Donald Trump and Joe Biden have faced off at one of the earliest presidential debates in modern US history.
The two wannabe presidents clashed at the debate hosted in Atlanta, Georgia – a key battleground state which Biden won by less than 13,000 votes back in 2020.
This is the second round of debates between Trump and Biden, as they both competed to become president in 2020, a battle Biden ultimately won.
But the consensus seems to be that Trump won this clash, with Democrats concerned that the president stumbled, drew blanks, and didn’t take opportunities to challenge Trump’s record.
Trump repeatedly attacked Biden on the economy and his foreign policy record, while Biden slammed Trump for ‘having sex with a porn star’ and his recent criminal conviction.
Metro.co.uk has rounded up some of the strangest moments of the debate.
Trump and Biden refused to shake hands
It’s common practice for participants in a debate to shake hands before getting started – but the polite formality was thrown out of the window during this debate.
Trump and Biden strode on stage on Thursday evening and walked directly to their lecterns, avoiding a handshake.
This isn’t the first time they’ve opted not to shake hands, as they also refused to shake at the start of their first presidential debate in 2020.
They entered the studio from opposite ends, with no audience present.
Aiming to avoid a repeat of their chaotic 2020 debates, Biden insisted – and Trump agreed – to hold the debate without an audience and to allow the network to mute the candidates’ microphones when it is not their turn to speak.
A strange argument over their golf prowess
Evidently there aren’t enough important issues for the US public to hear about, as Biden and Trump descended into conflict about their golfing skills.
Trump doubted Biden’s swinging skills, who hit back and said he was ‘happy to have a driving contest’ with the former president.
It kicked off when the pair were asked about their age, and whether they were capable of running the country into their 80s.
In his response Trump boasted about two non-senior club championships he apparently won, and said he didn’t think Biden could hit a ball 50 yards.
Biden hit back about Trump’s height and weight, saying he’d happily play golf with the former president as long as he carried his own bag.
Trump called Biden’s claim that he has a handicap of 6 in golf ‘a lie’, adding ‘I’ve seen your swing’.
Biden repeatedly froze and lost his train of thought
Biden’s raspy voice, which his team says is because he was ill, was repeatedly questioned by analysts who think his chances of retaining the presidency are slipping.
But on top of the raspiness Biden’s voice was much fainter than we’re used to – and about an hour into the two-hour debate, the White House started briefing journalists that the current president is unwell.
There were several occasions, mostly at the beginning of the debate, where he seemed to freeze, stutter, and lose his train of thought.
At one point he went completely blank, leading to Trump mocking him to his face and saying: ‘I really don’t know what he said, I don’t think he even knows what he said.’
Biden frequently had to pause to cough and look down at his notes on the podium, rather than at Trump or directly into the camera.
Biden accused Trump of ‘having sex with a porn star’
As he started to liven up and fight back towards the end of the debate, Biden called Trump a ‘criminal’ in relation to his recent conviction, commenting: ‘The only person on this stage that’s a convicted felon is the man I’m looking at right now.’
He also brought up allegations against him from porn actress Stormy Daniels.
Trump angrily snapped back: ‘I didn’t have sex with a porn star.’
Trump continues to deny all allegations against him and chose not to testify at his trial.
Trump and Biden swap personal insults
During the course of the debate, Trump and Biden were less than focused on policy talk as they descended to trading petty insults.
Biden called his opponent a ‘sucker’, a ‘loser’ and a ‘whiner’, accusing him of having the ‘morals of an alley cat’ in relation to the Stormy Daniels allegations.
They both also referred to each other as the worst US president in history, with Trump calling Biden a ‘disaster’.
Both candidates called each other criminals, with Trump suggesting Biden could face criminal charges ‘when he leaves office’ – though the reasoning behind this statement is unclear.
Biden claimed that Trump was more focused on ‘retribution’ against his political rivals than leading the nation.
Trump also attacked Biden over his son Hunter’s recent conviction on firearms charges, referring to Hunter as a ‘convicted felon’.
The next presidential TV debate will be held on September 10, two months before the US heads to the polls on November 5.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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