Analysis: Biden, Trump trade barbs at debate; RFK Jr. responds

Trump is commanding much of this debate but faces a number of potential political and legal perils ahead — and the location for tonight’s debate is a stark reminder of those.

The former president and 18 other people were charged in Georgia last summer in a case focused on efforts to subvert the 2020 election results. It’s one of four criminal cases against Trump, with Trump facing sentencing in his New York case next month and two federal cases still hanging over his head.

The Georgia case has been mired in controversy and months of delays over the district attorney’s past relationship with a prosecutor who has since resigned from the case. In March, the judge overseeing the case dismissed six of the 41 charges due to lack of detail, but the case is pushing ahead and it is expected to drag into 2025.

Politically speaking, Georgia is also a top battleground state in the November election and tonight’s debate is being held on the home turf of some Republicans who have publicly clashed with Trump over the years — most notably Gov. Brian Kemp.

The governor told CNN this week that he didn’t vote for Trump in the state’s GOP primary in March (“I didn’t vote for anybody”) while reiterating he’ll back him in November. Kemp remains popular in Georgia and cruised to victory in his 2022 reelection, the same year Trump-backed Herschel Walker lost his Senate race to Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.).

As NewsNation reported, a lack of engagement from either candidate’s base could have major ramifications in Georgia. Biden won the state in 2020 by less than 12,000 votes out of nearly 5 million cast, the first time a Democratic presidential candidate has lost in the state since 1992.

For his part, Kemp made an appearance in the debate spin room tonight and told media outlets he hoped Trump would draw a contrast with Biden on the big issues.

Trump holds a roughly 4-point lead in the Peach State, according to the Decision Desk HQ/The Hill polling index, and marshaling prominent surrogates and deploying strong get-out-the-vote efforts will be key in the coming months.

Biden pointed to his early years as one of the youngest politicians and said now he is one of the oldest before pointing out that Trump is only three years younger. Biden pivoted to accusing Trump of tanking the computer chip industry by enticing companies to move overseas for cheap jobs. He pointed to efforts to increase computer chip manufacturing, creating jobs that don’t require a college degree.

Biden also attacked Trump for calling the U.S. a failing country, saying no president has spoken like that before, calling the U.S. one of the strongest countries in the world and saying America is trusted around the world.

Trump said he aced cognitive tests and claimed Biden refused to take any, saying he wouldn’t get through. He said he is in very good health and attacked Biden for not being good at playing golf. Trump claimed to be in as good shape as he was decades ago.

Biden suggested Trump is lying about his health and said he would be happy to play golf against Trump. The two sparred over golf handicaps before moderators intervened.

Trump says he wasn’t going to run — he says he would be very happy somewhere else. But ran because Biden was.

Trump began by talking about the deficit, blaming Biden for having the biggest deficit and the biggest deficit with China. He claimed that Biden is funded by China without offering specifics and said China is killing the U.S.

When pressed on answering the question about access to treatment for addiction, Trump blamed COVID for harming access. He also claimed that Biden has the largest amount of drugs coming across the border.

Biden said he has taken action to reduce drug trafficking. He blamed Trump for tanking a bipartisan deal that would have addressed immigration.

Moderators again asked Trump about addiction treatment. Trump began by talking about immigration policies again, accusing Biden of ending “catch and release” and said Biden is paying for the release of hostages. He claimed that Putin is asking Biden for billions to release detained reporter Evan Gershkovich.

RFK Jr. says that neither Trump nor Biden are running on issues that are critical to Americans right now.

He added that both candidates are running on “fear.”

If voters want to “vote out of hope, they will vote for me.”

Kennedy said the country is “utterly changed because” of Trump and Biden’s leadership.

RFK Jr. said that if Trump “obstructed the peaceful transfer of power, he should be held accountable,” but the larger issue is that both he and Biden have restricted constitutional rights.

Kennedy said Biden “subverted” the right to free speech claiming that he ordered federal agencies to censor social media sites to take down posts that were not “politically palatable” to his administration.

He said both Trump and Biden violated the right to freedom of assembly with mask regulations, saying it was not scientifically based.

He added that shutting down businesses during COVID-19 violated the Fifth Amendment.

“I don’t believe they have the right to wear an American pin,” he said.

Trump began with a return to the earlier debate over the validity of the “sucker and losers” quote before attacking Biden for refusing to fire people and pointed to his record firing high-level officials in the Department of Justice and FBI. Trump also said Biden should have fired people over the Afghanistan withdrawal or the border, once again claiming that immigrants were coming from prisons and mental institutions. He said Biden has destroyed the country and called Biden’s efforts to take action on the border “insignificant.” He claimed Biden supports open borders and that he wants to destroy the country.

