President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump participate in the CNN Presidential Debate, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The nation watched as President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump squared up Thursday evening in the first presidential debate of the 2024 general election.
While this debate wasn’t the first time the two candidates contended over issues ranging from immigration and the economy to abortion access — this presidential debate saw the two candidates forced to follow the rules.
Ahead of the debate, held in a studio at CNN’s Atlanta headquarters, both campaigns agreed to a set of guidelines established by CNN, which included muted microphones, no live studio audience and restricting the candidates from consulting with their teams during commercial breaks.
Biden and Trump were given two minutes to answer each question and one minute for rebuttal.
While the microphone muting kept the cross-fire between the candidates orderly, the debate’s strict time guidelines seemingly made for less pushback from the event’s moderators, CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.
The debate saw Biden and Trump continuously calling each other a “liar,” but with little-to-no live fact-checking by the moderators.
“This debate is a master-class in what’s wrong with our media-saturated, horse-race obsessed politics,” Robert. E Kelly, a professor of political science, wrote on X Thursday.
“Trump is just lying and making stuff up but he says it ‘vigorously’ and doesn’t get fact-checked. Therefore he’s winning,” Kelly wrote, adding, “We’ll spend the next month debating Biden’s age rather than Trump’s staggering incompetence.”
Another viewer suggested the debate format should feature a “buzzer” that would go off every time the candidates said a false statement.
“We need a buzzer to go off every time a false statement is made by a candidate,” Amee Vanderpool, a political writer, wrote on X.
“Until then any debate in this format, with moderators who refuse to fact check statements in real time, is a waste of time,” Vanderpool said.
Other users took to social media to applaud the format, saying the microphones being cut brought order to the debate stage that wasn’t seen during the 2020 election cycle.
“I want to give CNN credit. The debate format is fantastic,” Leo Terrell, a civil rights attorney, wrote on X.
“I’ve never seen fewer complaints about the debate format or moderators before,” Noam Blum said on X, adding, “Taking away the audience and preventing people from talking over each other just works.”
The first 2020 debate between Biden and Trump spiraled into near-constant interruptions and candidates speaking at the same time. At one point, Biden turned to Trump and told him, “Will you shut up, man?”
Ahead of Thursday’s debate, experts told ABC News the rules could make for a more substantive, issue-focused debate.
“Despite the fact that these rules are pretty strict, we’re going to see some fireworks,” Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston, told ABC News last week.
The CNN debate marked the first of two debates in the general election season. The second will be hosted by ABC News on Sept. 10.
With less than a five-month countdown to Election Day, and recent projections from 538 placing the candidates at a near-tie among polled voters, the presidential debates are poised to be make-or-break events for Biden or Trump.
Former president Donald Trump and President Joe Biden participate in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections at CNN’s studios in Atlanta, Ga on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
(ATLANTA) — President Joe Biden delivered a halting performance in Thursday’s debate with former President Donald Trump — raising new questions about his future in an event largely viewed as a test of the two candidates’ fitness for office.
The two debated a slate of policies on stage in Atlanta, though little new ground was broken. Much of the focus was instead on how the 81-year-old president and his 78-year-old predecessor would handle another four years in the Oval Office — with Democrats left worrying about Biden’s performance.
Here are five takeaways from Thursday night’s clash:
Biden has slow start
Biden came on stage with a raspy voice and repeatedly stumbled through some of his answers early on.
When asked a question on the national debt, he said there are “thousands of trillionaires” before correcting himself, for instance.
But perhaps his biggest stumble came about 12 minutes into the debate, when he paused for six seconds after discussing ways the country could have spent money provided by taxes on wealthy Americans that would have been accrued were it not for tax cuts passed by Trump during his term.
“We’d be able to help make sure that all those things we need to do, child care, elder care, making sure that we continue to strengthen our health care system. Making sure that we’re able to make every single solitary person eligible for what I’ve been able to do with the — with the COVID, excuse me — dealing with everything we have to do with, look … we finally beat Medicare,” Biden said, appearing to lose his train of thought at the end of his answer.
