Did you watch last night’s presidential debate? Even if you didn’t tune in to watch current President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump go head-to-head in the first showdown of the 2024 election year, you undoubtedly heard about it.
Even if you haven’t been keeping up with the morning show recaps and lengthy fact checks, you’ve probably seen the plethora of video clips, sarcastic posts, and memes circulating like wildfire. For some, the debate raised further questions, and for others, warnings. For better or worse, the debate was full of notable and quotable moments.
From exchanges about golf scores to numerous personal insults, the candidates managed to weave in a heavy dose of confusion when debating hot-button issues like the economy, the border, abortion, immigration and, of course, service capacity.
Here are some notable moments you may have missed.
Presidential debate fact check:What Trump and Biden got right (and wrong)
Prepare to vote: See who’s running for president and compare their positions on key issues with our Voter Guide
Strange Golf Exchange
In a moment that everyone could hear, the presidential candidates were arguing and losing over their golfing skills and who was better.
During a conversation about capabilities in later life, Trump bragged about cognitive tests he reportedly passed and his golfing prowess, saying he had recently won two club championships.
“He challenged me to a golf game,” Trump said of Biden. “He can’t hit the ball 50 yards.”
“I’d love to have a driving challenge with him,” Biden replied, noting that he achieved a 6 handicap while vice president. “I’d be happy to play golf with him, if you’d bring your own bag. Do you think we can do that?”
“The biggest lie is that he has a six handicap,” Trump retorted, after Biden accused Trump of having an eight handicap, to which Biden responded, “I’ve seen your swing. I know your swing.”
The exchange ended with each side accusing the other of childish behaviour.
Biden freeze
Social media quickly jumped on the bandwagon, dubbed the “Biden Freeze,” with numerous posts and memes depicting the president at a loss for words.
The big “freezing moment” came when Biden was discussing health care, the economy and the high debt levels under the Trump administration. He mentioned raising taxes on billionaires, but then his response became rambling at one point, before pausing and concluding with, “Once we finally get past Medicare.”
“Three years younger and much less skilled”: The great age debate
Concerns about the candidates’ ages have been a hot topic this election season, and while viewers can decide whether their answers in the debates eased or strengthened those concerns, they were asked questions directly about their cognitive abilities.
“I’ve been criticized for half my career as the youngest person in politics,” Biden said, referring to being elected to the U.S. Senate at age 30. “Now I’m the oldest. This guy is three years younger than me and much less qualified.”
“I took two cognitive tests, and as you know, I got perfect scores both times,” Trump replied. “I would ask Biden to just take one really easy test, where you answer the first five questions. You can’t do it,” Trump said of Biden.
“Losers and Fools”
In a back-and-forth between Trump and Biden in which they accused each other of abandoning veterans, Trump claimed that veterans and soldiers “can’t stand the guy” about Biden. “And they like me more than anybody else,” Trump said.
Biden fired back, referencing his late son, Joseph “Beau” Biden, who served as a major in the Army National Guard and deployed to Iraq before dying of brain cancer in 2015 at age 46. He also pointed to a 2020 report in The Atlantic that quoted anonymous sources as saying Trump had called soldiers who died in combat “morons and losers.” Trump has denied the report since it was released, but other media outlets have corroborated it.
“I went to a World War I cemetery that he refused to go to,” Biden said of Trump. “He stood there with a four-star general and he told me, ‘I don’t want to go there, because they’re all losers and idiots.’ My son wasn’t a loser or an idiot. You’re the idiot, you loser.”
Trump denies involvement in January 6th
When asked what he would say to voters who believe Trump violated his constitutional oath through his actions leading up to, during and after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, Trump denied any involvement.
“Well, I never said that to anybody. I just said it peacefully, I said it patriotically,” Trump said, referring to his alleged encouragement or failure to encourage the January 6 rioters.
“He emboldened those people,” Biden argued, saying he watched Trump be ignored for “three hours” despite other politicians and members of his own team “begging him to do something.” “Instead he told these people they were patriots … and said he now forgives them for what they did,” Biden said, noting that Trump has previously promised to pardon “the vast majority” of the January 6 rioters.
