The question was related to their advanced age, Donald Trump and Joe Biden took the opportunity to bicker about their performance… at golf. The bizarre moment set the tone for the first debate between the two candidates for the White House, between animosity, insults and disdain.
Asked about his ability to be president, Republican Trump, 78, immediately praised his intellectual abilities – claiming to have ” successful “ two cognitive – and physical – tests.
“I am in very good health. I have just won two championships (…). For that, you have to be quite intelligent”he assured, before blurting out, contemptuously, about his democratic rival: “He challenged me to play a round of golf. He can’t even hit a ball beyond 50 yards.”.
Hilarious, the latter, 81 years old, joked about the size and weight of his predecessor.
US President Joe Biden in Atlanta, Georgia, June 27, 2024 / Mandel NGAN / AFP
“I’d be happy to play golf if you carry your own bag. Do you think you can do it?”he added.
“I saw your swing”the right-wing billionaire replied, implying that his opponent was bad. “Let’s not behave like children”.
“You are a child”retorted Joe Biden at the conclusion of this high-level verbal joust.
” Poor guy “
If this is the only moment during which they really interacted, the two men did not stop during the 90 minutes of the debate to release murderous remarks, smirks and disdainful looks.
Donald Trump drew his attention when commenting on a confusing statement from his rival, whose performance Thursday evening was widely seen as disastrous and reflecting the weight of the years.
“I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows it himself.”he said.
Donald Trump during the first presidential debate of the 2024 election with Joe Biden at CNN studios in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, 2024 / ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP
In reference to Donald Trump’s legal troubles, including those that saw him convicted in criminal court for concealed payments to a former porn actress, Joe Biden in return accused him of being a “reconvict” and to have “the moral sense of a depraved person”.
The president notably accused his rival of having “slept with a porn star (…) while (his) wife was pregnant”. Donald Trump denies this sexual relationship.
“You’re a crybaby”lashed out at Joe Biden again, damning his rival for his refusal to recognize his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
And he also called him ” poor guy “ and of « loser ».
Donald Trump, with furrowed eyebrows and disapproving facial expressions, was not to be outdone.
He accused his opponent of constantly lying and not being « un leader ».
He even said that Joe Biden was behaving “like a Palestinian” in the context of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, an insult from the Republican.
“A very bad Palestinian. A weak (Palestinian)”he insisted.
