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June 27 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have taken on the economy, abortion and war in their first 2024 presidential debate in Atlanta Thursday. The debate did not begin with a handshake as most customarily do. Instead the candidates immediately embraced the first questions.
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It is scheduled for 90 minutes, airing live on CNN and streaming on CNN.com. Anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash are moderating.
Trump attempted to sidestep questions about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot but Tapper pressed him. He asked what Trump would say to voters who believe he broke his oath to protect and preserve the Constitution and fear he will do so again.
Trump denied that he had any role in the riot, saying he offered then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi an increased military presence but she declined it.
The former president also took multiple opportunities to turn the conversation toward immigration and border security. He espoused his oft-repeated and unfounded claim that "millions of people come in from prisons, jails and mental institutions." He linked immigration to violent crime in the United States, specifically violent crime toward women.
When immigration was addressed by the moderators, Biden pushed back on Trump's policies. Notably the policies that saw immigrant children separated from their parents at the border.
The first topic for the candidates was the economy. Biden remarked that he inherited an economy that was in a "free fall" due to Trump's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump claimed that he led the "greatest economy in the history of our country."
"We're working to bring down the price around the kitchen table and that's what we're going to get done," Biden said.
The president touted new jobs added during his term and corralling the cost of prescription drugs for seniors and the cost of insulin. On the economy under Trump, Biden was critical of his tax cuts for the wealthy and adding the most new debt in a single presidential term. Trump added an estimated $8.4 trillion to the national debt compared to Biden's $4.3 trillion.
Trump denied that his plan to impose 10% tariffs on all goods imported into the United States would cause more inflation. He said it would reduce the deficit. He also plans to extend tax cuts for the wealthy and "go further" with them, he said.
The former president again claimed victory for Roe vs. Wade being overturned.
"I put three great Supreme Court justices on the court and they happened to vote in favor of killing Roe v. Wade, and moving it back to the states," he said. "Now the states are working it out."
Asked about abortion medications like mifepristone, which the Supreme Court upheld the Food and Drug Administration's approval of, Trump said he would not block access to it.
Biden vowed to "restore Roe vs. Wade" if re-elected.
There is no live audience for the first time since the 1960 debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.
The first debate of this election cycle is the third between Biden and Trump. It is also the earliest in an election cycle that a presidential debate has been held.
Neither candidate has officially been nominated at this point. That will happen during the Republican and Democratic National Conventions beginning July 15 and Aug. 19 respectively. Both have secured the delegates required to earn the nominations.
The candidates are circumventing the Commission on Presidential Debates to participate in Thursday's debate. It will be the first time since the commission was created in 1987.
The Biden and Trump campaigns agreed to the rules of the first debate earlier this month after weeks of negotiation. There will be no opening statements. Candidates will have two minutes to respond to questions from the moderators. Their microphones will be muted until it is their turn to respond.
Candidates needed to appear on enough ballots to win the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency to be eligible for the debate. They were also required to poll at 15% or better in four national polls, according to a press release from CNN.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a former Democrat turned independent candidate, will not be participating in the debate after not qualifying.
