EXCEPTIONS’ “Stunning number from voters who witnessed his performance with their own eyes,” political commentator Alyssa Farah Griffin posted on X in response to the poll. Biden’s team pushed back on the narrative that he lost the debate including VP Kamala Harris, who told CNN, “It was a slow start but a strong finish.” “Joe, you did such a good job!” First Lady Jill Biden said to the president on a stage after the debate. “You answered every question. You knew all the facts.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Biden campaign for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Trump rips Biden for not firing generals after botched Afghanistan withdrawal: ‘Incompetence’
Former President Trump blasted President Biden in CNN’s presidential debate on Thursday for not firing any of the generals who oversaw the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan that left 13 U.S. soldiers dead. “He was so bad with Afghanistan,” Trump said during the CNN presidential debate on Thursday night. “It was such a horrible embarrassment. Most embarrassing moment in the history of our country that when Putin watched that and he saw the incompetence.” “He should have fired those generals like I fired the one that you mentioned and so he’s got no love lost but he should have fired those generals,” Trump continued. “No general got fired for the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country, Afghanistan, where we left billions of dollars of equipment behind. We lost 13 beautiful soldiers and 38 soldiers were obliterated.” Trump went on to say that the world is “blowing up” under President Biden. TRUMP VOWS HE ‘WILL NOT BLOCK’ ABORTION PILLS OR MEDICATION IF ELECTED, SAYS HE BELIEVES IN ‘EXCEPTIONS’ “You ever heard so much malarkey in my whole life?” Biden responded. Biden went on to defend his pullout of Afghanistan and blasted Trump for his positions on the war in Ukraine and comments made about Russian President Vladimir Putin. TRUMP WAR ROOM BLOG FOR CNN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE “This guy hasn’t fired anybody,” Trump said at another point in the debate. “He should have fired every military man that was involved with the Afghan horror show,” Trump said. “The most embarrassing moment in the history of our country. He didn’t fire. Did you fire anybody? Did you fire anybody that’s on the border? That’s allowed us to have the worst border in the history of the world. Did anybody get fired for allowing 18 million people, many from prisons, many from mental institutions?” Fox News Digital reached out to the Biden campaign for comment but did not receive a response.
Reactions claiming winner and loser pour in following Trump and Biden’s debate: ‘More presidential’
Reactions from users on social media came flooding in immediately following the end of the presidential debate between former President Trump and President Biden on Thursday night. “Trump came across more presidential tonight,” former White House press secretary and Fox News contributor Ari Fleischer posted on X. “Biden appeared old and stumbled too often. He garbled a lot of his words. I don’t think he bombed, but he wasn’t good. Trump was nicely calm. This was a strong night for Trump.” “Trump won the debate,” Texas Republican State Rep. Brian Harrison posted on X. BIDEN MAKES STUNNING OMISSION WHILE CLAIMING NO TROOPS DIED ‘ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD’ ON HIS WATCH “It wasn’t even close. The Democrat Party knows this.” “Tonight’s debate was a pass/fail test for Joe Biden,” Outkick.com founder Clay Travis posted on X. “And it was a lenient grading curve. Yet Biden still failed. Even after a full week of preparation. They’re going to replace him.” TRUMP VOWS HE ‘WILL NOT BLOCK’ ABORTION PILLS OR MEDICATION IF ELECTED, SAYS HE BELIEVES IN ‘EXCEPTIONS’ Many members of the media, including on liberal networks, expressed concerns about Biden’s debate performance. “This debate was a total and complete disaster for Biden,” former CNN commentator Chris Cilizza wrote on X. “He looked old. His answers trailed off repeatedly. He was hard to understand. He would stop in mid sentence and move on to something else. I NEVER thought he would be this bad. Stunning. Truly.” Others on social media suggested Biden’s performance was strong at times. “Not good, but I don’t think Biden was that bad—may have won the last 75 Minutes, but 1st 15 matter most,” former FEC Commissioner Brad Smith posted on X.
