Presidential Debate at CNN headquarters, Atlanta GA: on Principles & Values


Donald Trump: Nancy Pelosi took responsibility for Jan. 6 riots, not me

Q: What do you say to those voters who believe that you violated your constitutional oath through your inaction on Jan. 6th, 2021?

TRUMP: I said 'peacefully and patriotically.' And Nancy Pelosi [said] "oh, no, it's my responsibility; I was responsible for this." Because I offered them 10,000 soldiers or National Guard. And she turned them down. Everybody was saying they're going to be there on January 6th. And I said, "That's a lot of people coming; they ought to have some National Guard." And I offered it to her. And she now admits that she turned it down [in a videotape analyzed by Politico.com]. The same day, she said, "I take full responsibility for January 6th."

BIDEN: He sat in the Oval Office for three hours, being begged by his vice president and Republican colleagues to call for a stop. Instead, he talked about these people being patriots.

TRUMP: Nancy Pelosi said it was her responsibility, not mine. She said that loud and clear. [See FactCheck; Pelosi didn't say that].

Source: First Trump-Biden debate, at CNN in Atlanta Jun 27, 2024

Donald Trump: Rated worst president by panel of 159 scholars

TRUMP about Biden: His presidency, without question, the worst president, the worst presidency in the history of our country.

BIDEN about TRUMP: And by the way, worst president in history. 159 presidential scholars voted him the worst president in the history of the United States of America.

TRUMP about Biden: He is the worst president. He just said it about me because I said it. But look, he's the worst president in the history of our country. He's destroyed our country.

BIDEN about TRUMP: Talking about worst presidents--I wasn't joking--look it up. Go online. 159 or 158, don't hold me the exact number, presidential historians. They've had meetings and they voted who's the worst president in American history. One through best to worst. They said he was the worst in all of American history. That's a fact. That's not conjecture. He can argue they're wrong, but that's what they voted.

[See FactCheck; Biden is citing a survey; Trump is expressing an opinion].

Source: First Trump-Biden debate, at CNN in Atlanta Jun 27, 2024

Donald Trump: FactCheck: Lost dozens of court cases about 2020 election

Trump said, "I will accept loss if it's a fair election." Biden responded, "You're a whiner who lost every single case" about the 2020 election. Is that true,? This FactCheck reiterates that Trump was heard in court and lost:

(Robert Yoon in Associated Press 8/27/23): Trump is flooding the airwaves with distortions, misinformation and unfounded conspiracy theories about his defeat. The Trump campaign and its backers pursued numerous legal challenges to the election in court and alleged a variety of voter fraud and misconduct. The cases were heard and roundly rejected by dozens of courts at both state and federal levels, including by judges whom Trump appointed. One was on a federal panel that declined a request to stop Pennsylvania from certifying its results, saying, "Ballots, not lawyers' briefs, decide elections." The U.S. Supreme Court also rejected several efforts in the weeks after Election Day to overturn the election results in various battleground states that Biden won.

Source: First Trump-Biden debate, at CNN in Atlanta Jun 27, 2024

Nancy Pelosi: Leaders responsible for Jan.6, but where was National Guard?

Trump asserted about calling the National Guard for the Jan. 6 riots, "Nancy Pelosi said it was her responsibility, not mine." Is that true? No; Pelosi only said leaders share responsibility, according to Politico.com's reporting on a videotape made by Pelosi's daughter:

"As then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi fled the Capitol after it was overrun by pro-Trump rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, she grilled her chief of staff incredulously on a key question: "You're going to ask me--in the middle of the thing--'should we call the National Guard?' Why weren't the National Guard there to begin with?" Republicans have portrayed Pelosi as singularly responsible for the security breakdown, despite evidence that they relied on the assessments of police. The new footage largely aligns with footage released by the Jan. 6 select committee, [where Pelosi's staff said] that Capitol security officials believed they were adequately prepared--but the then-speaker cut her off, adding that leaders have a 'responsibility'." 