The moment precisely highlighted a major theme heading into the debate — Biden’s mental acuity and fitness for office — and sent Republicans celebrating.
“Game over!!!” Bryan Lanza, a former Trump campaign aide who remains in touch with the former president’s current team, texted ABC News.
Democrats, too, sounded a negative note.
“A few words the Biden team should look up: espresso; and honey and lemon for the throat,” said one high-level Democratic strategist.
Biden appeared to pick up steam as the debate dragged on, dubbing Trump a “convicted felon” and mixing it up over their records, but the president’s performance was less energetic than that of his opponent.
Biden team spins his performance
Biden’s team quickly worked to spin is performance, seemingly recognizing that he likely did not present himself a Democrats had hoped.
The campaign said the president had a cold, but tested negative for COVID-19, though it’s unclear why that news wasn’t announced beforehand. The campaign told ABC News’ Mary Bruce that they’re feeling fine but conceded he had a slow start.
“Tonight, President Biden presented a positive and winning vision for the future of America — one in which every American has a fair shot at the American dream, where every one of our rights are protected, and where our president fights to strengthen our democracy — not to tear it down,” said Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon.
Biden’s allies echoed past support for the president, allowing that the night likely did not go as planned but that the president will remain the nominee.
“I don’t care, I’m going to stick with Joe Biden,” former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile said on ABC News Live.
Trump (mostly) keeps his cool
Operatives were eyeing which version of Trump would appear on stage Thursday: the brawler who repeatedly interrupted Biden at their first 2020 debate? Or would he be a staid presence that would be interpreted as more presidential?
Largely, the latter ended up as a more apt description of Trump’s performance.
To be certain, Trump veered into some of his more bombastic rhetoric — exaggerating the state of the economy under his term and the number of border crossings and crimes taking place under Biden; saying Biden “could be a convicted felon”; and accusing the president of “going after his political opponent because he can’t win fair and square.”
But he did not center his arguments around unfounded claims of election fraud or repeated attacks on Hunter Biden, the president’s only surviving son who was recently convicted on felony gun charges. Oftentimes, he returned his answers to favorable topics for him like inflation and immigration, including on a question regarding the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill.
“Let me tell you about Jan. 6. On Jan. 6, we had a great border. Nobody coming through. Very few on Jan. 6. We were energy independent on Jan. 6, we had the lowest taxes ever. We had the lowest regulations ever,” he said.
Trump’s campaign swiftly declared victory.
“Tonight President Trump delivered the greatest debate performance and victory in history to the largest voter audience in history, making clear exactly how he will improve the lives of every American,” top Trump campaign hands Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement.
“Joe Biden on the other hand showed exactly why he deserves to be fired,” they said. “Despite taking a week-long vacation at Camp David to prepare for the debate, Biden was unable to defend his disastrous record on the economy and the border.”
New rules impose cleaner debate, but less pushback
Thursday’s debate had novel rules that were largely successful in imposing a cleaner debate than in the past.
No audience was in the studio to interrupt with applause or boos, and microphones were cut off when candidates were not recognized to speak.
The result was a debate with little crosstalk or disruptions, a stark departure from primary debates earlier this year and debates during 2020, when crosstalk made the candidates’ comments essentially illegible.
However, while the more rigid format helped move the conversation along, there was minimal pushback from moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, who at times opted to move forward rather than correct falsehoods or push for a direct answer to their initial question if a candidate had already used up their time for a response.
And the conversation still veered into the outlandish at times, with both candidates sparring for a few minutes toward the end over their golfing abilities.
“Let’s not act like children,” Trump said.
Lots of policy talk, but little new ground
The structure also helped the moderators and candidates stick to policy, but little new ground was broken on the contenders’ stances on main issues.
Biden vowed to reinstate Roe v. Wade and protect abortion rights, raise taxes on wealthy Americans and support Ukraine.
Trump defended his tax cuts, said he would force European allies to boost their own efforts to back Ukraine in its fight against Russia and declared that Israel should be able to continue its military operations in Gaza.
