Who could replace Joe Biden? Reaction to Trump v Biden debate – as Democrats 'shocked' by 'car crash' performance – Sky News
Democrats are questioning whether Joe Biden should continue his re-election bid after a debate “disaster” against Donald Trump. But reports suggest the president is committed to debating Trump again.
Friday 28 June 2024 21:25, UK
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Donald Trump says Joe Biden’s policies are causing “America’s decline at a level we’ve never seen before”.
Making a reference to his time hosting the US version of The Apprentice, Trump says voters are going to tell Mr Biden in November: “You’re fired.”
This one gets a big cheer from the crowd.
The former president then criticises Mr Biden’s policies on immigration, abortion rights and climate change.
The election is a choice between “strength and weakness, competence and incompetence… war or no war,” Donald Trump tells his supporters in Virginia.
He claims to be the “only president in many decades” that did not start a war – and adds that he “beat ISIS”.
Trump also says that the world has never been “so close to World War Three before”.
“This will be a war like no other,” he says.
Trump says voters will need to decide between “a president who puts America first” or a “trainwreck who puts America last”.
The former president reiterates his campaign slogan that a vote for him would “make America great again”.
He says it’s not about “whether Joe Biden can survive a 90-minute debate performance, but whether American can survive four more years of crooked Biden in the White House”.
Donald Trump attracts roaring applause as he starts his speech by saying: “Did anybody last night watch a thing called a debate?”
Trump then goes on the immediate attack against Joe Biden, saying he secured a “big victory” against a man who “is looking to destroy our country”.
“He’s the worst, he’s the most corrupt, the most incompetent president in the history of our country,” he says.
Trump refers to the Democratic Party as “evil”.
He pokes fun at Mr Biden, saying he “studied so hard” before the debate that he “didn’t know what he was doing”.
The former president then says Mr Biden is “grossly incompetent”, saying he is “not respected” around the world and is causing the US to be “laughed at”.
Donald Trump has arrived at his campaign rally in Chesapeake, Virginia, where he will make a speech to his supporters.
It comes after Joe Biden’s stumbling performance in last night’s debate left a large majority of American viewers believing that he came out on top.
We’ll bring you the key moments here in the blog.
Last night’s presidential debate drew in around 25 million fewer viewers than Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s first face-off in 2020, preliminary figures have revealed.
It puts the debate among the three lowest-rated first presidential debates since 1976.
Around 73 million watched Trump and Mr Biden battle it out four years ago, compared to 48 million last night.
The figures from data firm Nielsen don’t capture the full extent of online viewing, however, meaning overall viewership was likely much higher.
The debate was organised by CNN but it was also aired on other networks and digital outlets.
Final data from Nielsen is due later today, when the debate ratings figures may increase.
Joe Biden had a cold and sore throat during last night’s debate, the White House has said.
His performance against Donald Trump was described as an “unmitigated disaster” by some in his own party after he paused and stumbled his way through, prompting calls for him to step down.
Addressing his performance earlier, Mr Biden acknowledged that he doesn’t “debate as well” as he used to or “talk as smoothly” (see 18.35 post).
There are no conversations taking place about Joe Biden stepping aside from his re-election bid, his campaign spokesperson has said.
The spokesperson said Mr Biden still plans to take part in the next debate against Donald Trump, which is slated for 10 September.
They said last night’s debate has not changed the campaign strategy.
Earlier, the US president told supporters in North Carolina that he intended to win the election.
Joe Biden is not the only likely presidential candidate to hold a rally today, with Donald Trump also due to address his supporters not long from now.
Crowds have gathered in Chesapeake, Virginia, to hear Trump make his first speech after last night’s debate.
The former president last night appeared confident, on the front foot and in command compared to Mr Biden – even if his claims sometimes stretched the truth to breaking point.
Barack Obama has shown support for Joe Biden in his first public comments about the presidential debate.
In a post to X, the former president, whose served with Mr Biden as vice-president, said: “Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know.”
He added that the election was “still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself”.
Posting a link to the Biden campaign website, Mr Obama said “so much is at stake” in the November election.
On today’s Sky News Daily podcast, Niall Paterson unpicks the debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
Joining him is US correspondent James Matthews in Georgia to discuss the hits and misses, and pollster Scarlett Maguire to look at how American voters are feeling about the upcoming election.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free