Democratic President Joe Biden and his Republican rival Donald Trump blasted each other on the economy, abortion, immigration and foreign policy during their terms in their debate on Thursday, giving voters a chance to see in the debate the oldest presidential candidates in United States history.

Two White House officials said President Biden had the flu.

Joe Biden and Donald Trump made a number of factual errors early in Thursday's debate in Atlanta.

President Biden began the debate with a gaffe, claiming he had created 15,000 jobs. The exact number is more than 15 million new jobs during his tenure, a dramatic understatement from a candidate struggling to regain voter confidence in his ability to lead the nation's economy.

Biden also said that "a dose of insulin costs $15 now, compared to $400." But the cost of insulin for older Americans who are part of the government's health insurance program has been reduced to $35 based on the Inflation Reduction Act, which President Biden signed into law in 2022. This reduction in the cost of the drug of insulin went into effect in 2023, forcing most health insurance companies to drop the cost of the drug to $35.

Mr Trump said the US economy was ready to start paying off its national debt before the Covid-19 pandemic. This is not true. The budget deficit has been growing during Mr. Trump's tenure because the 2017 tax cut, a law he supported, has not helped reduce the deficit as he had promised. Mr. Trump inherited a budget deficit of $585 billion, and it grew to $984 billion in 2019, marking an increase of more than $3 trillion in 2020 alone after the start of the pandemic, according to the White House Office of Budget Management.

President Biden midway through the debate began to focus on attacks on Mr. Trump, citing the trial in New York in which Mr. Trump was found guilty of concealing payments to pornographic film actress Stormy Daniel to keep a sexual relationship with her hidden. . President Biden called his Republican rival "a man convicted of a crime."

Former President Trump responded by citing the trial of President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, in which he was found guilty of lying on a gun purchase form about his history of drug use.

Asked about the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 by a crowd of his supporters, former President Trump responded by saying that he was not responsible for the protest at the Capitol and claimed that many of those arrested are innocent.

"This is the worst president in American history. This man does not understand American democracy", said President Biden in response to these comments of his Republican rival.

Former President Donald Trump complained that immigrants entering the country illegally are being housed in "luxury hotels" while veterans of our military are on the road.

As expected, he also focused heavily on the issue of immigrant crime. He also said that immigrants are coming to the United States from "mental institutions" and "asylums." He has not provided evidence for this claim, which he has often made at election rallies.

Russia-Ukraine war

"We're like an underdeveloped country, and it's shameful," Mr. Trump said in the televised debate at CNN headquarters in Atlanta.

"We are no longer respected," said Mr. Trump, blaming President Biden for this. "They think we're stupid."

During the debate, Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump agreed in opposing Russian President Vladimir Putin's terms on ending the war in Ukraine. But Mr Trump repeated his claims that the war would never have started if he had been president.

"If we had a real president, a president who was respected by Putin, he would never have attacked Ukraine," Mr. Trump said.

He also criticized President Biden for the large aid that the United States has given to Kiev.

"Go ahead, let Putin control Ukraine, and then Poland and other countries. See what happens then. He has no idea what he's saying," President Biden said of Mr. Trump.

Mr. Biden said Mr. Trump would pull the United States out of NATO and risk an escalating war. And for the Russian leader, President Biden said: "The fact is that Putin is a war criminal."

Israel-Hamas war

One of the foreign policy topics in the debate was the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Mr. Trump criticized President Biden for the way he has handled the war in the Gaza Strip, saying that Mr. Biden "has been made like a Palestinian" because of President Biden's demand that Israel do more to protect civilians in Gaza. Mr Trump has also criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying in an interview in April that he should have prevented the October 7 attack by Hamas in southern Israel.

President Biden rejected criticism that his administration has delayed sending certain types of weapons to Israel. "We are providing Israel with all the weapons it needs," he said. President Biden also mentioned his three-phase proposal for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, blaming the Palestinian militant group for the lack of a ceasefire agreement.

Mr. Trump disputed this assessment, saying that "Israel is the one that has opposed the proposal. And you have to let the Israelis finish the job," he said.

Israel launched a wide-ranging military offensive in the Gaza Strip after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing 1200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 250 hostages.

According to the health ministry in the Gaza Strip, controlled by Hamas, which the United States has declared a terrorist organization, more than 37600 people have been killed by Israeli attacks. The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its reports on the number of casualties.

The debate was a chance for both candidates to talk about their plans and vision for the country and convince undecided voters.

In Atlanta, Georgia, a undecided state important for the presidential election, Republican politicians who are on the list of candidates for vice president were present, including Ohio Sen. JD Vance, former North Dakota Gov. Doug Bergum, Carolina Sen. South Tim Scott and Florida Senator Marco Rubio.

Held over four months before the November 5 election, the Biden-Trump debate was one of the earliest presidential debates in the four-year US presidential election cycle. It was also a repeat of their two 2020 debates, held two months before the election, in which Mr. Biden won over then-President Donald Trump. The next debate between President Biden and former President Trump is scheduled for September 10. VOA