© REUTERS/Emily ElconinVoters gather to watch first presidential debate
Attendees converse ahead of the first presidential debate between U.S. President Joe Biden and former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a watch party hosted by the Michigan Conservative Coalition in Novi, Michigan, U.S., June 27, 2024.
Attendees converse ahead of the first presidential debate between U.S. President Joe Biden and former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a watch party hosted by the Michigan Conservative Coalition in Novi, Michigan, U.S., June 27, 2024.
Of the 13 "undecideds" who spoke to Reuters, 10 described the 81-year-old Democratic president's performance against Republican candidate Trump collectively as feeble, befuddled, embarrassing and difficult to watch.
Gina Gannon, 65, a retiree in the battleground state of Georgia, voted for Trump in 2016 before ditching him for Biden in 2020.
"Joe Biden looked very weak and confused right from the start. It concerns me that our global enemies see Joe Biden in this manner. I was shocked and dismayed. I hate to see our president acting that way on TV and in front of the world," Gannon said.
She added: "I am absolutely voting for Donald Trump now."
Presidential debates typically have limited influence on voters, but Biden and Trump are in a tight race and the election will likely be decided by just thousands of votes in a handful of swing states. Both candidates need to win over the relatively small number of voters who have not yet decided who to vote for.
Biden delivered a shaky, faltering performance while Trump battered him with a series of often false attacks.
Comment: Care to name them? In the meantime, here's a handy list of Biden lies:
1. Border Patrol Endorsement
Biden claimed he was endorsed by America's Border Patrol union. That is not true. In fact, the Border Patrol Union issued a real-time fact-check Thursday night stating: "To be clear, we never have and never will endorse Biden."
2. Trump Bleach Lie
Biden claimed Trump told people infected with Covid to inject themselves with "bleach." Trump did not tell people to do that.
3. Illegal Border Crossings
Biden claimed "there [are] 40 percent fewer people coming across the border illegally" under his presidency than Trump's. That isn't true, as illegal border crossings have skyrocketed to record highs under Biden's presidency.
4. Military Deaths
Biden claimed he's the "only president this ... decade" who "doesn't have any troops dying anywhere in the world" under his presidency. That is false. Thirteen service members were killed during Biden's disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal.
5. Inflation
Biden claimed inflation was at 9 percent when he came into office. That statistic is false. The inflation rate when Trump left office was 1.4 percent.
6. Late Term Abortion
Biden claimed that Democrats "are not for late-term abortion." As The Federalist's Jordan Boyd noted, Biden "has repeatedly promised to legalize unlimited, on-demand abortion through all nine months of pregnancy via a sweeping bill and routinely promoted taxpayer-funded abortion policies."
7. Cages at the Border
Biden claimed Trump was "separating babies from their mothers [and] putting them in cages" when he was president. That statement is misleading. As admitted by the left-wing Associated Press, these were "chain-link enclosures" inside alien-holding border facilities that were created by the Obama-Biden administration.
8. No New Taxes
Biden claimed he "didn't" raise taxes for "anybody making less than $400,000 a year." That is false.
9. Hitler
Biden claimed Trump once said, "Hitler has done some good things." As admitted by left-wing Snopes, there is no proof that Trump ever said this. The allegation has also been denied by Trump's staff.
10. Biden Repeats Debunked 'Suckers' and 'Losers' Hoax
Biden repeated the lie that Trump called deceased American soldiers "suckers" and "losers." Numerous former Trump administration officials have publicly refuted the phony story. Even left-wing Snopes admitted, "there appeared to be no evidence of an audio or video recording of the remarks in question, nor was there any documentation, such as transcripts or presidential notes, to independently confirm or deny the alleged quotes' authenticity."
11. Trump's Iran Policy
Biden claimed Trump "did nothing" to stifle Iranian aggression. That is false. For example, Trump ordered the assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in 2020.