Biden accuses Trump of ‘having sex with a porn star’ and ‘the morals of an alley cat’
President Biden accused former President Trump of “having sex with a porn star” and said he has “the morals of an alley cat,” but the presumptive Republican nominee maintained that he did not, and accused Biden of being behind his legal cases because “he can’t win fair and square.” During the CNN Presidential Debate Simulcast Thursday night, Biden pointed to Trump being convicted on all counts out of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation related to hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. TRUMP ORDERED TO PAY MORE THAN $80 MILLION IN E. JEAN CARROLL DEFAMATION TRIAL Biden also pointed to the case brought against Trump by E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of rape and defamation. “How many billions of dollars do you owe civil penalties for molesting a woman in public? For doing a whole range of things—having sex with a porn star…while your wife was pregnant?” Biden said. “You have the morals of an alley cat during the night, sir.” In the E. Jean Carroll case, a federal jury decided Trump must pay an $83.3 million to her for denying allegations that he raped her in the 1990s. Trump’s legal team has requested a new trial and appealed the ruling, but was rejected in April. But Trump, Thursday night, fired back, defending himself. “I didn’t have sex with a porn star, number one,” he said. “Number two, that was a case that was started, and they moved a high-ranking official—DOJ—into the Manhattan DA’s office to start the case.” Trump was referring to Matthew Colangelo, who served as a senior DOJ official in the Biden administration, and left to join Bragg’s prosecution team. EX-TOP BIDEN DOJ OFFICIAL NOW PROSECUTING TRUMP WAS ONCE PAID BY DNC FOR ‘POLITICAL CONSULTING’ A jury found Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree in New York v. Trump. Trump has vowed to appeal that verdict. “That case is going to be appealed and won. We had a very terrible judge, a horrible judge, the prosecutors were all high-ranking Democrats, appointed people,” Trump said. Trump accused Biden, saying he “went after his political opponent because he thought it was going to damage me.” “But when the public found out about the cases, because they understand it better than he does, he has no idea what these cases are, but when they found about these cases, you know what they did—my poll numbers went way up,” Trump said. “You know that—because you’re reporting it.” Trump also said his campaign “took in more money in the last two weeks than we’ve ever taken in in the history of any campaign.” “I don’t think any campaign has ever taken hundreds of millions of dollars come pouring in because the public knows it is a scam,” Trump said. “It is a guy that is after his political opponent because he can’t win fair and square.”
Trump says Biden ‘could be a convicted felon as soon as he gets out of office’
Former President Trump said President Biden “could be a convicted felon as soon as he gets out of office.” Trump made the comments during the CNN Presidential Debate Thursday night. Biden called the presumptive Republican nominee out for being a “convicted felon,” after a jury found Trump guilty on all counts of falsifying business records in the first degree in New York v. Trump last month. But Trump defended himself. TRUMP, BIDEN SPAR OVER GOLF HANDICAPS AS THEY TRY TO CONVINCE VOTERS THEY ARE NOT TOO OLD FOR THE PRESIDENCY “When he talks about a convicted felon, his son is a convicted felon at a very high level,” Trump said of Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. Hunter Biden was found guilty this month of all federal gun charges brought against him by Special Counsel David Weiss. The first son was found guilty of making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed gun dealer, and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance. “His son is convicted, going to be convicted probably numerous other times, should have been convicted before. But his Justice Department let the statute of limitations lapse on the most important things,” Trump said. Weiss also indicted Hunter Biden on federal tax charges. That trial is set to begin on Sept. 5 in California. But Trump warned that President Biden could also be faced with charges after leaving office. “But he could be a convicted felon as soon as he gets out of office – Joe could be a convicted felon with all of the things that he’s done. He’s done horrible things,” Trump said. “All of the deaths caused at the border, telling the Ukrainian people that we’re going to want $1 billion, you could change the prosecutor, otherwise you’re not getting $1 billion.” Trump was referring to comments Joe Biden made while serving as vice president. Biden has acknowledged that when he was vice president, he successfully pressured Ukraine to fire prosecutor Viktor Shokin. At the time, Shokin was investigating Burisma Holdings, and at the time, Hunter had a highly-lucrative role on the board receiving thousands of dollars per month. The then-vice president threatened to withhold $1 billion of critical U.S. aid if Shokin was not fired. “I said, ‘You’re not getting the billion. I’m going to be leaving here in,’ I think it was about six hours. I looked at them and said: ‘I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money,’” Biden recalled telling then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Biden recollected the conversation during an event for the Council on Foreign Relations in 2018. TRUMP VOWS HE ‘WILL NOT BLOCK’ ABORTION PILLS OR MEDICATION IF ELECTED, SAYS HE BELIEVES IN ‘EXCEPTIONS’ “Well, son of a bitch, he got fired,” Biden said during the event. “And they put in place someone who was solid at the time.” Biden allies maintain the then-vice president pushed for Shokin’s firing due to concerns the Ukrainian prosecutor went easy on corruption, and say that his firing, at the time, was the policy position of the U.S. and international community. “If I ever said that, that’s quid pro quo, that we’re not going to do anything. We’re not going to give you $1 billion unless you change your prosecutor having to do with his son,” Trump said Thursday night. Trump declared: “This man is a criminal.” “I did nothing wrong,” Trump said. “We have a system that was rigged and disgusting. I did nothing wrong.” Beyond the charges in New York, Trump is facing charges brought against him by Special Counsel Jack Smith stemming from his investigation into Trump’s alleged improper retention of classified business records. Smith also charged Trump out of his investigation into Jan. 6 and 2020 election interference. Trump also faces charges stemming from an investigation brought by Fulton County, Ga. District Attorney Fani Willis. