- Trump and Biden debate live reaction: Follow all the fallout from the first presidential showdown on CNN
The world's media ripped into US President Joe Biden this morning after he and his Republican rival Donald Trump faced off in the first presidential debate of the 2024 race, in what was widely regarded as a disaster for the incumbent.
Biden's uneven performance, particularly early in the debate, crystallised the concerns of many Americans that, at 81, he is too old to serve as president.
It sparked a fresh round of calls for the Democrat to consider stepping aside as the party's nominee as members of his party fear a return of Trump to the White House.
Trump's own performance didn't go unscathed either, as the former president countered Biden's criticism by leaning into falsehoods about the economy, illegal immigration and his role in the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.
But as the world watched with keen interest, it was Biden's raspy and sometimes halting performance that drew the most criticism and concern from media both in the US and further afield, representing a humiliation on the world stage.
![GERMANY: 'Good night, Joe!', Bild said this morning. The German newspaper said Biden received a 'damning verdict from the US media,' called the debate a 'battle for the OLD House,' labelled Biden's appearance 'stumbling' and noted how the Democrats are now 'in panic'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/09/86689429-13579183-image-m-6_1719564001590.jpg)
GERMANY: 'Good night, Joe!', Bild said this morning. The German newspaper said Biden received a 'damning verdict from the US media,' called the debate a 'battle for the OLD House,' labelled Biden's appearance 'stumbling' and noted how the Democrats are now 'in panic'
![US: Fox News's website led with a carousel of pictures from the debate, declaring the Democrats were in 'Panic Mode'. It said: 'A raspy Biden gets off to a halting start against Trump in the first 2024 presidential election debate.'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/10/86690683-13579183-image-m-34_1719566853367.jpg)
US: Fox News's website led with a carousel of pictures from the debate, declaring the Democrats were in 'Panic Mode'. It said: 'A raspy Biden gets off to a halting start against Trump in the first 2024 presidential election debate.'
![US: On Friday morning, the front page of the New York Post led with the words 'Just Sad' alongside a picture of an open-mouthed Biden, adding that the president 'mumbles, stumbles, freezes in train wreck debate vs. Trump'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/10/86690465-13579183-image-m-36_1719566916234.jpg)
US: On Friday morning, the front page of the New York Post led with the words 'Just Sad' alongside a picture of an open-mouthed Biden, adding that the president 'mumbles, stumbles, freezes in train wreck debate vs. Trump'
![US: The New York Times website, meanwhile, led with the headline: 'Biden Struggles as Trump Blusters in Contentious Debate'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/10/86690473-13579183-image-m-38_1719566951087.jpg)
US: The New York Times website, meanwhile, led with the headline: 'Biden Struggles as Trump Blusters in Contentious Debate'
![Biden's uneven performance, particularly early in the debate, crystallised the concerns of many Americans that, at 81, he is too old to serve as president](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/09/86689703-13579183-image-a-1_1719563950089.jpg)
Biden's uneven performance, particularly early in the debate, crystallised the concerns of many Americans that, at 81, he is too old to serve as president
On Friday morning, the front page of the New York Post led with the words 'Just Sad' alongside a picture of an open-mouthed Biden, adding that the president 'mumbles, stumbles, freezes in train wreck debate vs. Trump.'
On its website, the Post said Biden's candidacy for the November 2024 election was 'in doubt' and that the debate had left 'Dems in 'aggressive panic'.'
Further down the page, a banner highlighted 'Biden's sad showing' above stories that looked at how Biden's wife Jill led him off stage after the debate, and a comment piece that said 'Biden looked like a basket case in shocking debate performance.'
Fox News's website led with a carousel of pictures from the debate, declaring the Democrats were in 'Panic Mode'. It said: 'A raspy Biden gets off to a halting start against Trump in the first 2024 presidential election debate.'
The New York Times website, meanwhile, led with the headline: 'Biden Struggles as Trump Blusters in Contentious Debate.'
Its lead story said that Biden had 'hoped to build fresh momentum for his re-election bid by agreeing to debate nearly two months before he is to be formally nominated.'
'Instead,' it said, 'his halting and disjointed performance on Thursday night prompted a wave of panic among Democrats and reopened discussion of whether he should be the nominee at all.'
The president 'struggled to deliver his lines and counter a sharp though deeply dishonest' Trump, raising concerns about his campaigning ability, it added.
Similarly, The Washington Post topped its web page with 'Biden struggles, Trump deflects questions' while an opinion piece called Biden's performance 'meandering'.
It also noted that some were unhappy with CNN's moderators not fact checking the debate, pointing to the network's political director saying earlier this week that a debate 'is not the ideal venue for a live fact-checking exercise.'
The Los Angeles Times, meanwhile, ran a number of stories looking at Trump's lies during the debate. 'Column: Biden bumbles, Trump lies and we all lose,' one headline read. Another read: 'Biden flops, Trump lies and Democrats face tough decisions on what comes next.'
A third looked at the insults traded between the two men: '"Sucker", "loser" and other insults Biden and Trump lobbed in presidential debate,' it said.
As Europe woke up, the fallout from the debate still raging in the US, German publication Bild declared on its homepage - in English: 'Good night, Joe.'
![GERMANY: 'The president falls'. The German publication said 'Joe Biden wanted to use the TV debate with Donald Trump to finally go on the offensive' but that it turned into a 'disaster'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/10/86689423-13579183-GERMANY_The_president_falls_The_German_publication_said_Joe_Bide-m-50_1719567298377.jpg)
GERMANY: 'The president falls'. The German publication said 'Joe Biden wanted to use the TV debate with Donald Trump to finally go on the offensive' but that it turned into a 'disaster'
![FRANCE: Le Parisien called the debate a 'predictable first duel' that was 'rather worrying for the Democrats'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/09/86689427-13579183-image-m-10_1719564040524.jpg)
FRANCE: Le Parisien called the debate a 'predictable first duel' that was 'rather worrying for the Democrats'
![SPAIN: Popular newspaper El Pais said Biden failed 'to allay concerns about his age'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/09/86689415-13579183-image-a-12_1719564066804.jpg)
SPAIN: Popular newspaper El Pais said Biden failed 'to allay concerns about his age'
![ITALY: Newspaper Corriere Della Sera (CDS) called the president 'confused' and highlighted his 'hoarse voice'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/09/86689413-13579183-image-m-16_1719564114643.jpg)
ITALY: Newspaper Corriere Della Sera (CDS) called the president 'confused' and highlighted his 'hoarse voice'
The red top added that Biden received a 'damning verdict from the US media,' called the debate a 'battle for the OLD House,' labelled Biden's appearance 'stumbling' and noted how the Democrats are now 'in panic'.
But it was not just the US press that delivered Biden a 'damning verdict'.
German news website Der Spiegel led with an image of Joe Biden stiffly walking across the debate stage and declared: 'The president falls.'
'Joe Biden wanted to use the TV debate with Donald Trump to finally go on the offensive,' the publication said.
'But it turned into a disaster, and calls for his withdrawal are already being made. Trump, on the other hand, emerged victorious. Despite all the lies.
In Italy, meanwhile, newspaper Corriere Della Sera (CDS) called the president 'confused' and highlighted his 'hoarse voice'.
It also pointed to the growing panic among the Democrat party that has now gone into overdrive ahead of the looming November elections.
The publication also quoted prominently a piece written in the New York Times by Thomas Friedman, which said: 'Biden is my friend, but he should drop out of the race'. 'The title is anything but cryptic,' CDS wrote.
Friedman wrote how he cried in front of the TV, calling the debate heartbreaking.
CDS wrote that Friedman was now calling on Biden's family to 'gather quickly and have the hardest of conversations with the president, a conversation of love and clarity and resolve' and persuade him to step aside.
On the same theme, Italy's La Repubblica asked the question: 'What would happen if Biden stepped aside?'.
It noted that 'Michelle Obama [is] the star that gives US Democrats hope.'
In a separate piece, the publication pointed to a poll that found that '67% of Americans thought Trump won the debate'.
'It becomes almost irrelevant to dwell on the topics touched on, the right and wrong jokes, or how much Donald lied,' La Repubblica wrote.
'The bottom line is the impression left on voters, and the White House chief has fuelled all doubts about his ability to lead a superpower for the next four years.'
![BELGIUM: Newspaper Nieuwsblad also focused on the 'panic' following 'Biden's painful defeat' saying the president 'could barely find the words'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/09/86689407-13579183-image-m-23_1719564194613.jpg)
BELGIUM: Newspaper Nieuwsblad also focused on the 'panic' following 'Biden's painful defeat' saying the president 'could barely find the words'
![BELGIUM: De Morgen decried Biden's 'terrible' performance](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/10/86690019-13579183-image-m-29_1719565214097.jpg)
BELGIUM: De Morgen decried Biden's 'terrible' performance
![THE NETHERLANDS: Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf led with the headline: 'Democrats panic after Joe Biden's poor performance during election debate'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/10/86690023-13579183-image-a-30_1719565253652.jpg)
THE NETHERLANDS: Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf led with the headline: 'Democrats panic after Joe Biden's poor performance during election debate'
![SWEDEN: Newspaper Aftonbladet's story on the debate described the 'total panic' left in its wake, quoting one Democrat saying: 'We are completely screwed'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/09/86689421-13579183-image-m-21_1719564154868.jpg)
SWEDEN: Newspaper Aftonbladet's story on the debate described the 'total panic' left in its wake, quoting one Democrat saying: 'We are completely screwed'
![CZECH REPUBLIC: Blesk, a Czech tabloid, picked out several points from the debate, noting how Trump was without his wife Melania, while Biden's wife Jill was seen leading him off stage](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/09/86689411-13579183-image-m-24_1719564210755.jpg)
CZECH REPUBLIC: Blesk, a Czech tabloid, picked out several points from the debate, noting how Trump was without his wife Melania, while Biden's wife Jill was seen leading him off stage
Belgian newspaper Nieuwsblad also focused on the 'panic' following 'Biden's painful defeat' saying the president 'could barely find the words.'