Biden said the U.S. is highly respected and the military is one of the finest in the world and there is nothing beyond America’s capacity. “No one thinks we’re weak,” he said. He returned to presidential historians that ranked Trump last and said Trump did virtually nothing on child care. He said the country needs to increase the child care tax credit and help single parents go back to work.

When asked to answer the question, Trump again returned to America’s reputation abroad, accused Biden of wanting to raise everyone’s taxes four times, saying nobody ever heard of raising taxes. He called Biden the worst president in history but did not address child care costs.

Biden said he would not raise taxes on anyone making more than $400,000, and he has not done so. He said Trump’s tariffs would drive up costs for consumers. He said Trump’s policies devastated the middle class and that his proposed tax cuts would bankrupt the country.

Well, there are a lot of reasons we are seeing the candidates, pundits and lawmakers ascend upon the Peach State.

CNN aside, don’t forget about the importance of the Peach State. Georgia has elected eight out of the last 12 presidents. And in 1992, the state picked a Democrat, and again in 2020.

2024 is up for grabs and both parties are upping the ground game.

Moderator Dana Bash brought up a social issue 15 minutes into the debate. Abortion. People care. NewsNation has been speaking to Georgia lawmakers all week to get a pulse of the voters. Like so many swing states, there is a dense urban population and multiple rural counties.

The diverse state has more than 160 counties, some are farmland, some are coastal and even the North Georgia Mountains.

State Senate Democratic Caucus Chairwoman Elena Parent, tells NewsNation her constituents want to hear about social issues and reproductive rights.

“Reproductive rights is still going to be one of the center stage issues here in Georgia. Of course, the always thorny problem of immigration that’s bedeviled many administrations from both sides of the aisle is going to be a factor. Georgians also want to see action on the plethora of guns that are all over our streets, right? So, you know, there’s going to be a lot of different things that voters are weighing when they go to the polls, no doubt,” Sen. Parents said.

We also caught up with Majority Caucus Chairman Republican Jason Anavitarte who tells us his constituents are looking to vote with their pocketbooks.

“I think the top two issues I hear from folks in West Georgia and across the state, it’s the economy with inflation and border security. I mean, I think it’s literally that simple,” Sen Snavitarte said. “I think there’s a bit there’s a bigger impact in terms of what is the impact for the next 10 or 20 years with this election. Especially once you start factoring in social values and protecting life and all of those things that I know, Republicans and conservatives care about. When we talk about the fabric of society eroding, because we’re not a strong power across the globe as we were under President Trump or Republican leadership.”

Biden said he would make the wealthy pay their fair share to guarantee the program. With his remaining time, he said the biggest thing to do for Social Security would be to defeat Trump. He said Trump had suggested cuts to Social Security and Medicare. He also pointed out expanded healthcare coverage from the ACA and rules that prohibit people from being denied insurance because of preexisting conditions.

Trump accused Biden of lying, saying everything he says is a lie. Trump said immigration was destroying Social Security and said that veterans are not being taken care of because of resources going to immigrants who crossed into the U.S. illegally.

Biden pointed to a significant number of economists who said inflation would go up under Trump and to presidential scholars who rated him the worst president in history.

Kennedy says he is “heartbroken” over “bloodshed in Gaza” but that we must understand that “Israel is in an existential battle.”

He says Israel is under attack on multiple fronts and that the U.S. must support the nation because it is “the only democracy in the Middle East,”

He said that if he was president, he would have used more “diplomacy from the beginning” when it comes to the violence in Gaza.

When asked if he believes in a Palestinian state, Kennedy said that “has to be decided by Israel and Palestine.”

He also criticized NATO, saying it is sucking money from the U.S. so that it could “police” the rest of the world.

He said that if he is president, he will change the function of NATO so it becomes an “instrument of peace.”

A White House official and a person familiar with the matter confirmed to NewsNation that President Joe Biden has a cold.

Trump returned to Biden’s previous remarks that Trump would cut police by saying police departments support him. He pointed to his effort on opportunity zones for economic growth that help Black voters. He claimed to have the best numbers with Black voters ever and said Biden has done a horrible job for Black and Hispanic people, again bringing up immigration.

When pressed on the question, Trump claimed that the U.S. had the best numbers ever on clean water and was using “all forms of energy” and claimed to have the best environmental numbers ever.

Biden said he has passed the most extensive climate change legislation in history before going on a tangent on his support for historically Black colleges and universities. He said Trump has not done “a damn thing” for the environment. Biden pointed to his support of the Paris Accords, an effort to avoid going past a climate tipping point.

Trump claimed the U.S. would pay more than other countries and said he pulled out of the Paris Accords because it was a waste of money. He also claimed that he was actually the one who drove down the price of insulin. He again returned to immigration, claiming it was destroying the country.

