On Thursday night, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump faced off in the first presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle. The 90-minute debate, hosted by CNN in Atlanta and the candidates, covered a spread of topics, including the economy, abortion, the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, Trump’s recent convictions and appealing to black voters.

President Biden’s speech was marked by a hoarse voice and halting answers, which made him seem at times to lose his train of thought. Trump, while confident, was more more likely to lie throughout the debate. While these discussions typically give attention to the candidates’ policies on key issues, the focus in the first debate shifted to how the 81-year-old president and his 78-year-old predecessor will navigate one other term in the Oval Office.

Here are some of the key takeaways from Thursday’s debate.

“Black Works”

As you would possibly expect, there have been a number of moments that raised eyebrows during the debate, but none more so than Trump’s response when asked about his appeal to black voters. “The fact is, his biggest blow to black people is the millions of people he’s allowed to come across the border,” the former president said. “Now they’re taking jobs away from black people, and it could be 18 million, 19 million, even 20 million people. They’re taking jobs away from black people, they’re taking jobs away from Latinos, and you haven’t seen it yet, but you’re going to see something that’s going to be the worst in our history.”

The NAACP asked on X what so many of us are pondering: “What exactly are black and Latino jobs!?!” Needless to say, #BlackJob quickly became a trending topic on the Internet. “Still trying to know what’s #BlackJob? Because if he shows up daily to construct a democracy that continues to undermine us, then we have been doing it since 1619. Quote this together with your “black profession”, the NAACP too published on X.

Reproductive rights

Reproductive rights and the overturning of Roe v. Wade have been a significant theme of the debate. Biden has pledged to reinstate Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that protected abortion rights until it was overturned in 2022. Trump, who has said he wouldn’t sign a federal abortion ban but would allow states to control abortions and prosecute violations of restrictive laws, praised the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe. He added that he would support exceptions to abortion bans in cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother. “This brings it back to a vote of the people, which is what everybody wanted, including the Founders,” Trump said. “Everybody wanted to see it reinstated. Many presidents have tried to get it back. I did it.”

Biden replied: “The idea that the founders wanted politicians to make decisions about women’s health is laughable.” Asked about his position on abortion pills, following the Supreme Court’s recent decision on the pregnancy-ending pill mifepristone, Trump said he wouldn’t block the drugs. However, he has repeatedly and wrongly criticized Biden’s vow to revive Roe, claiming it will allow doctors to “take a baby’s life in the ninth month or even after birth,” which is unfaithful. Abortions after birth could be infanticide, a criminal offense in all states, and abortions later in pregnancy are rare.

The Inflation Blame Game

Inflation and the labor market were amongst the most often discussed topics of the debate. Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized President Joe Biden for his administration’s approach to those issues. “I gave him a rustic where there is largely no inflation. It was perfect. It was so good; all he needed to do was leave it alone. He destroyed it,” Trump said.

According to NBC News, the rising inflation rate is partly blamed on pandemic-related stimulus policies implemented by each Trump and Biden. Biden, in turn, pointed to the economy he inherited in 2021, arguing that his administration is working to “put things back together” after the former president’s early Covid-19 policies.

“There was no inflation when I became president,” Biden replied. “You know why? The economy was on its back.” He added, “there is still a lot of work to be done,” emphasizing that his administration is “working to lower prices at the kitchen table, and that is what we will do.” Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show the inflation rate when Biden took office in January 2021 was 1.4%, but rose to about 9.1% in June 2022 after which fell to three.3% in May 2024

Personal attacks

As expected, former President Donald Trump was quick to bring up the case of President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, who was recently convicted in Delaware on gun charges.

“Fifty-one intelligence agents said that [Hunter’s] the laptop was Russian disinformation. He was not. This got here from his son Hunter. It wasn’t Russian disinformation,” Trump said during the debate. While Biden has generally avoided mentioning Trump’s ongoing legal problems, he attacked Trump midway through the debate, calling him a “convicted criminal” with the morals of an “alley cat.”

Trump was convicted in New York on 34 felony counts related to hush payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Trump responded by again raising Hunter Biden’s legal issues. “When he talks about a convicted felon, his son is a convicted felon at a very high level,” Trump said. “His son has been convicted and will likely be convicted many more times.”

While the debate touched on a range of policies, little recent was uncovered. Instead, much attention was focused on how the 81-year-old president and his 78-year-old predecessor would navigate one other term in the Oval Office. The next presidential debate can be held in September.