However, voters will be left with little new information about what the two candidates believe on key issues that they haven’t heard on the campaign trail.
Lil Baby, Usher and Victoria Monét have brought home the gold from the 2024 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards, which took place Thursday night in LA.
Lil Babyreceived the Songwriter of the Year Award for his work on It’s Only Me cuts “Forever,” “Freestyle” and “Heyy,” while Victoria’sASCAP Vanguard Award was given to her for “On My Mama” and the “innovative work that is helping to shape all of music,” a press release states.
Usher was awarded the ASCAP Voice of the Culture Award for his contributions to music and culture. He was also praised for his pen on “Glu” and “Good Good.”
Other winners of the night include SZA‘s “Snooze” as R&B/Hip-Hop and Rap Song of the Year, “ICU” by Coco Jones, “Just Wanna Rock” by Lil Uzi Vert, Summer Walker‘s “Karma” and 21 Savage for “Spin Bout U.”
(UVALDE, Texas.) — Two people have been indicted in connection with the investigation into the 2022 mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, ABC Austin affiliate KVUE reported Thursday.
Former Uvalde School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo has been indicted and booked into the Uvalde County jail, Sheriff Ruben Nolasco confirmed to ABC News.
Arredondo is facing 10 charges of child endangerment and being held on a $10,000 bond, an official briefed on the case told ABC News.
The second person indicted is former Uvalde School District police officer Adrian Gonzalez, the San Antonio Express-News and Uvalde Leader News. ABC News has not independently confirmed the second charging.
According to the sheriff, the second person has not surrendered to the jail and is not in custody.
Families of the victims have been notified, according to officials.
The charges were first reported by the San Antonio Express News.
ABC News has reached out to the district attorney for comment.
Nineteen students and two teachers were killed in the massacre at Robb Elementary on May 24, 2022, in the second-worst school shooting in American history.
The Justice Department released a scathing report earlier this year after it found “critical failures” before, during and after the shooting, and major departures from established active-shooter protocols.
Uvalde District Attorney Christina Mitchell began her criminal investigation into the law enforcement failures shortly after the shooting and convened a grand jury to review evidence against hundreds of officers in January.
Mitchell initially said in May 2023 that she had been “optimistic” that the investigation would be completed by the one-year mark, but added that it was “not surprising” that it was still ongoing “given the magnitude of this investigation.”
Mitchell did not respond to messages seeking comment Thursday.
Anne Marie Espinoza, director of communications and marketing for Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, released a statement Thursday, saying, “As we have done and continue to do, we extend our sincerest sympathies to all who lost loved ones.”
“Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this challenging situation,” Espinoza said.
Ana Rodriquez, mother of Maite Rodriquez, who was killed in the shooting, confirmed that the DA’s office had alerted her of the filing.
“My heart breaks for Maite. My heart breaks for her siblings,” Rodriquez told ABC News, adding, “The fact that these two people are being held accountable doesn’t change anything for me, it doesn’t bring her back.”
Rodriguez said the indictments Thursday do not equate to “complete justice,” saying, “Not everyone who … needs to be held accountable is going to be held accountable.”
Javier Cazares, the father of Jackie Cazares, who was also killed in the shooting, confirmed that he, too, spoke with the DA’s office ahead of the filing.
“It’s something. We were hoping more, but they are going to finally bring someone to justice,” Cazares said, echoing Rodriguez’s concerns.
“We feel there should be more facing charges,” he added.
ABC News’ Ismael Estrada, Bonnie McLean and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.
— Commonand Pete Rock have released “All Kind of Ideas” and its accompanying video. The track is the first new studio record Pete Rock has rapped on in five years. The video captures the two working during a studio session, with the process embodying “the nostalgic underground hip-hop scene of the 90s.”
“All Kind of Ideas” is the third cut off Common and Pete’s joint album, The Auditorium, Vol. 1, following “Wise Up” and “Dreamin.'” It’s due out July 12.
