Who won the first presidential debate — Joe Biden or Donald Trump?

Will Bunch

National Columnist

In past debates, voters were asked if they were better off now than they were four years ago. In 2024, the burning question is: Do we want a feeble president who tells the truth, or an energetic man who lies non-stop and lives in a fantasy world? Particularly unfortunate for Biden was that his worst part of the debate was the first 15 minutes, when most casual voters are forming opinions. His voice was hoarse and weak, and several of his early answers trailed off into nothingness or confusion, including a bizarre digression about rape. Ironically, perhaps angered by Trump falsely calling him a felon, Biden did get stronger as the night wore on — scoring points when he called the 45th president “a sucker” and “a loser” for his past slurs on dead American soldiers. But CNN moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash did him no favors, cutting him off when he tried to set the facts straight on insulin prices. Sometimes there are reasons to hit the panic button. (2/10)

Helen Ubiñas

Staff Columnist

Anyone who says this was a good performance by Biden would be lying — he was hoarse, he stumbled, he rambled, even over some of his most important points. It was, at times, painful to watch. But he (mostly) told the truth. The bigger truth beyond this hot mess of a debate is that we cannot give a wannabe dictator a second shot to destroy our democracy. Period. (5/10)

Will Bunch

National Columnist

The man who famously told more than 30,000 lies during his presidency was back on the national stage telling lies at an even faster rate than before. Throughout the evening, Trump offered an Alice-in-Wonderland view of his presidency — claiming his disastrous efforts against COVID-19 were a huge success or that Biden’s record of job success was a “bounce back” — and of the country he hopes to lead, which he described as “living in a rat’s nest.” Indeed, Trump lied so often he became the first man in American history to have sex with a porn star and then lie that he didn’t. On most questions, he changed the subject in ridiculous ways, answering a question on climate change by saying we have “clean water.” On top of everything else, Trump floated above CNN’s lack of real-time fact-checking and its weak questions that let him off the hook for Jan. 6, his adjudicated rape, and other alleged crimes. His actual grade is a zero (which wasn’t an option for this analysis). (1/10)

Helen Ubiñas

Staff Columnist

No. 45 lied, and lied, and lied (so he doesn’t even deserve the 1-point grade I’m giving him here), and only seemed to get more energized and empowered as the CNN moderators committed journalistic malpractice by failing to fact check him on anything. He couldn’t even answer a yes-or-no question about whether he’d accept the results of the presidential election. He is unhinged and unfit to be president again — and that should not be up for debate. (1/10)