[Editorial, Current Events. Image by Paul Weaver on Unsplash]

As President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump faced each other again for the first time in four years for a T.V. debate regarding the upcoming presidential election in November, viewers and critics agreed that Trump performed better than Biden.

According to an exclusive poll by USA Today, more registered voters believed that former President Trump would do a better job than President Biden tackling issues of the 2024 campaign.

During the debate, the two clashed for 90 minutes in a T.V. debate held by CNN in Atlanta, Georgia on the 27th.

The two candidates discussed various topics such as the economy, abortion, illegal immigration, diplomacy, democracy, world conflicts, and wars.

As one of the biggest concerns for current American voters is the economy, the first question posed by the moderator was about an economic issue.

To this question, President Biden pointed to former President Trump as the cause of the economic problems.

Biden stated that he inherited an economy that was in “free fall” from his predecessor, and that the pandemic was handled very badly.

Furthermore, he praised himself for managing the economy well during his tenure, but also acknowledged that many Americans were struggling with high prices.

Therefore, he said he will continue to fight to lower inflation and allow people to rest.

In response to Biden, former President Trump presented his economic achievements, saying that at his time, “we” had the greatest economy in American history.

He then countered Biden’s arguments, stating that the jobs created by President Biden were for illegal immigrants.

He further pointed out the current inflation problem and claimed that Biden’s government has responded poorly.

The two candidates also disputed on world conflicts and diplomatic issues.

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that he’ll only end the war with Ukraine if Russia keeps the Ukrainian territory it has already claimed and Ukraine abandons its bid to join NATO.

When asked whether they could accept Putin's conditions for ending the war, the two candidates both answered that it was difficult to accept them.

To this question, Trump claimed that President Biden's insufficient leadership triggered the war, saying that if he had been president, the war would not have started in the first place.

Trump said that this war should not have happened and that if he is re-elected, he could end the war before he takes office.

Furthermore, the two candidates also clashed over the Israel-Hamas war.

Biden dismissed criticism that the current administration has limitedly withheld war materials from Israel, and said that the United States is providing all necessary weapons to Israel.

He also reaffirmed his position that the three-stage ceasefire plan he proposed regarding the war between Israel and Hamas is the best way to end the war, but said that an agreement has not yet been reached due to Hamas.

To this remark, Trump criticized the current administration's policies, saying that President Biden's effort to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip has "become like a Palestinian."

After the debate was over, it was found that viewers of the presidential debate thought that former President Trump performed better .

In a survey conducted by CNN with public opinion polling agency SSRS, 67% of voters who watched the presidential debate responded that former President Trump did better.

The second debate is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, September 10, on ABC News.

As the nation reflects on the heated exchanges and issues discussed in the first debate, all eyes now turn to the next upcoming debate in September .