The first presidential debate for the 2024 election took place on Thursday night, and while many issues were covered, this article will concentrate on their discussion on immigration and abortion. These are some key points from the face-off.
Debate on Abortion
Abortion was a point of contention between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. During his campaign in 2016, Trump pledged to overturn Roe v. Wade. As president, he chose three justices to the Supreme Court, who cast the decisive votes to revoke the procedure’s 49-year protection.
During CNN’s presidential debate, President Joe Biden held Donald Trump accountable for the avalanche of state abortion restrictions that have followed the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
“What you’ve done has been a terrible thing,” Biden turned to address his opponent.
During the discussion, Trump declared that he supported exceptions to the abortion ban “for rape, incest, and the life of the mother.”
Additionally, according to Trump, “everyone, without exception, Democrats, Republicans, liberals, and conservatives” wanted Roe to be overturned so that each state could enact its own abortion legislation.
Trump stated, “It’s bringing it back to the vote of the people, which is what everybody wanted, including the founders,” as reported by Time Magazine, “Everyone wants its return and several presidents have attempted to reclaim it. It was me who carried it out.
“It is absurd to think that the founders intended politicians to make decisions regarding women’s health,” Biden retorted later. Additionally, he contended that when Roe was initially decided, “the vast majority of constitutional scholars” backed it. Numerous surveys have revealed that the majority of Americans now favor legal abortion.
If awarded a second term, Biden promised to bring the law back to its pre-Roe state, but he did not specify how. Restoring state autonomy over abortion legislation, in his words, “is like saying we’re going to return civil rights to the states.”
Debate on Immigration
Biden has attempted in recent months to improve his unfavorable reputation in the public eye due to his handling of immigration. He started by embracing a bipartisan Senate plan that includes some of the strictest border controls in recent memory, followed by presidential action to crack down on migrants at the southern border requesting asylum after that legislation failed.
As the campaign’s central topic and one on which he leads Biden in the polls, immigration and the border were areas on which Trump was keen to take the offensive.
Trump declared, “We had the safest border in our nation’s history.” “All he had to do was leave it.”
Regarding the quantity of migrants—including criminals—who have broken into the United States through illegal immigration, Biden came under fire from Trump.
Biden emphasized the 40% decrease in undocumented migrant crossings that has occurred since he signed an executive order to that effect.
“Why should voters trust you to solve this crisis?” CNN moderator Jake Tapper said to the contenders during the discussion.
In order to improve the situation at the border, Biden noted that his government had “worked hard”.
“We put a lot of effort into securing a bipartisan deal that would have altered all of that” “I’ve modified it so that there are currently 40% fewer individuals crossing the border illegally,” he declared.
In response, Trump criticized Biden for repealing Title 42, a public health statute that he had utilized to force migrants to return to their home countries or to border communities in Mexico in the event of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Without providing proof, Trump said, “Biden decided to open up our border, opening up our country to people who are from prisons and mental institutions.”
Remaining focused on immigration, Tapper questioned Trump on whether he would deport all unauthorized immigrants, even those with employment, whose spouses are citizens, and long-term residents of the country.
Instead of responding to the question, Trump spoke on immigration and terrorism, accusing Biden of opening the gates to individuals who are killing American citizens.
“Every single thing he said is a lie,” Biden responded.