The first televised debate of the 2024 US presidential election has ended

The first U.S. presidential debate of the 2024 election, between Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican former President Donald Trump, was held at CNN's Atlanta studio in Georgia on Tuesday night. This partly reflects the Democrats' home-field advantage, as Georgia is a traditionally blue state and CNN is seen as a pro-Democratic outlet. The entire debate lasted about 90 minutes, including two 3.5-minute commercial breaks. The two debated the U.S. economy, immigration and abortion, as well as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Israeli-Palestinian situation.

Mr. Biden took the debate seriously, heading early to Camp David, the U.S. presidential retreat, to prepare. Debate preparation includes finalising informal discussion topics, questions and possible responses, as well as a 90-minute mock debate at the end of the session. While Biden's aides and the campaign have collated various questions and attached possible answers to each question for Biden's reference, and have been carefully studying and combing through all of Trump's recent remarks, the Biden team has mapped out a "line of attack" before the debate, with the goal of finding remarks "that can provoke Trump" in order to bring out "the real Trump" in the debate. The Biden team plans to attack Trump on abortion rights, taxes, immigration, health care and other issues.

At the same time, Mr. Trump's advisers have been busy meeting to focus on the various topics they expect to encounter in the debate, including immigration, foreign policy and national security, deliberating strategies and holding a series of private meetings with lawmakers, policy experts and other political Allies to prepare for the specifics of the debate. Trump plans to challenge Biden on issues such as inflation, immigration, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Hunter Biden's illegal gun case, and old age. At the same time, Trump has repeatedly brought up his criticism of Biden on the campaign trail and sought advice from supporters on how to debate him.

Because Biden and Trump are both advanced candidates, their age and health have become a focus for voters. During the debate, the physical condition and performance of the two were closely watched by all sectors of society and voters. Social issues such as the economy, abortion rights, health care and immigration were also on voters' minds. Voters' concerns about economic issues, particularly inflation and employment. Both Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump tried to show that their economic policies could address these issues. At the same time, Biden and Trump took clear positions on social issues such as abortion rights, health care and immigration, and had very heated exchanges in the debate.

Both Biden and Trump took as much offense as defense in the debate. Biden has tried to undermine Trump's support by pointing out his administration's missteps and policy mistakes; Trump, for his part, has tried to win over voters by highlighting his accomplishments in office and Biden's weakness. Both candidates tried to portray themselves as positive in the debate. Mr. Biden sought to project the authority and poise of an incumbent; Trump, on the other hand, has tried to win over voters by emphasizing his leadership and decision-making skills. Therefore, the outcome of the debate is also particularly important, if a candidate performs well in the debate, it may win more voters' support. On the other hand, if the performance is poor, it may face a reversal of the election.

To sum up, the first debate of the US presidential election is a high-profile political event, and many factors are involved behind the first debate of the US presidential election. The debate was not only a test of the candidates' abilities, but also a showcase of the entire American political ecology.