— If you’re wondering what label Gunna is on, he told Spotify’s RapCaviar the answer. “I’m still providing. We still pushing. No paperwork has been changed,” said the rapper, who was released from jail after entering an Alford plea in the YSL RICO case. “So it’s like, whatever’s been getting and how we’ve been pushing this s***, it’s still going.”
— Earl Sweatshirt, Yasiin Bey, Daniel Caesar and more are coming together for a special cause. They’re set to perform at the Troxy in London on July 4 for the Artists for Aid concert benefitting the people of Gaza and Sudan. Tickets are now available to purchase.
— XXXTentacion‘s father is the latest to sing Kendrick Lamar‘s praises. While many have praised K. Dot for his lyrical ability, Dwayne Onfroy simply shared a message thanking him for supporting his late son.
“Special big-up, shoutout goes to Kendrick Lamar…I just want to say, first off all, thank you for giving my son a platform when he was an unknown artist. On his first single.You gave him a shoutout when his album released. You stepped up to the plate for him when a lot of people just stood by and stood back,” he said, in part.
(WASHINGTON) — Progressive Democrats undeniably suffered their most significant defeat of the 2024 election cycle Tuesday when Rep. Jamaal Bowman lost his New York 16th Congressional District’s Democratic primary. What it means for the movement he belongs to, however, is less clear.
Bowman’s defeat at the hands of Westchester County Executive George Latimer laid bare the nasty divisions among Democrats over support for Israel. Pro-Israel outside groups dumped nearly $15 million — an unprecedented amount of cash — into the race, fueling an avalanche of ads that knocked Bowman and promoted Latimer’s own liberal bona fides on issues like abortion.
The strategy, led by groups allied with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and Democratic Majority for Israel, worked. They netted their most significant win yet in the party’s internal battles over Israel, and a new playbook was born for how to challenge other progressive lawmakers — including Rep. Cori Bush, who is facing a well-funded primary challenger in her St. Louis district this August.
However, operatives estimated that Bowman was particularly low-hanging fruit for his critics. He offered pro-Israel groups ammunition by denying that Hamas committed rape during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel (he later apologized), reports later surfaced that he had spread 9/11 conspiracy theories, and he drew controversy for pulling a fire alarm in the U.S. Capitol, vulnerabilities his compatriots lack.
“I think that this was a referendum on both his persona, his comportment, but also on his legislative record and his messaging,” said Jon Reinish, a New York Democratic strategist who worked with groups opposed to Bowman.
“I think that this is absolutely replicable,” Reinish said. “But you also can’t deny the fact that he was, in his own way, a unique case who inflicted a lot on himself here.”
Bowman, who first won his seat in 2020 by unseating a 16-term incumbent accused of losing touch with his district, entered office vowing a shakeup in Washington. Along the way, he ruffled feathers.
Bowman engaged in shouting matches in Capitol hallways. He voted against Democrats’ infrastructure bill, a cornerstone of President Joe Biden’s agenda. And last year, he pulled a fire alarm in a House office building in what he called an accident but what was believed by some to be an attempt at delaying a vote — an action that earned him a censure and misdemeanor charge.
Opposition to Bowman spiked when video went viral of him saying that stories of sexual violence that took place on Oct. 7 were false “propaganda,” which compiled on ceaseless criticisms of Israel and its military operations in the Gaza Strip. Resurfaced blog posts also revealed a past in trafficking 9/11 conspiracies.
All of that culminated in a 10-figure investment by outside groups opposed to Bowman and helped usher Latimer — a local politician with longstanding support — into the primary.
“[V]oters want members of Congress who are going to bring people together to get things done, not people who are divisive. And there is no question that Jamaal Bowman emerged as an extraordinarily divisive figure, not only on Israel issues, but on other issues as well,” said DMFI President Mark Mellman.
The push against Bowman is just the latest salvo in what is anticipated to be a concerted outside effort to defeat lawmakers who advocate for less support for Israel, with Bush widely anticipated to be the next target.
