Key Highlights: Biden vs. Trump Debate

Thursday’s CNN Presidential Debate in Atlanta has President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump facing off on several key issues in a tight presidential race.

The debate proved to be a night of contrasts between two candidates who agree on little and disagree on much. The main points of discord included the U.S. economy, reproductive rights, foreign policy and threats to democracy.

Here are some of the top takeaways.

Inflation

Moderator Jake Tapper’s first question of the night was about inflation, which he said is a top concern for many American voters.

Biden blamed Trump for the problem, saying that he inherited a failing economy from his predecessor. “What we had to do was try to put things back together again,” Biden said. Biden engaged in a balancing act between lauding his economic stewardship while also recognizing that many Americans are hurting over high costs.

“We’re going to continue to fight to bring down inflation and give people a break,” Biden said during his closing statement.

Trump, meanwhile, celebrated his economic accomplishments, as well as his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Economic research, however, indicates that the steep tax cuts Trump signed in 2017 prompted some economic growth, but nowhere near what Trump had promised.

About 3 in 10 Americans said the economy was the most important problem facing the country in a May Gallup poll, but that included an array of economic issues.

Abortion

Reproductive rights also featured early on in the debate, with Trump saying he would not block access to abortion pills.

As president, Trump appointed three justices to the U.S. Supreme Court who helped form the majority that overturned the constitutional right to abortion in 2022. That decision laid the groundwork for states to impose restrictive rules on abortion around the country, but Trump said during the debate that he would not oppose abortion in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is at risk. Trump also made a spate of false claims about late-term abortions.

Biden, meanwhile, reaffirmed his strong support for reproductive rights, saying, “If I’m elected, I’m going to restore Roe v. Wade.” He added that he opposed late-term abortion.

Russia-Ukraine war

The Russian military launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, about two years into Biden’s tenure as president.

During the debate, Biden and Trump appeared to agree on their opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stated terms for the end of the war. But Trump doubled down on his claims that the war would have never started in the first place if he had been president. He also criticized how much aid the United States had given to Kyiv.

Biden said Trump would pull the United States out of NATO and risk an expanding war. And on the Russian leader, Biden said, “The fact is that Putin is a war criminal.”

Israel-Hamas war

Biden and Trump also clashed on foreign policy questions surrounding the Israel-Hamas war.

Trump criticized Biden’s handling of the war, saying Biden has “become like a Palestinian” because of Biden’s demand that Israel do more to protect civilians in Gaza. Trump has also criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying in an April interview that he should have prevented the October 7 attack by Hamas that sparked the conflict.

Biden deflected criticism that his administration has withheld some weapons from Israel. “We are providing Israel with all the weapons they need,” he said. The sitting president also outlined his three-phase proposal for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, blaming the militant group for why a deal has not yet been reached.

Trump disputed that. “Israel is the one. And you should let them go and let them go finish the job,” he said.

Biden’s response: “I’ve never heard so much foolishness.”

The war in Gaza was triggered by last October’s Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials, and led to the capture of about 250 hostages. Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza has killed more than 37,700 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the territory’s health ministry.

Threats to democracy

A central component of Biden’s campaign — and his talking points during the debate — has been an attempt to present Trump as a threat to American democracy.

Trump in May was found guilty of 34 felony counts in a hush money trial, making him the first main-party candidate to be a convicted felon, and he faces additional legal charges over his role in the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

“The only man on the stage who is a convicted felon is the man I’m looking at,” Biden said at one point during the debate, referring to Trump. “You have the morals of an alley cat,” Biden said at a later point.

Trump repeated his false claims about interference in the 2020 election and sought to play down the severity of the 2021 attack on the Capitol. He also argued that he had offered in advance to provide National Guard troops to defend the building.

When pressed by moderator Dana Bash, Trump said he will accept the 2024 election result if it is conducted fairly. However, the Republican has previously insisted this year that Democrats will cheat in the election and intimated that any election in which he does not win is likely to be fraudulent.