How CNN Handled First Trump-Biden Debate

Joe Biden and his presidential campaign continued to try to assuage fretful donors following the president’s dismal performance at the debate on Thursday.

EXCLUSIVE: Joe Biden’s reelection campaign has a problem with some of its top donors after last night’s debate fiasco, and they may have just made it worse.

“Mr. Biden is not the man he was four years ago,” the New York Times said today in the understatement of the moment as it a called for the incumbent to bow out of this year’s race against Donald Trump before it’s too late.

Former President Donald Trump, in his first rally since the presidential debate on Thursday, continued to go after Joe Biden as a bit of a master political manipulator even as much of the post-event focus has been on the president’s feeble performance.

After the dumpster fire of a presidential debate Thursday night, we know a lot of Americans are hurting.

Tatiana Siegel It was meant to be a night to assuage Hollywood’s donor class’ concerns about President Joe Biden’s fitness. But it quickly turned into a nightmare for some of the industry’s biggest Democratic backers.

Former President Barack Obama weighed in Friday on President Joe Biden’s dismal debate performance the night before, offering a bit of perspective on the anxieties following his own listless showing in 2012.

President Joe Biden was more energetic and forceful at a rally this afternoon following his dismal performance at Thursday night’s debate with Donald Trump.

CNN said that 47.9 million watched the presidential debate across TV platforms on Thursday night, according to Nielsen Fast National data.

What in the hell did we just watch?!

Brian Stelter In the hour leading up to President Joe Biden‘s disastrous debate performance on Thursday, I peeked inside the flashy studio where MSNBC‘s biggest stars were previewing how Donald Trump could derail the proceedings, and I saw megawatt smiles. The hosts were in the middle of a commercial break and clearly savoring one of the biggest political nights of the year; Rachel Maddow made a joke and everyone cracked up. I was at 30 Rock for an appearance on NBC’s streaming news service.

Must protect our peace!

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but Donald Trump didn’t just give a better performance than Joe Biden during the first 2024 presidential debate. In terms of authority and confidence, quickness and poise, articulation and verve, Trump left Biden in the dust. Relative to his previous debate performances, Trump even came off as (God help us) presidential.

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV Critic Should things go the way they seem to be going, the events of Thursday night may go down as the greatest unforced error in presidential electoral politics since Richard Nixon, fatigued and unshaven, went on-camera against John F. Kennedy in 1960. Joe Biden ran up against two sets of limitations in the June 27 CNN-hosted debate.

If there was any winner in tonight’s first presidential debate, it was CNN. If there was a loser, it was absolutely Joe Biden.

UPDATE: As the debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump neared the 90 minute mark, their sparring turned to their golf handicaps.

CNN is preparing for the first 2024 Presidential Debate.

Donald Trump will be facing off against Joe Biden in the first presidential debate of the year, but his wife Melania Trump will not be by his side.

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have each arrived in Atlanta for this evening’s CNN debate, an event that many predicted would unravel when it was first announced last month.

The White House Correspondents’ Association is urging CNN to allow at least one print pool reporter inside the studio for the duration of tonight’s presidential debate, after the network rejected previous requests.