Biden-Trump debate: the main points

The first debate ahead of the US presidential election has the Dems anxious. Outgoing President Joe Biden, seeking a second term, appeared sluggish, uncertain, almost disoriented; for his part, Donald Trump, who is trying to return to the White House after the four years from 2016 to 2020, showed himself determined and confident. And little did it matter that he populated many of his answers with fake news: the rules of the debate hosted by the CNN prevented both the opponent (the microphone of the contenders, outside of their respective speeches, was turned off) and the moderator from making objections and fact checking, thus giving the Republican candidate a considerable advantage. Ukraine, veterans, abortion and immigration were the topics of the debate, but also golf, clinical tests on respective mental health and personal and family criminal records. At the end of the broadcast, political analysts, newspapers and observers agreed on one concept: Biden lost the debate. Many of them went further: perhaps there is still time for the outgoing president to step aside.

One of the central issues in the debate concerned the status of abortion in the US. The conservative-majority Supreme Court overturned the historic Roe v. Wade sentence, which enshrined this right in federal law in the USA. In this regard, Biden stated that he is a supporter of the legislation and that 'if I am re-elected, I will reinstate it: these are decisions that belong to doctors, not judges. The idea that it is politicians who decide on women's bodies is ridiculous'.

Another prominent topic of the debate, the respective golfing skills, used as a benchmark to determine the two candidates' lucidity. Trump boasted of his victories in two club championships ('to succeed, you have to be in your head') and his successes in cognitive tests (passing 'with flying colours'), while criticising his opponent ('he can't hit the ball more than 50 yards, he can't answer questions'). Biden, on the other hand, said he was willing and 'happy' to challenge him to a round of golf.

Heating up Joe Biden is the veterans issue. "Trump has lied about many things, one of them being veterans. Our law, Pact Act, opposed by his party in Congress, gives support to their families. My son (Beau, ed) was in Iraq one year and came back with stage 4 glioblastoma. To Trump they are a bunch of losers and idiots. My son was not: you are!".

Chapter Ukraine. When asked if he agreed with Russia's conditions for ending the war, Trump replied that Putin decided to invade after observing how the Biden administration handled the withdrawal from Afghanistan, 'the greatest foreign policy humiliation in American history'. While confirming that he would not accept the Kremlin's terms, the Republican candidate said he would find a solution to end the war, but did not go into details and could not be pressed on the issue due to debate rules.