First presidential debate for 2024 US elections do-or-die battle for Biden and Trump

Atlanta: With opinion polls showing a very tight race for the November 5 US elections, the first presidential debate here between President Joe Biden from the Democratic Party and his Republican challenger Donald Trump could turn the tide for any one of them.

While Biden would try to convince voters that he at 81 is capable of becoming the president of the United States again and steer the nation through the challenges it faces, Trump, 78, could use the opportunity to persuade the people to look past his conviction in a criminal case and see his plans for the country, including its economy.

Both the leaders arrived here in the afternoon on Thursday. This debate is going to be "extraordinary" and different as the whole attention will be on the "character of the two presidents", Nadia Bilbassy-Charters Bureau Chief at the Al Arabiya News Channel, who has covered presidential debates since the George Bush era, told PTI.

This is "completely different (from the previous ones). It is happening the first time and before the conventions of both the DNC (Democratic National Convention in August) and the RNC (Republican National Convention in July). It is happening without an audience, and there is a microphone that will cut them off when they try to interrupt," she said.

"This is extraordinary by every means. We have two candidates that 70 per cent of the American people don't want. There are two candidates who repeat in a scenario of 2020, so this is an extraordinary time for America as well," Bilbassy-Charters said.

The choice is between two candidates, and for a country that has 350 million people, it is very narrowed, she said and added that it is also very different because the whole attention will be on the "character of the two presidents" as not really on the issues as it happened in the previous debates.

There is a huge focus on the debate tonight because it is seen as a way to "frame not just the issues but the candidates", Bilbassy-Charters said.

"The whole world is really anticipating what's going to happen. The expectation is very low for President Biden. Everybody's waiting to see if he's going to stand for 90 minutes, if he's going to make mistakes, if he's going to lose concentration, if he's going to make up names of leaders, if Trump is going to be intimidating as he did before," she said.

Richard Latendresse, the White House correspondent for TVA-Canada, said the debate is extremely important for both the camps.

"There's this feeling that there's stagnation in this campaign, that nothing seems to stick to Donald Trump, but he cannot bring down more than what has happened until now with Joe Biden, with his government and his administration. So, this is an important moment in this campaign, and each side hopes that from there things are going to get better and better," he said.

Lakeyta Bonnette-Bailey, Professor of Africana Studies at the Georgia State University, said she expects from the people to tune in to watch how the candidates are going to behave and to watch the policy issues that the candidates are going to present at the debate.

"I expect the candidates to talk about and discuss policy issues that are relevant to their base," she said.

Cristina Olea, TVE's chief correspondent in Washington DC, said, "I would say this debate is very important because the country is so divided, the candidates are so different, their policies, their styles."

The race is so close, and tonight, Biden has a lot of pressure to show that he is not too old for office and Trump needs to show that he is not so aggressive, he said Running for the State Senate in the 48th District of Georgia, Ashwin Ramaswami, 24, said this debate is a great opportunity for Biden and Trump to actually show the American people what they really believe in.

"I believe it's an opportunity for President Biden to show why Democrats up and down the ballot are the right choice for our country," he told PTI.

Ramaswami said one of the most important things they need is a leader who is able to create that transition, being able to make sure that the next generation of leaders are able to serve the country in the future.

"What that means is we need someone who understands the issues we face, whether it's issues on affordable housing, access to healthcare, preparing us for the technology of the future, and also leading with integrity and balance," he said.

Ajay Jain Bhaturia, a major fund raiser for the Biden campaign, said, "The debate between President Biden and Trump, is the debate between the light and the darkness, the debate between progress and regression." "What we saw, the four years of Trump, where he basically incited the mob to go to the Capitol and to turn around the election, or what we saw was the highest number of jobs being lost, manufacturing jobs being lost under Trump administration," he said.

"What we have seen under the Biden administration is stability, bringing all the different communities together and the highest number of employment, or the lowest unemployment rate, the largest investment in infrastructure since Roosevelt," Bhaturia added.

"There's been growth, and we have seen leadership restored on the world stage. That's what President Biden will be talking about is progress. With the Democrats we are looking at the best days of America ahead while the Republicans talk about the best days which are gone behind," he said.

According to Subhash Razdan, an eminent Indian American community leader, Americans are not happy with the quality of the candidates.

"In Biden, they see the age factor. And, in Trump they see a credibility factor. Now, it all depends on what lines the voters will choose to vote. If they go by party lines, then Trump would have an edge," he said.

"I feel Trump will attack him on his age factor, not being alert and the immigration issues, saying that Democrats have been very weak on the immigration issues. Biden will try to attack him on the credibility factor," Razdan told PTI.

Meanwhile, the White House Correspondents Association slammed event host CNN for providing no access to its pool reporters inside the room wherein President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump would be engaging in the first of the three presidential debates here.