Presidential Debate: Grade Trump vs. Biden — Plus, How Did Moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash Do?

Ryan Schwartz
·1 min read
16

Less than five months before Americans cast their ballot for former President Donald Trump or incumbent President Joe Biden, the candidates took part in the first of two presidential debates.

CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash moderated Thursday’s audience-free spectacle, which was simulcast on all major news networks.

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The first presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle came four weeks after Trump, now a convicted felon, was found guilty on all 34 counts in a hush money trial tied to payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. He will be sentenced on Thursday, July 11, at 10 am ET, four days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wis.

The felony conviction of a onetime POTUS (and presumptive GOP nominee) is unprecedented. Be that as it may, Trump currently holds a narrow lead over Biden in national polling data — 41.1% versus Biden’s 40.9%. (For comparison’s sake: Biden led Trump by seven percentage points — 50.2% versus Trump’s 43.2% — on the eve of the first presidential debate of the 2020 election cycle.)

Thursday’s debate was the first of two scheduled debates before the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Biden and Trump have agreed to meet again on Tuesday, Sept. 10, in an event that will air on ABC. David Muir and Linsey Davis of ABC News will moderate.

How do you think Trump and Biden fared in Debate No. 1? How about moderators Tapper and Bash? Weigh in via the following polls, then leave a comment below.

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