Biden said the country has made progress on reducing emissions and efforts to address causes of emissions. He also attacked Trump’s claim that he had the biggest heart on stage and said he has seen no evidence Trump would do anything on climate. He said that under Trump, one company voluntarily lowered the price of insulin, but he was able to get all companies to do so.

POTUS and former President Donald Trump were both standing at their lecterns, staring straight ahead as photographers snapped photos.

Neither of them said anything or made eye contact with one another. POTUS cracked a smile at the photogs, and as the pool was being ushered out, Trump took a sip of water from a plastic bottle.

Biden said he has made progress on issues facing Black voters, saying there were more Black businesses than any point in history and that wages for Black Americans have risen. He blamed corporations for keeping people out of houses and pointed to efforts to reduce child care costs for Black families. He pledged to support families and improve the economy, saying there is more to be done, but he has done a great deal. When pressed, he said he doesn’t blame Black voters for being disappointed before pointing to his record on credits for first-time home buyers and efforts to address student loan debt. He said he would do more.

Trump accused Biden of causing inflation that he said is killing families. He said he gave Biden a “perfect” country with no inflation and said Biden destroyed it with his “green new scam.” He once again returned to the border, saying immigrants are taking Black and Hispanic jobs.

Biden responded by saying there was no inflation because the economy was flat. He pointed to the ACA and said Trump would overturn the plan. He said Trump caused inflation by malfeasance.

More than 1.8 million are watching RFK Jr.’s simultaneous debate as of 9:08 p.m. CT.

RFK Jr. criticizes Biden for Ukraine war Kennedy says Biden wanted to “weaken Russia,” which is why he is not pulling out of the war in Ukraine. “Putin was asking to settle this war from the beginning,” he said, criticizing the Biden administration for rejecting treaties to end the war.

Donald Trump Jr. took to X to praise the CNN Presidential Debate format, saying it kept his father “disciplined and focused.”

At the halfway mark of the debate, Biden went after Trump over his conviction in New York on charges of falsifying business records in connection with a hush money deal with adult film star Stormy Daniels.

“The only person who is a convicted felon is the man I’m looking at right now,” Biden said, glancing at Trump.

The president tore into Trump for accusing him of his own criminal behavior, rejecting any equivalency and stating at one point Trump had “sex with a porn star on the night your wife was pregnant.”

“I didn’t have sex with a porn star, number one,” Trump responded.

Biden initially kept Trump’s hush money trial and conviction at arms-length during the proceedings earlier this year but has stepped up his attacks at fundraisers and in campaign ads recently.

Biden said yes, the more people know about what Trump has done, those who cast a vote for him are voting against American democracy. He pointed to other upcoming criminal cases against Trump, two federal cases and one in Georgia. Biden said he was motivated to run again after white supremacist rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia, and pointed to Trump’s comment about “fine people” on both sides.

Trump once again denied the statement he publicly made and claimed Biden ran because it was his last chance to be president. He accused Biden of making up the comment about “fine people on both sides.”

Biden attacked Trump by pointing to numerous former cabinet officials and former Vice President Mike Pence who have refused to endorse him. He said they did so because they know Trump and what he would do in another term.

It’s come up twice now.

The former president has largely dodged it.

There was a lot of speculation about Trump’s possible response to Jan 6. Would he look back in time? Would he say the election was stolen?

Instead, he pivoted.

Trump went back to the border and criticized Biden’s record. When Trump was told he had more time, he went on to attack former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

For years his defense team has pushed back on claims that his rhetoric sparked the Capitol riots.

Will President Biden try a third time?

Trump said his retribution would be success. He also brought up the felony convictions of Hunter Biden before returning to the border, blaming Biden for deaths in the U.S. and deaths in Ukraine. He also brought up claims that Biden ousted a Ukrainian prosecutor going after Burisma, where Hunter Biden sat on the board.

Biden called the claim outrageous and said the idea of seeking retribution against opponents is wrong. He also brought up Trump’s felony conviction on business fraud in New York before saying Trump had an affair with a “porn star,” referencing adult actress Stormy Daniels, who was a major figure in the case.

Trump denied the alleged affair and attacked the judge and prosecutor in the case, saying they were appointed people, which is inaccurate. He called the trials a politically motivated attack and said his poll numbers went up after the cases and pointed to fundraising gains on the heels of his conviction.

RFK Jr. agrees with Trump once again, saying the U.S. is in a crisis with “undocumented immigrants.”

He said the immigration policy is “being run by the Sinaloa drug cartel” because they are able to send whoever they want to the border and they then get “a ticket to wherever they want.”

He says Democrats may have let immigrants in out of compassion, but that was a delusion.

