By: Wesley Zhao
With people already complaining about Joe Biden’s age, the presidential debate increased their worries even more. At 81, Biden is the oldest president in US history. Although Biden was struggling, BBC journalists said that Donald Trump was confident but had some claims that weren’t backed by facts.
Throughout the debate, Biden was rambling, took long pauses, stumbled over his words, and couldn’t answer Trump’s questions fast enough. Biden was unable to see the claims that Trump made without evidence.
Although some democrats were worried, Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, said that he was on a slow start but finished strong.
Two major topics were brought up. Trump claimed that the US economy was at its best under him. They also discussed about immigration. Biden also brought up Trump’s criminal records. “He was accused of hiding payments made to a woman he’s alleged to have had a relationship with while he was married, so that she would keep quiet about it as he ran for president in 2016.” (New York Times,2024)
This debate took place very early as Biden hoped that it would remind people of Trump’s crimes but instead, the people focused on Biden’s shortcomings. The BBC’s North America editor Sarah Smith said: “Joe Biden had one job – to persuade Americans he wasn’t too old. He failed that test.”(New York Times) There are now questions from the BBC journalists about whether Biden is qualified to be president again.