Like Bowman, Bush is a junior House member and staunch progressive. Where Bowman faced legal headwinds over the fire alarm, Bush is facing a Justice Department probe over her use of campaign funds. House Democratic leaders haven’t signaled that they’ll campaign with Bush, just like they didn’t with Bowman. And, like Latimer, primary opponent Wesley Bell Bell holds local office as the prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County.
Seemingly chomping at the bit, DMFI Wednesday touted the results of an internal poll showing Bush virtually tied with Bell.
“You put those two things together, and if you don’t take them as a warning sign, you’re not a very capable politician,” Mellman said, referencing Bowman’s loss and DMFI’s survey. “Cori Bush has the same kind of vituperative, anti-Israel rhetoric, the same kind of anti-Israel votes, the same kind of divisive approach to politics on this issue and on broader Democratic issues.”
Liberals, meanwhile, predicted Bowman’s loss will serve as proof of concept for groups looking to boot progressives.
“They want to make sure that progressives don’t continue to grow power, speak out on Gaza, challenge the party line with Biden, and they wanted to get a head on a stick, and they did. And so, I think the warning sign is there. Will this make them double down? I think so,” added Our Revolution Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese.
Still, it’s possible that Bowman was uniquely vulnerable.
Bowman’s district is significantly more fertile ground for attacks than Bush’s; it boasts a hefty Jewish population and is plurality white. Bush’s district is more urban and about 45% Black, according to Census data.
Bowman also had some presence as a former middle school principal, but Bush rose to local prominence as an activist who played a role in the Ferguson protests after 2014 after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.
Moreover, Latimer could prove to be what New York Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf called a “uniquely good candidate.”
And, operatives agreed, Bowman’s initial rape denialism sets him apart from other lawmakers who are critical of Israel’s government and operations in Gaza.
“Much of what occurred to Bowman was political suicide,” said Sheinkopf. “The rape denialism invigorated the anti-Bowmans and set the stage for the value of the kind of expenditure that was done here.”
Mellman also conceded that without Bowman’s particular weaknesses, “it would have been a much closer campaign.”
Moving forward, progressives suggested that candidates can still talk about the war in Gaza, which has left tens of thousands dead, without alienating voters.
“I think she can talk about it. I think Jamaal’s rhetoric got rather intense and turned some people off in the last two months. Loaded terms, like ‘Zionist’ and ‘settler colonial,’ and the conspiracies, I think there’s better rhetoric you can use around the issue to get your point across without being so provocative,” said one New York progressive operative.
Already, pro-Israel outside groups don’t have a perfect record. Rep. Summer Lee, a Pittsburgh-based progressive, handily fended off a well-financed primary challenger in April, though AIPAC and DMFI largely stayed out of that race.
And while progressives took Bowman’s loss as a warning sign, it also could serve as a wakeup call.
“People suggest ‘this is a mortal blow to the anti-Israel progressives within the Democratic Party.’ That does not appear to be the case. People are underselling the Working Families Party, the Democratic Socialists of America and the Justice Democrats. They’re going to redouble their efforts and organize,” Sheinkopf said.
Justice Democrats, one of the nation’s leading progressive groups, is already gearing up for Bush’s race, pushing the Democratic establishment to join it. And other progressives are pushing her to take an aggressive stance against an anticipated flood of funding for Bell.
“Cori Bush’s race is up next,” said spokesperson Usamah Andrabi. “The Democratic Party should put all of its resources behind folks like Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush because they are going to be who leads them to a victory in November.”
“The most important thing for her to do in this moment is to inoculate, and that means to really speak to voters about what is going to come down the pike. ‘You’re going to get inundated with mail and TV advertising that says that I am not fighting for you. I am not fighting for this district, and it’s going to be lies.’ I think that’s the first thing I would take away. We’ve seen their playbook now unfold,” Geevarghese added.
Bush, for her part, appears ready for a fight.
“These same extremists are coming to St. Louis,” Bush said of anti-Bowman outside groups after Tuesday’s race. “We will continue to fight for the future St. Louis deserves and show that organized people beats organized money. Because St. Louis is not for sale.”
