The debate kicked off with a question about the economy, the consistent top concern for voters according to polls.
“President Biden, inflation has slowed, but prices remain high,” Mr. Tapper said, citing 20 percent increases in grocery prices and 30 percent increases in home prices.
“What do you say to voters who feel they are worse off under your presidency than they were under President Trump?”
Since almost four years ago, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are meeting to debate and make their case why they should stay or return, respectively, to the Oval Office.
The debate, airing on CNN and simulcasting on many platforms, is being moderated by CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash in a studio at CNN’s headquarters in Georgia.
President Biden is on stage left, and former President Donald Trump is stage left. They did not shake hands upon taking the stage.
ATLANTA—Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) responded to The Epoch Times’s question about her chances of becoming the former president’s running mate.
“I’m honored to have my name in consideration. I’m going to continue working hard as the representative for New York’s 21st congressional district and as the House Republican Conference chair, I’m proud to be the first member of Congress to endorse President Trump for 2024,” she said.
Ms. Stefanik said the Republican Party is “really unified across America to save this country, that means electing President Donald J. Trump.”
Less than 30 minutes before President Joe Biden took the stage, he joked about conjecture that he could be using performance enhancements for his debate with former President Donald Trump.
“I don’t know what they’ve got in these performance enhancers, but I’m feeling pretty jacked up,” he said on X. “Try it yourselves, folks.”
He shared a picture with a can of water called “Dark Brandon’s Secret Sauce.” It included his picture on the label that says, “Get real jack. It’s just water.”
In an interview with CNN, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump should shake hands before the presidential debate.
“I like civility,” he said. “So walking in confidently, shaking a hand—I think our kids are watching as well. I prefer a world like that—that’s personal.”
Mr. Newsom said he would work with anyone who wants to “advance the cause of this country,” and that “goes back to this ability of shaking someone’s hand.”
ATLANTA—Danielle Alvarez, whose loved ones escaped Cuba’s communist regime, said Hispanics who came legally to the United States respect former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
Ms. Alvarez said her uncle was jailed for 26 years in Cuba “for no reason other than disagreeing” with Fidel Castro’s dictatorship.
“When we come to the United States, we seek the ability to pursue our American Dream. We’re very entrepreneurial, and the support for that was better under President Trump,” she told The Epoch Times in an exclusive interview in the spin room at Georgia Tech’s McCamish Pavilion near the debate site.
ATLANTA—Former GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy told reporters former President Donald Trump has not asked him to be vice president.
“He has not asked me to be his vice president, whoever he asks is going to have, I think, a remarkable ability to serve this country in taking that American First agenda even further,” he said.
Mr. Ramaswamy predicted that former President Trump would not be combative on the debate stage, but rather unifying.
ATLANTA—Former President Donald Trump has stated that he has chosen his vice presidential running mate, and that his choice would be present in Atlanta.
But one of those potential running mates, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), told reporters: “Donald Trump’s gonna make that decision….You know, there’s a lot of us here in Atlanta.”
Mr. Donalds said nothing further about his chances of becoming the former president’s running mate.
ATLANTA—California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat surrogate for President Joe Biden, told reporters about the importance of tonight’s historic debate.
“In close elections, generally, everything matters,” he said during a press scrum in the “spin room” at the McCamish Pavilion, across from the site where President Biden and former President Donald Trump will take the stage at 9 p.m. Eastern.
The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), a non-profit organization of journalists who cover the president and the White House, issued a statement today criticizing CNN for only allowing photographers and CNN reporters inside the studio for the presidential debate.
“WHCA is deeply concerned that CNN has rejected our repeated requests to include the White House travel pool inside the studio,” the organization said.
CNN said a single print pool reporter can go inside during a commercial break to “briefly observe the setting.”
CNN will host the first presidential debate of the 2024 election tonight at 9 p.m. ET with President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. This is not only the earliest presidential debate in an election year in modern history, but it is also the first time a sitting president has debated a former president.
Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will moderate, and CNN will broadcast the 90-minute debate live. It will be simulcast on other networks, including NTD, our sister media outlet.
There will be no studio audience, candidates’ microphones will be muted while their opponent is speaking, and two minutes are allotted for question answers with one minute for rebuttals.
Independent presidential Robert F. Kennedy Jr. envisioned sharing the stage with President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump at CNN’s presidential debate on June 27.
Shut out of the forum, he will instead hold what his campaign has called “The Real Debate” in West Hollywood at the same time the current and former president meet in Atlanta.
Live streamed on X, Mr. Kennedy’s event will take place in a studio with a live audience, unlike the forum in Atlanta, where no audience members are permitted.
ATLANTA, Ga.—All eyes are on Thursday night’s highly anticipated showdown in Atlanta, where President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will face off for the first debate of the 2024 general election.
The 81-year-old Democrat incumbent and his 78-year-old opponent will be making their first appearance together in four years in what will potentially be a game-changing event in the presidential race.
Since the debate pits the two oldest presidential candidates in American history, their energy, appearance, reasoning, and reactions to questions will be intensely scrutinized. Hence, many regard this debate as more of a stage performance.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will square off in their first debate of 2024 on June 27, aiming to present different visions for the future of the United States.
The high-stakes debate will be a crucial platform for the two oldest candidates in U.S. history to demonstrate their energy, appearance, coherence, and responsiveness, making it a pivotal event that could shape the presidential race, according to political analysts.
CNN will host the debate at its Atlanta studios. The 81-year-old incumbent and his 78-year-old opponent will be standing throughout the debate, which will last 90 minutes. There will be two commercial breaks, according to the network.
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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