Source: First Trump-Biden debate, at CNN in Atlanta Jun 27, 2024

Joe Biden: FactCheck: Biden rated 14th best president; Trump as worst

Trump called Biden "the worst president in the history of our country." Biden responded, "159 presidential scholars voted him the worst president." Who's right? UPI reported (Feb. 19, 2024) that "A new survey of historians ranks Donald Trump the worst president in U.S. history", but Trump can still have the opinion that Biden is the worst. The survey details:

The 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey was conducted online among more than 500 members of the American Political Science Association, an organization of professionals in the field. Respondents rated Biden at 63 on a scale of 100 for overall greatness, good for 14th out of 45 presidents. Abraham Lincoln scored the highest rating at 94. Trump scored 11. President James Buchanan, the second-worst rated president, scored 17. Republicans and conservatives notably rank Trump worse than Biden, as well. Meanwhile, Biden was ranked 30th by both. Trump was also rated the most polarizing president.

Source: First Trump-Biden debate, at CNN in Atlanta Jun 27, 2024

Joe Biden: First debate performance raises questions of replacing Biden

Biden attempted to calm the panic about the viability of his candidacy in the hours after his disastrous debate performance, telling supporters at a campaign rally, "I know I'm not a young man, to state the obvious. I don't walk as easy as I used to. I don't speak as smoothly as I used to. I don't debate as well as I used to. But I know what I do know: I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. And I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done. And I know like millions of Americans know, when you get knocked down you get back up. I would not be running again if I did not believe with all my heart and soul that I can do this job."

But the rally may not be enough to quiet an already widespread panic in the Democratic Party over Biden's debate performance against Trump. Biden's raspy voice, trailing answers and deflated stage presence during the 90-minute debate brought into the open what was once a taboo topic: replacing him on the top of the ticket.

Source: First Trump-Biden debate, at CNN in Atlanta Jun 27, 2024

Joe Biden: No president in our history has spoken about retribution

Q: Can you clarify exactly what it means about you feeling you have every right to go after your political opponents?

TRUMP: Well, I said my retribution is going to be success. We're going to make this country successful again because right now it's a failing nation.

BIDEN: The idea that you have a right to seek retribution against any American just because you're president is simply wrong. No president's ever spoken like that before. No president in our history has spoken like that before.

Source: First Trump-Biden debate, at CNN in Atlanta Jun 27, 2024

Joe Biden: We're the most progressive country in the world

The idea that somehow we are this failing country, I never heard a president talk like this before. We--we're the envy of the world. Name me a single major country president who wouldn't trade places with the United States of America. For all our problems and all our opportunities, we're the most progressive country in the world and getting things done. We're the strongest country in the world. We're country in the world who keeps our word and everybody trusts us, all of our allies.
Source: First Trump-Biden debate, at CNN in Atlanta Jun 27, 2024

  • The above quotations are from First Trump-Biden Debate: 2024 Presidential Election.
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2016 Presidential contenders on Principles & Values:
  Republicans:
Gov.Jeb Bush(FL)
Dr.Ben Carson(MD)
Gov.Chris Christie(NJ)
Sen.Ted Cruz(TX)
Carly Fiorina(CA)
Gov.Jim Gilmore(VA)
Sen.Lindsey Graham(SC)
Gov.Mike Huckabee(AR)
Gov.Bobby Jindal(LA)
Gov.John Kasich(OH)
Gov.Sarah Palin(AK)
Gov.George Pataki(NY)
Sen.Rand Paul(KY)
Gov.Rick Perry(TX)
Sen.Rob Portman(OH)
Sen.Marco Rubio(FL)
Sen.Rick Santorum(PA)
Donald Trump(NY)
Gov.Scott Walker(WI)
Democrats:
Gov.Lincoln Chafee(RI)
Secy.Hillary Clinton(NY)
V.P.Joe Biden(DE)
Gov.Martin O`Malley(MD)
Sen.Bernie Sanders(VT)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren(MA)
Sen.Jim Webb(VA)

2016 Third Party Candidates:
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Roseanne Barr(PF-HI)
Robert Steele(L-NY)
Dr.Jill Stein(G,MA)
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Page last updated: Jul 05, 2024