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges in all cases. Trump’s trial in the classified records case has been postponed indefinitely. Trump’s Jan. 6 trial has also been postponed, and is awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity and whether Trump is immune from charges brought against him by Smith. And the Georgia Court of Appeals this month put a pause on any proceedings related to the 2020 election interference case against the former president and co-defendants until it hears a case to disqualify Fani Willis in October.
Biden repeats claim debunked by liberal fact-checker about Trump calling neo-Nazis ‘very fine people’
President Joe Biden repeated the claim that former President Donald Trump said there were good people on “both sides” during the deadly Charlottesville rally in 2017 despite Snopes recently acknowledging the claim is false. “I said I wasn’t going to run again until I saw it happen in Charlottesville, Virginia,” Biden said on the CNN debate stage on Thursday night. “People coming out of the woods carrying swastikas on torches, torches and and singing the same anti-Semitic bile they sang when back in Germany and a young woman got killed I spoke to the mother and they asked him what do you think of those people…and he said I think a fine people on both sides.” Critics of Trump have claimed for years that he equated neo-Nazis with counterprotesters following the event while conservatives have pushed back and pointed to the transcript where Trump says there were fine people on both sides but clarified that he was not talking about neo-Nazis and White supremacists and said they should be “condemned totally.” PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: HOW MUCH DID THE DEBT GROW UNDER BIDEN AND TRUMP’S TERMS? Earlier this week, the left-leaning fact-checking website Snopes acknowledged that Trump never called neo-Nazis “very fine people” during his press conference on the Charlottesville rally. “He made up the Charlottesville story, and you’ll see it’s debunked all over the place,” Trump fired back at Trump’s claim. THE MANY FACES OF DONALD TRUMP FROM PAST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES “Every anchor has every reasonable actor has debunked it. And just the other day it came out where it was fully debunked. It’s a nonsense story. He knows that. And he didn’t run because of Charlottesville. He used that as an excuse to run.” “It happened,” Biden responded. “All you have to do is listen to what we said at the time.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Biden campaign for comment but did not receive a response. Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report
Trump, Biden spar over golf handicaps as they try to convince voters they are not too old for the presidency
President Biden and former President Trump faced off on the CNN presidential debate stage Thursday night, but suggested another showdown–this time, in an unlikely setting. The golf course. During the CNN Presidential Debate, CNN moderator Dana Bash presented the age Biden and Trump would be at the end of a potential second term. TRUMP LEADING BIDEN AHEAD OF CNN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE, SUPPORT FROM BLACK VOTERS WAY UP SINCE 2020: POLL Biden would be 86. Trump would be 82. Biden defended his age, saying he “spent half my career being criticized about being the youngest person in politics. I was the second youngest person ever elected to the United States Senate, and now I’m the oldest. This guy is three years younger and a lot less competent.” But Trump reminded that he has taken two cognitive tests. “I aced both of them, as you know, we made it public. He took none. I’d like to see him take one. Just want a real easy one, like, go through the first five questions—he couldn’t do it. But I took two cognitive tests I took physical exams every year and you know, we knock on wood wherever we may have wood, that I’m in very good health,” Trump said. Trump, an avid golfer, said Thursday night that he recently “won two club championships—not even senior—two regular club championships.” “To do that, you have to be quite smart and you have to be able to hit the ball a long way and I do it,” Trump said. “He doesn’t do it. He can’t hit a ball 50 yards. He challenged me to a golf match—he can’t hit a ball 50 yards.” Trump added: “I think I’m in very good shape—I feel I’m in as good shape as I was 25, 30 years ago. Actually, I’m probably a little bit lighter, but I’m in as good shape as I was years ago. I feel very good. I feel the same.” But Biden chimed in, making an offer and saying he would “be happy to have a driving contest.” “I got my handicap, which when I was vice president, down to a six,” Biden said. “And by the way, I told you before, I’m happy to play golf if you carry your own bag. Think you can do it?” Trump fired back: “That’s the biggest lie that he’s a six handicap of all.” Biden seemingly corrected himself, saying: “I was a eight handicap. Yeah. Eight.” “I’ve seen you swing. I know your swing,” Trump said. “Let’s not act like children.” But Biden replied: “You are a child.” Trump pushed back, adding: “Let’s not act like children.”
