Joe Biden’s “scratchy voice” during the debate may have been caused by a cold during preparation

When Joe Biden began to speak, his voice immediately gave cause for concern: he was quiet, croaky, and even had a few coughing fits.

But a recent report from a source familiar with the situation says Joe Biden has caught a cold that will affect his voice during the debate. The tweet suggesting illness came from senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich.

When the debate reached its first break, former President Donald Trump dominated the airtime with about 23 minutes and six seconds of speaking time, according to CNN, which hosted the verbal exchange. President Joe Biden, on the other hand, spoke for just under 18 minutes and 26 seconds.

READ MORE: Joe Biden and Donald Trump do not shake hands at start of CNN presidential debate
READ MORE: Joe Biden calls Donald Trump ‘a moron’ and ‘loser’ on debate night, echoing insult to troops

Each of them has an equal opportunity to respond to the moderator’s questions, but it is at their discretion whether they use up their entire speaking time or end it early.

Trump may be convincing on quantity, but quality is another story. Fact-checkers are already finding holes in his account, particularly in his whitewashing of labor market statistics during Biden’s term. Trump attributed the job growth to “recovery gains” and suggested that people were simply being rehired for their previous positions, but his version skims over some important details.

The statistics paint a grim picture under Trump: They show a staggering loss of nearly 22 million jobs in March and April 2020, when COVID-19 sent the global economy into a tailspin. But after the introduction of significant relief and recovery measures, the tide began to turn: The U.S. labor market recovered, recording more than 12 million new jobs from May 2020 to December of that year – all under Trump’s watch, the Bureau of Labor Statistics confirms.

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This upward trend was not short-lived; after Biden’s intervention, the rise continued. Under Biden’s administration, the US finally returned to pre-Covid employment levels (February 2020) in June 2022.

However, it was one of the first fact-checking errors of the evening, and one where Trump slipped up. He claimed that Biden’s administration had succeeded in ruining the economy through “Covid mandates” – a statement that is not supported by the facts.

On March 16, Trump announced the “15 days to slow the spread,” echoing CDC recommendations that called for social distancing, home isolation for those feeling unwell, and measures to protect vulnerable people. The directive also recommended suspending classes and avoiding social gatherings of more than 10 people.

Critics accuse the Trump administration of a hesitant approach that they say contributed to the rapid spread of Covid-19 in the United States and the horrifying death toll, which now stands at nearly six million.

The debate so far has been marked by fierce personal barbs. Joe Biden did not hold back, branding Donald Trump a “sucker” and a “loser” and repeating the derogatory words Trump allegedly used about deceased war veterans.

Amid their heated exchange, Trump took jabs at Hunter Biden over his recent legal troubles. Biden hit back without hesitation, calling Trump the real “fear-on-stage” and attacking him for morally questionable antics, including an affair with a porn actress, and accusing him of having “the morals of a street cat.”

The opening scenes of the first presidential debate of 2020 showed a clear departure from tradition: Neither former President Donald Trump nor current President Joe Biden shook hands at the start of the debate.

This continues the trend of foregoing the customary handshake, a trend Trump started in previous debates against another Democratic challenger that upended years of political decorum. Since 2021, interactions between Biden and Trump have become rare, amid widespread speculation that the two titans are not on friendly terms.

The first personal dig of the evening came from a heated Joe Biden, who called Donald Trump a “moron” and a “loser,” echoing the former president’s alleged remarks about fallen war veterans.

In October 2023, John Kelly, Trump’s former White House chief of staff, sharply criticized his former boss for his allegedly derogatory comments about military personnel and veterans. He also highlighted Trump’s alleged dishonesty regarding his views on various groups and his stance on abortion.

Because both candidates criticize each other’s age (they are only three years apart), the two seniors scheduled a debate before receiving official nominations from their respective committees, dispensed with an audience, and introduced an automatic microphone mute for the first time.

While it’s not uncommon for a moderator to have the power to mute any participant’s microphone, it’s rare for it to be automatically turned off. Biden requested this feature to prevent Trump from interrupting him during the debate, a tactic Trump is notorious for.

It will be less work for hosts Dana Bash and Jake Tapper tonight to keep each candidate on track.

At the last debate in 2020, opponents’ microphones were muted during each candidate’s opening statement in each 15-minute segment, but not at other times.