ATLANTA—President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump traded jabs about their presidential accomplishments and offered vastly different visions of the past and future in their first 2024 presidential debate.
The two candidates faced off for 90 minutes, punctuated by two brief commercial breaks, in a closed television studio in Atlanta on June 27.
CNN moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash conducted the debate under strict rules, which both campaigns agreed to. No live audience, teleprompters, notes, or staff members were permitted in the studio. The rules included strict time limits for each answer and rebuttal, which the candidates largely adhered to.
President Biden entered the studio first, taking his place at a podium on the viewer’s right, followed by former President Trump, who stood at an identical podium eight feet away. The candidates exchanged glances but did not shake hands….