Washington [US], June 28: On the morning of June 28 Vietnam time, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump began their first debate before the election on November 5, with the economic issue being debated first.
The two candidates did not shake hands when entering the stage without a live audience, during the debate organized by CNN. The two election opponents also did not shake hands during the debate in 2020, then due to Covid-19 prevention regulations.
The first question from host Jake Tapper was about the economy, specifically the issue of inflation during President Biden's term. "What do you say to voters who feel they are worse off under today's president than under President Trump?" Mr. Tapper asked.
The White House boss immediately criticized his predecessor for causing a difficult start to his term.
"We have to see what I'm left with when I become president, what Trump left me with. We had an economy that was in free fall. The pandemic was handled so badly, people were dying, and all Trump could say was, 'It's not that bad, just inject some bleach in your arm and you'll be fine.' The economy collapsed, there were no jobs , unemployment was up to 15%, it was terrible. And so what we had to do was try to put things back together. That's exactly what we started when we took office," President Biden said.
It was former President Trump's turn to "strike", praising his term as a time of "the best economy in history".
"We've never done so well. Other countries are copying us. We got hit by Covid-19, and when we did, we spent the money we needed to avoid falling into a Great Depression like what America experienced in 1929," he praised.
The host then asked about Mr Trump's proposal to impose a 10% tariff on imports and how he could curb price increases.
"It won't push prices higher, it will just make countries that have been cheating us for years, like China and many others, pay us a lot of money, significantly reducing their deficits." us and gives us a lot of power to do other things," according to Mr. Trump.
President Biden simply laughed when Mr Trump said the incumbent president had done a "very bad job" in handling the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr Trump attacked his rival for eroding America's global standing, before moving on to other issues.
"They don't respect our leadership. They no longer respect America. We are like a third world country ," Mr. Trump criticized.
President Biden criticized Mr. Trump's tax policies, which cut taxes for the wealthy and took away revenue the government could use to improve its safety net.
The debate is expected to last 90 minutes, with many other topics such as immigration, abortion rights, foreign policy, and world crises.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper