How Biden and Trump are connected to Michigan
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump squared off in the first debate of the 2024 election cycle on Thursday as the nation heads toward another battle between the two. Biden and Trump both sought to go on the offensive regarding the other’s record as president, though the evening was lacking in policy specifics.
Trump repeatedly criticized Biden’s handling of the U.S. southern border and his foreign policy stance. Biden addressed Trump’s record on abortion rights and sought to portray the former president as a threat to democracy. Both candidates said the other would harm the American economy.
At several points, CNN moderators Dana Bash and Jake Tapper had to repeat the focus of their original question as each candidate pressed on an earlier statement made by the other.
Biden also struggled with verbal lapses, especially in the early stages of the debate. Trump took advantage of one such moment, saying, “I don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows either.”
Towards the end of the debate, Biden and Trump began arguing about golf.
Michigan was barely mentioned in the 90 minutes, but issues unfolding in the state were discussed on Thursday.
Trump refers to journalists imprisoned in Russia, but does not mention Michigan’s Paul Whelan
In his criticism of Biden’s foreign policy, Trump mentioned Evan Gershkovich, an American journalist who reported for the Wall Street Journal and was arrested in Russia in March 2023 and has been detained since then. Trump said he would release Gershkovich “very quickly.”
He did not mention Paul Whelan, a security manager who was arrested in Russia in December 2018 and has been detained since then. Whelan, a former Marine who lived in Novi, was accused of espionage and sentenced to 16 years of hard labor in a labor camp in a closed-door trial in June 2020.
Electric vehicles play no role in the climate debate
The Biden administration has initiated the transition to electrification of the automotive industry and set targets for the sales of electric vehicles and the installation of charging stations to power electric vehicles.
Trump has frequently criticized Biden’s stance on electric cars, saying the cars are unpopular compared to their gasoline-powered counterparts and that promoting electric car sales would hurt the auto industry, even though all major automakers have their own plans to expand sales of electric cars in their fleets.
But they were not mentioned Thursday night. One of the reasons Biden’s administration has set targets for electric vehicle sales has to do with the fact that they produce fewer carbon emissions than gasoline-powered cars. When moderators asked about plans for climate, Trump said his environmental advisers told him before the debate, “I have the best environmental numbers ever.” Biden sharply criticized that statement and praised the climate legislation he signed.
Trump says states should decide on abortion, Biden warns against a national ban under Trump
Trump boasted about appointing three U.S. Supreme Court justices who in July 2022 overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling that had protected access to abortion at the federal level for nearly 50 years. The ruling returned the issue of abortion access to the states—in Michigan, voters later that year approved a ballot law enshrining reproductive freedom in the state constitution. In other states, however, abortion access is more restricted.
Biden said he would restore Roe v. Wade if re-elected and said Republicans in Congress would pass a “very conservative” national abortion ban if Trump is elected. “I’ll veto it, he’ll sign it,” Biden said.
As in Grand Rapids, Trump continues to attack Biden’s border policy
Trump repeated a line he used during an April appearance in Grand Rapids, when he said Biden’s immigration policies have allowed “every state” to become a border state. While U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reported fewer security encounters at the southern border in recent months than at the end of last year, Trump sharply criticized the situation at the border throughout the debate and brought up immigration policies on unrelated issues.
Biden pointed out that Republicans in Congress blocked a bipartisan border bill earlier this year and said Trump’s opposition to the bill put pressure on conservatives in Congress to reject it.
Contact Arpan Lobo: [email protected].
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