He is saying there are immigrants on the streets and taking up parks where American children can no longer play.

Trump brushed off the question and claimed that nobody thinks that. He then returned to the border, taxes and reduced regulations saying that the U.S. was respected around the world on Jan. 6 and claims the U.S. is now being laughed at by the world. When pressed to answer the actual question, Trump said he “didn’t say anything” and said he said “peacefully and patriotically.” He also said Rep. Nancy Pelosi was responsible for turning down National Guard troops he offered to protect the Capitol. It’s worth noting this claim has been refuted, and there was no order for National Guard troops before or during the riots.

Biden attacked Trump on his repeated attempts to claim there was voter fraud, noting that he went to multiple courts that found no basis for the claim. He also called Jan. 6 a “bloodbath.”

Trump said Biden should be ashamed for destroying people, claiming people had ripped down cities and referencing fires, though it’s not clear what that was in reference to, and said people took over Seattle. He then returned to his original comments about saying protests should be peaceful and patriotic. He also claimed that the congressional committee on the riots destroyed evidence, though there is no evidence this occurred.

Biden refuted the idea that those who vandalized the Capitol were patriots. He also referenced Trump telling the Proud Boys to stand by and refuted the actions of those who stormed the Capitol.

Kennedy agreed with Trump when it comes to border protection saying that Biden stopped the construction of the wall and dismantled other security measures leading to mass border crossings.

He said he interviewed people coming through, and only two people had asylum claims, which makes him concerned about terrorists coming into the country.

He also blasted Biden’s “catch and release” policies.

Trump said he would have to see and pivoted to saying that other countries kill us on trade, claiming those countries don’t want things the U.S. produces but want the U.S. to buy exports. Trump also claimed he had a “very secret meeting” and forced NATO allies to pay more in defense spending.

Biden laid out a proposed cease-fire plan he said has been endorsed by the U.N. Security Council and G7. He said his administration is pushing Hamas to accept the terms and said he has not denied Israel weapons except for certain bombs that don’t work well. He said the U.S. is the biggest supporter of Israel in the world and said the U.S. effort to get Osama bin Laden can serve as an example of how to defeat Hamas with fewer civilian casualties.

Trump said European nations have put up less money in foreign aid, claiming that he forced NATO allies to do more. He called Biden a “Palestinian” and said he should allow Israel to finish the war.

Biden pointed to Trump’s comments that he would pull out of NATO and said allowing Putin to continue in Ukraine would lead to a nuclear war. He accused Trump of not knowing what he was talking about.

Trump began by claiming the military hates Biden and said soldiers like him more. He said Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if there was a respected president. Trump accused Biden of allowing Putin to invade and pointing to the Afghanistan withdrawal. Trump said Putin would never have invaded and Israel would not have been attacked by Hamas if he were president. He also said his efforts attempted to bankrupt Iran, and there was no terror in his administration.

Biden accused Trump of ignoring attacks on soldiers during his administration and pointed to the Americans brought out of Afghanistan safely as part of his record.

Moderators returned to the original question, pushing Trump to answer. Trump said the terms were not acceptable but pivoted to saying the war never should have started. He also attacked Biden for sending foreign aid to Ukraine. He claimed he would have the war settled before taking office if he were elected.

Biden called Putin a war criminal and said he would not stop at Ukraine in his efforts to restore the Soviet Union. He said that if Trump walks away, there will be a wider war and said NATO allies have given as much funding to Ukraine as the U.S.

“As debate is happening — RFK Jr. campaign videos/graphics are being projected onto the debate hall. The police here outside by media row where we are don’t know where it is coming from. ” — Kellie Meyer

Biden became visibly angry during the debate as he brought up Trump’s reported comments from 2018 when the then-president allegedly privately disparaged soldiers buried in France as “losers and suckers.”

“My son was not a loser, was not a sucker,” Biden said, referring to his son Beau Biden, a former Delaware Army National Guard member who died from brain cancer in 2015.

“You’re the sucker, you’re the loser,” Biden added, looking at Trump.

Trump dismissed the attack, calling it a “made-up quote” from a “third-rate magazine.”

Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly had confirmed the remarks attributed to Trump when speaking to The Atlantic in 2023. Trump has repeatedly denied making the comments.

Responding to a question on Roe v. Wade being overturned given to Biden and Trump, RFK Jr. says he believes abortion should be the choice of the woman. He adds that no politician has done more for “medical freedom” than him.

He says state intervention should not happen until the baby reaches viability, saying he does not support late-term abortions.

But he does say that every “abortion is a tragedy” and says most women have abortions because they can’t afford to have the child.

He says he will put money into child care, which he believes will stop abortions.

“My policy is more choices, fewer abortions.”