12. Trump's NATO Remarks
Biden claimed Trump told Vladimir Putin, "Do whatever you want," regarding Russia's invasion of Eastern Europe. But that's not accurate.
Trump's remarks came during a South Carolina rally, during which he recounted a story from when he was president and speaking with a NATO member. Trump purportedly told this state that he would withhold U.S. support if they didn't pay their minimum defense spending obligations.
13. Climate Alarmism
Biden falsely contended that the "only existential threat to humanity is climate change."
14. Efforts to Stop J6 Riot
Biden insinuated Trump made no effort to ensure demonstrators wouldn't breach the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. That isn't true. Trump sought to deploy 10,000 National Guard troops to the Capitol ahead of Congress's certification of the 2020 election results.
15. Roe v. Wade
Biden claimed the "vast majority of constitutional scholars supported [Roe v. Wade] when it was decided" by the Supreme Court in 1973. There is no evidence that's true.
16. Beau's Death
Biden claimed his son Beau died in Iraq. Beau was not killed in action in Iraq but died from brain cancer in 2015.
17. 'Very Fine People' Lie
Biden repeated the lie that Trump called white supremacists who participated in a 2017 Charlottesville march "very fine people." Even left-wing "fact-checker" Snopes recently admitted that claim is untrue.
18. Unemployment Under Trump
Biden claimed the unemployment rate was at 15 percent when he came into office. That isn't true. The unemployment rate was 6.4 percent when Biden was inaugurated in January.
19. Trillionaires
Biden claimed there are "1,000 trillionaires in America." There are not, in fact, any trillionaires in America or the world.
20. NATO
Biden claimed Trump "wants to get [the United States] out of NATO." There is no evidence to suggest that's true. In fact, Trump regularly pressed NATO countries during his presidency to meet their defense spending commitments.
Biden's poor showing rattled his fellow Democrats, and will likely deepen voter concerns that he is too old to serve another four-year term.
Seven of the nine voters who were dismayed by Biden's performance told Reuters they were now leaning towards Trump, because they no longer believe Biden can perform his duties as president.
Three of those said they would definitely vote for Trump in his Nov. 5 election rematch with Biden, even though two of them said they do not like the former Republican president.
Meredith Marshall, 51, who lives in the Los Angeles area and is self-employed, said the debate left her in shock.
She voted for Biden in 2020, but is now leaning toward Trump, given by what she described as Biden's lack of mental acuity.
"God forbid if my choices are as they stand right now based on this debate. Hands down I would vote for a liar and a convict over a person who doesn't seem to be all there mentally."
About 20% of voters say they have not picked a candidate in this year's presidential race, are leaning toward third-party options or might not vote at all, according to the most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Reuters interviewed 15 such voters ahead of Thursday's debate, and they agreed to be interviewed again after the event about whether the debate changed their views.
It was not all bad news for Biden.
Ashley Altum, a 28-year-old mental healthcare manager from South Carolina, had been torn between Biden or a third-party candidate before the debate.
Now she is leaning more towards Biden.
She said she was satisfied with Biden's responses, given he was more willing than Trump to address questions directly.
"I did see Biden slipping up quite a bit, but I'm always surprised more people don't in these situations," she said. "I think that anybody could go up there and speak eloquently is impressive to start with."
Comment: Guess this gal drank enough kool-aid to not believe her lying eyes.
Biden pointed out in the debate that Trump, at 78, is only three years younger.
"But Trump was just Trump. From a cognitive decline perspective I didn't see that in Trump," said Tom Reich, 36, a software engineer from South Carolina.
The issues of age and mental capacity exploded onto the campaign trail in February following a report by a Department of Justice special counsel that suggested Biden was suffering memory lapses.
"What a disaster for the Democrats," Scott Harrington, 63, a fishmonger in Massachusetts, said after watching the debate.
"I was basically undecided but was hoping Biden would have been good enough so I could vote for him. I dislike Trump intensely. I was worried Biden would show he's not up to the job, but he was even worse than I feared. I might just abstain."
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