'And although Trump 'lied all night,' according to analysts, Biden's poor performance lingers. To the frustration of Democrats,' the publication said.
It quoted a 'party strategist who has worked on presidential campaigns' as saying: 'Democrats just committed collective suicide.'
Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf led with the headline: 'Democrats panic after Joe Biden's poor performance during election debate.'
It said Biden was 'confused and stuttering', and said the debate had gone 'completely wrong' for the president.
'[...] Biden was unable to live up to high expectations in a first TV debate with Donald Trump, his opponent in the presidential elections in November,' De Telegraaf said.
'Biden appeared confused several times and was unable to convince the American voter that he can still serve a new term despite his old age.'
In France, Le Parisien called the debate a 'predictable first duel' that was 'rather worrying for the Democrats'. 'It was a strange spectacle that American democracy offered Thursday night in Atlanta,' the newspaper said.
It said Trump, who himself is 78, won the debate, speaking with 'confidence' to deliver 'his arguments and many untruths and exaggerations with his customary force and energy' adding that Biden 'had difficulty expressing himself'.
Spain's El Pais newspaper said that Biden failed in his 'attempt to allay concerns about his age'. It said that while Trump 'attacked the president with hoaxes and lies,' Biden was 'unable to confront him due to his hesitations, hoarseness and lapses'.
The newspaper's leading story on the debate opened with a quote from Trump during the debate, in which he said of Biden: '"I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence. I think he doesn't know what he said either".'
El Mundo's headline this morning read: 'A fragile and shaky Biden fails against Trump and gives wings to Democrats who ask for another candidate to replace him.'
In Sweden, newspaper Aftonbladet's story on the debate described the 'total panic' left in its wake, quoting one Democrat saying: 'We are completely screwed.'
Blesk, a Czech tabloid, picked out several points from the debate, noting how Trump was without his wife Melania.
In contrast, it said, 'Biden was accompanied to the debate platform by his wife Jill, whose gestures showed that she was 'leading' her husband.'
In Ukraine, the Kyiv Post was more critical of Trump, who has long suggested he would not fund the country to help in its continuing war against Russia that has laid waste to swathes of the country.
It picked out a quote from Biden, who attacked Trump over his comments on the EU and NATO. 'I've never heard so much foolishness,' Biden responded. 'This is a guy who wanted to get rid of NATO. He has no idea what the hell he is talking about.
'Further afield, Chinese newspaper the Global Times likened the debate to a 'reality show', saying viewers were focused on the candidates 'physical condition'.
![UKRAINE: The Kyiv Post was more critical of Trump, who has long suggested he would not fund the country in its continuing war against Russia](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/09/86689401-13579183-image-m-22_1719564179374.jpg)
UKRAINE: The Kyiv Post was more critical of Trump, who has long suggested he would not fund the country in its continuing war against Russia
![RUSSIA: Russia Today (RT) appeared more focused on the substance of what was being said, rather than the candidate's health](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/10/86690021-13579183-RUSSIA_Russia_Today_RT_appeared_more_focused_on_the_substance_of-m-32_1719566066677.jpg)
RUSSIA: Russia Today (RT) appeared more focused on the substance of what was being said, rather than the candidate's health
![This photo taken from a screen shows the first presidential debate between US President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in the CNN studio in Atlanta](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/10/86689717-13579183-image-a-31_1719565304466.jpg)
This photo taken from a screen shows the first presidential debate between US President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in the CNN studio in Atlanta
'Chinese experts said rather than focusing on policy, global viewers are much more concerned about the physical condition of the two candidates,' it said.
In Russia, too, Russia Today (RT) also appeared more focused on the substance of what was being said, rather than their health.
In one story, RT noted that both Trump and Biden had accused each other of 'encouraging' Russian despot Vladimir Putin - who ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In another, it quoted Trump as claiming Biden could 'be convicted'.
In Australia, meanwhile, the Sydney Morning Herald offered the democrats a glimmer of hope. 'Democrats with no shortage of replacement options after Biden disaster,' the newspaper declared.