A raspy Biden gets off to a halting start against Trump in the first 2024 presidential election debate
ATLANTA – Struggling with a raspy voice and rambling answers, President Biden struggled during portions of Thursday night’s first of two debates with former President Trump in the 2024 election rematch. But the 81-year-old Biden, the oldest president in American history, at times sharpened his answers, calling out his Republican predecessor in the White House for numerous falsehoods. The two major party presumptive nominees traded fire over numerous issues, from the economy and inflation to immigration and border security, abortion, climate change, the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and overseas conflicts in Europe and the Mideast. Biden at the top of the debate highlighted the economic gains during his presidency, touting that he had created jobs and was bringing down the cost of prescription drugs. But Biden acknowledged that “there’s more to be done.” FOX NEWS LIVE UPDATES FROM THE FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE The president argued that Trump left him with an “economy in shambles,” charging that “things were in chaos.” Trump returned fire, charging that “inflation is killing our country,” touting that he created “the greatest economy in the world” before the COVID pandemic swept the globe during the last year of his presidency. But Biden, who faces questions over his physical and mental stamina as he seeks a second four-year term in the White House, appeared to lose his train of thought as he answered a question on the economy, concluding with “we finally beat Medicare.” Trump immediately pounced: “That’s right, he did beat Medicaid, he beat it to death. And he’s destroying Medicare.” A few minutes later, as the two candidates traded fire over the issue of immigration, Trump pounced again after another rambling answer from Biden. “I really don’t know what he said on this, and I don’t think he knows what he said either,” Trump said. The two repeatedly traded fire during the debate. Biden, evoking his eldest son Beau, who served in the Iraq War before dying of brain cancer, jabbed at Trump for reportedly calling Americans killed in combat “suckers and losers.” “My son was not a loser, was not a sucker. You’re the sucker. You’re the loser,” Biden claimed. Trump fired back, arguing that he never disparaged American troops and slammed Biden for the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, calling it “the most embarrassing day in the history of our country’s life.” And Trump criticized Biden for presiding over “the worst presidency in the history of our country.” Trump entered the debate one month after being convicted of 34 felony counts in the first criminal trial of a former or current president in the nation’s history. Biden called Trump a “convicted felon” and argued that “you have the morals of an alley cat,” as he referenced allegations in the trial that Trump had sex with a porn actress. “I did not have sex with a porn star,” Trump snapped back as he also brought up the felony convictions of Hunter Biden, the president’s sole remaining son. And pointing to Biden, Trump said “he could be a convicted felon as soon as he gets out of office…This man is a criminal.” Biden campaign sources explained that the president’s raspy voice was due to a cold. Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita fired back in a social media post, arguing that the “Biden campaign telling press that after 10 days on vacation @JoeBiden has a “cold”.” Only the Democratic incumbent and his Republican predecessor were on the stage, as the third party and independent candidates running for the White House – including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – failed to reach the qualifying thresholds. To make the stage, candidates needed to reach at least 15% in four approved national surveys and to make the ballot in enough states to reach 270 electoral votes, which is the number needed to win the White House. Trump and Biden bypassed the Commission on Presidential Debates – which had organized these quadrennial showdowns for over three decades – and instead mutually agreed on the rules and conditions for their 90-minute-long debate. Those included no studio audience and each candidate’s microphone muted except when it was their turn to answer questions. The debate was held as polls indicate a very tight race between Biden and Trump, with the former president holding the slight edge in many national surveys and in the roughly half-dozen or so battleground states that will likely determine the election’s outcome. Following the debate, Biden and Trump both stay in the South as they hold rallies in states they’re aiming to flip come November. The president heads to Raleigh, North Carolina, where he’ll hold a rally Friday in a state he lost to Trump by a razor-thin margin in 2020. While Biden’s in North Carolina, Trump will be rallying Friday in Virginia, which he lost by 10 points four years ago. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Biden ripped for ‘old’ appearance, ‘weak’ voice during first presidential debate: ‘Deeply alarming’
