ATLANTA: President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump faced off in Atlanta on Thursday, during which they blamed each other for the country’s economic turmoil and dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, and could only agree on a desire to eliminate Hamas.
CNN bypassed the independent US Commission on Presidential Debates to host the event, which was unprecedented because Biden and Trump have yet to be formally endorsed by their parties as candidates for the Nov. 5 election.
The format had restrictions to prevent a repeat of events four years ago when Trump interrupted Biden 190 times, according to CNN.
Without an audience to cheer or jeer, CNN’s rigid format may have benefited Trump by forcing him to appear less disruptive, his supporters say.
He shifted the focus to Biden, who answered questions slowly, had difficulty hearing and mixed up some phrases and words.
Acrimonious name-calling and an ongoing battle over who is responsible for domestic challenges have distracted the two from fully answering questions about the Middle East and Israel’s war on the Palestinians.
Asked to explain what “additional leverage” Biden could use to get Israel and Hamas to support his cease-fire plan, the president called the Palestinian group the primary obstacle to peace, the only point of agreement with Trump.
“No. 1, everyone from the UN Security Council to the G7 to the Israelis and (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu supported the (ceasefire) plan that I put forth, supported the plan that I put forth, which has three phases,” Biden said.
“The first phase is treating the hostages for a ceasefire.” The second phase is a ceasefire with additional conditions. The third stage is the realization of the end of the war.
“The only one who wants the war to continue is Hamas, number 1. They are the only ones not backing down.” We are still trying to get them to accept.”
Biden added: “Hamas cannot be allowed to continue.” We continue to send our experts and our intelligence so they can get Hamas like we did (Osama) bin Laden. You don’t have to do that.
“And by the way, they are greatly weakened, Hamas, greatly weakened, and they should be.” They should be eliminated. But you have to be careful what you use this particular weapon among population centers.”
Trump said Biden was preventing Israel from eliminating Hamas. “As for Israel and Hamas, it is Israel that wants to go (and finish the job). He said the only one who wants to continue is Hamas. “Actually, Israel is the one and they should (let) go and let them finish the job,” Trump insisted.
“He doesn’t want to do it.” He became like a Palestinian. But they don’t like him because he is a very bad Palestinian. He is weak.”
Backing efforts to establish a Palestinian state, Trump said: “I would have to see.
He said he had prevented Hamas from attacking Israel by blocking funds to Iran, which he claimed was the group’s main sponsor. He added that Biden’s “weak” leadership opened the door to Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.
In response, Biden called Trump “weak,” adding, “I’m the guy who organized the world against Iran when they had a full ballistic missile attack on Israel.
“No one was hurt. No Israeli was accidentally killed. And it stopped. We saved Israel. We are the largest producer of support for Israel of anyone in the world.”
Trump called Biden “the worst president” in US history. Biden criticized Trump as a “convicted felon” and compared his morals to those of a “cat alley.”
The debate was held about a mile from Georgia Tech University, where 800 journalists from 34 countries and campaign staff watched on TV monitors.
After the debate, Republican and Democratic leaders took to the floor of the University Pavilion to speak to reporters, with both sides declaring victory.
Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik said the debate showed Trump would “handily beat” Biden in November, adding: “This is an absolutely overwhelming knockout victory tonight for President Trump against a failed, powerless and weak Joe Biden.”
Vivek Ramaswamy, who challenged Trump for president in the Republican primary, said Biden seemed confused and only had “a spark of life to him when he talked about January 6 and Trump’s conviction.”
“Biden doesn’t care about issues that affect Americans…President Biden seemed like the bad guy in the room.”
Several Democrats declined to answer reporters’ questions about the debate, instead issuing statements defending Biden and predicting his victory over Trump in November.
Asked if Biden should be worried about the election, Senator Raphael Warnock said: “I would be concerned if the president didn’t have the record to run, but the fact is this is a man who has made legislative history.”
Warnock added: “The election is about the character of the country. Tonight, the American people got a chance to remember the character of Donald Trump, the man who stood and lied for 90 minutes.
“What surprised me was that every time he was asked a question, you noticed that Trump never answered the questions. America is better than Donald Trump.”
Biden and Trump are expected to participate in another debate, which will be hosted by ABC Network News on September 10.
This will also circumvent the rules set by the US Commission on Presidential Debates, which has hosted all of these events since the 1980s.
Independent candidates excluded from the debate, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Jill Stein, hosted their own sideshows and answered in real time the same questions CNN asked Biden and Trump.