Presidential debate: Is Biden sick? What does Trump mean by ‘after-birth’ abortions? The people react
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump’s first presidential debate of the 2024 general election is generating an abundance of internet buzz, from comments about each debater’s age to questions about the truthfulness during the 90-minute showdown.
Just minutes into the debate, it dominated social platform X’s trending topics list, with #Debates2024 generating almost 80,000 posts in the first 30 minutes. By the end of it, the hashtag had grown to about 335,000 posts. The takeaway? The people weren’t happy.
ok if you don't live in the US, please turn the debate off. This is our private family humiliation, and we'd all prefer you not stare.
— Ginny Hogan_ (@ginnyhogan_) June 28, 2024
Don’t watch the debates if you’re one of those people who gets really sad when you see an elderly person eating soup alone at a restaurant.
— Christin (@hexprax) June 28, 2024
The hashtag #swapJoeout began circulating during and after the debate, with many encouraging the Democratic party to choose a different nominee. 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang was among those calling for the change after Biden’s performance.
Guys, the Dems should nominate someone else – before it’s too late. #swapJoeout
— Andrew Yang (@AndrewYang) June 28, 2024
Early comments pertained to Biden’s opening statements, with users commenting that the president’s voice sounded frail and hard to understand. At 81 years old, users questioned if he could be sick, or generally expressed frustration at his age.
Is Joe Biden sick? Yikes. His voice is awful already.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) June 28, 2024
Joe Biden’s voice ran out after the first sentence #Debates2024 pic.twitter.com/Z5fITgcutv
— Brent (@Brentweets) June 28, 2024
Joe Biden is literally malfunctioning pic.twitter.com/j6OGPitN2C
— kira (@kirawontmiss) June 28, 2024
NBC News Whitehouse correspondent Kelly O’Donnell wrote on X that Biden has a cold, confirmed by two sources familiar with the situation.
NEW: Two sources familiar with the situation say “President Biden has a cold.”
— Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) June 28, 2024
Trump also garnered harsh criticism from his early statements about COVID-19 policy.
Trump now taking credit for the economic Covid recovery under Biden. <— Sounds like someone went to debate prep.
— Symone D. Sanders Townsend (@SymoneDSanders) June 28, 2024
“We largely fixed it” Trump says about Covid pic.twitter.com/yoH2D958Us
— Zerlina Maxwell (@ZerlinaMaxwell) June 28, 2024
Early-debate reactions also pertained to Trump’s comments around after-birth abortions.
Responding to Trump’s comments about abortions, CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale wrote on X that, “Trump’s claim that some Dem states allow people to execute babies after birth is fiction. No state allows this. He’s said the state he’s talking about is New York, which doesn’t allow this, though false social media memes have said it does.”
Trump’s claim that some Dem states allow people to execute babies after birth is fiction. No state allows this.
He’s said the state he’s talking about is New York, which doesn’t allow this, though false social media memes have said it does. https://t.co/KhSVQPfk3V— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) June 28, 2024
That’s literally not how abortion works. This disinformation about abortion is meant to confuse people and distract from what Trump and his allies really want to do → ban all abortions.
— Planned Parenthood Action (@PPact) June 28, 2024
Biden’s comments about Trump’s recent track record – including his felony conviction – received reactions from social media users.
Woah! Biden didn’t hold back. He just unloaded on Trump for being a convicted felon, rapist, sleeping with a porn star while his wife Melania was pregnant, and “having the morals of an alley cat.” #debates #debates2024 pic.twitter.com/b4ae5RB0XK
— Lynnette KhalfaniCox (@themoneycoach) June 28, 2024
Both candidates received plenty of comments on their responses regarding border policy. Notably, the X account for the official union of the U.S. Border Patrol responded to a comment that Biden made about its endorsement of his position, generating widespread reactions.
To be clear, we never have and never will endorse Biden.
— Border Patrol Union – NBPC (@BPUnion) June 28, 2024
Late into the debate, both candidates went on a brief aside about golf, which was not well-received.
Just two men arguing about their golf game.
America. pic.twitter.com/9DzhYUL4GU
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) June 28, 2024
Two old, white men talking about golf. Sigh. Here we are. #Debates2024
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) June 28, 2024
Throughout the debate, general consensus – and the most popular posts of the night – seemed to revolve around persistent points regarding Trump and Biden’s ages and overall dissatisfaction with the candidates.
Ummm… these cannot possibly be our only options… #Debates2024 pic.twitter.com/4O7XU3B8RR
— hgtp://altif (@altifbrown) June 28, 2024
This is the worst SNL cold open ever#Debates2024
— Chris Illuminati (@chrisilluminati) June 28, 2024
The rest of the world watching the US #Debates2024 pic.twitter.com/b0EJFq5nPQ
— Natasha ❀ (@ndelriego) June 28, 2024
This is an updating story. Check back for developments.