President Biden faced intense scrutiny for his “old” appearance and “weak” sounding voice throughout Thursday’s CNN Presidential Debate. Various media figures, conservative commentators and politicians took to social media throughout the event, describing Biden’s state as “deeply alarming” and “embarrassing.” “Biden looks old. Halting. He just lost his train of thought. His voice is weak. Bad bad bad,” former CNN commentator Chris Cilizza wrote on X, while conservative commentator Clay Travis wrote, “Joe Biden looks like he might die on stage tonight. He’s way worse than I thought he would be. Holy crap.” TRUMP VOWS HE ‘WILL NOT BLOCK’ ABORTION PILLS OR MEDICATION IF ELECTED, SAYS HE BELIEVES IN ‘EXCEPTIONS’ “It’s deeply alarming that Joe Biden needs to be secluded for seven days so he can speak coherently for 90 minutes,” wrote Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton. “Remember, Joe Biden set the rules for this debate. He then spent a full week preparing. And he looks like this,” Ben Shapiro wrote. Conservative activist Charlie Kirk questioned why Biden appeared to keep looking in odd directions, away from former President Trump, the camera and moderators. “I have to say this is embarrassing not just for Biden but also for our country,” billionaire Bill Ackman wrote, while Republican commentator Sarah Isgur suggested the nation was “heading into 25th amendment territory,” citing what would allow for the removal of the president. Another critic described Biden as “literally malfunctioning,” while another said his “voice ran out after the first sentence.” BIDEN MAKES STUNNING OMISSION WHILE CLAIMING NO TROOPS DIED ‘ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD’ ON HIS WATCH Pollster Frank Luntz, who said he was running a focus group made up of undecided voters throughout the debate, said Biden was the reason they were “beginning to switch and choose.” “It’s not going well for Joe Biden. It’s not his policies. It’s his presentation,” Luntz wrote. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Trump vows he ‘will not block’ abortion pills or medication if elected, says he believes in ‘exceptions’
Former President Trump said he “will not block” abortion pills or abortion medication should he be elected president. During CNN’s Presidential Debate Simulcast, Trump was asked about his stance on abortion, and whether or not he would block abortion medication for women. “First of all, the Supreme Court just approved the abortion pill and I agree with their decision to have done that, and I will not block it,” Trump said. BIDEN WAR ROOM BLOG FOR CNN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE Trump applauded the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and return the decision on abortion access to the states. “I put three great Supreme Court justices on the court and they happened to vote in favor of killing Roe v. Wade and moving it back to the states. This is something that everybody wanted,” he said. “Now the states are working it out.” Trump said every state is “making their own decisions right now.” “They’re all making their own decisions right now and right now the states control it,” Trump said. “That’s the vote of the people.” But Trump maintained that, like former President Ronald Reagan, he believes in “exceptions.” “I believe in the exceptions. I am a person that believes, and frankly, I think it is important to believe in the exceptions,” Trump said. “Some people, you have to follow your heart, some people don’t believe in that. But I believe in the exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. I think it’s very important.” He added: “Some people don’t follow your heart, but you have to get elected also, and because that has to do with other things, you got to get elected.” TRUMP WAR ROOM BLOG FOR CNN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE But Trump said Democrats are “radical because they will take the life of a child in the eighth month, the ninth month, and even after birth.” Trump said the country “is now coming together on this issue.” “It’s been a great thing.” Biden, though, said if he is re-elected, he will “restore Roe v. Wade.” Trump fired back: “So that means he can take the life of the baby in the ninth month and even after birth? Because some states Democrat-run take it after birth—The former governor of Virginia put the baby down, then we decide what to do with it, so, he’s willing to, as we say, rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month and kill the baby. Nobody wants that to happen—Democrat or Republican. Nobody wants that to happen.” Biden replied: “You’re lying. That is simply not true.” Biden added that he is “not for a late-term abortion—period. Period.”