Ukraine, World War Three, and age dispute: First Presidential debate main statements

The debate took place in the American state of Georgia. This is the first of two planned debates before the US presidential elections.

The debate was organized by the American TV channel CNN. This time, it was conducted without a live audience, and participants' microphones were only turned on when it was their turn to speak. Teleprompters were not used, and notes were prohibited.

Besides internal issues, Biden and Trump made statements about the war in Ukraine, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, and the conflict in the Middle East, and argued about their age.

Ukraine

Republican Donald Trump commented on Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's so-called "peace plan" for Ukraine. The ex-president stated that Putin's conditions are unacceptable.

At the same time, Trump claimed that the war in Ukraine was a result of Joe Biden's incompetence as president and reiterated that he could have ended the war even before taking office.

"Ukraine's not winning that wa. They're running out of people, they're running out of soldiers, they've lost so many people. It's so sad. They've lost so many people and they've lost those gorgeous cities with the golden domes that are 1,000-years-old, all because of him and stupid decisions. Russia would've never attacked if I were president," Trump said.

He repeated previous claims that Europe spends less on supporting Ukraine than the US.

Joe Biden, in turn, called Trump's comments about the war in Ukraine "nonsense."

The Democrat stated that if aid to Ukraine were to stop, Putin would not stop: "Let Putin go in and control Ukraine and then move on to Poland and other places. See what happens then...He has no idea what the hell he is talking about."

World War Three

American leader Biden said that electing Trump as president would lead to World War Three.

"If you want a World War Three, let him follow (ph) and win," Biden said.

Trump responded to Biden with a similar accusation: "We're closer to World War Three than anybody can imagine."

Age debate

During the debate, Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, were asked about their age. The politicians argued about who plays golf better.

The Republican noted that he had passed numerous cognitive tests and boasted about winning two club championships in golf. The Democrat, in response, pointed to Trump's height and weight and said he would play golf with the opponent if he carried his own bag.

After the golf argument, Trump said, "Let's not act like children." Biden replied, "You are a child."

Israel and Hamas

Trump also criticized Biden's approach to the Middle East conflict.

"Just like Israel would have never been invaded in a million years by Hamas. You know why? They had no money for Hamas," he said.

At the same time, Trump avoided answering whether he would support the creation of an independent Palestinian state, only saying: "I'd have to see." He also noted that "Israel is the one, and you should them go and let them finish the job."

Biden, in turn, emphasized that the US under his presidency is "the biggest producer of support for Israel ." He stated that the only ones who want war are the militants of the Hamas group. In his opinion, it needs to be eliminated.

"They (Hamas) should be eliminated. But, you got to be careful for what you use these certain weapons among population centers," said the current US president.

"Suckers and losers"

During the debate, Biden quoted a 2020 article from The Atlantic. The publication reported that Trump, during his presidency, privately demeaned fallen American soldiers, calling them "suckers and losers." Biden mentioned his son, a war veteran who died of brain cancer.

"My son was not a loser. He was not a sucker. You're the sucker. You're the loser," Biden said to Trump.

The Republican, in turn, denied the opponent's accusations and called the quote fabricated.

According to a CNN poll, 67% of viewers felt that the Republican outperformed the current president, while 33% thought the Democrat had the best performance.

US elections

The US presidential elections are scheduled for November 5 of this year. Despite the debate, neither Biden nor Trump is officially the candidate for their parties. Republicans are to confirm their candidate in July, and Democrats in August.

According to The New York Times, following the debate, discussions arose within the Democratic Party about replacing Biden with another candidate for the presidential elections. The publication notes that Biden's weak performance in the debate, inability to express the party's position, and frequent verbal slips.