First 2024 Presidential debate highlights

Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden debated in Atlanta, Georgia, to discuss their goals for the upcoming 2024 election.

CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bush hosted the debate and asked the Presidents a variety of questions.

The debate highlighted topics including abortion, the economy, Middle-East relations, the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and Trump’s criminal investigation.

Chuck Coughlin, President of HighGround, Inc. and Jason Barraza, Partner at Veridus, LLC, provided their take on the first Presidential Debate of the 2024 election.

People all over the U.S. tuned in for the debate, however they were dissatisfied with Biden’s performance, Barraza said.

“Thursday made it difficult for every Democrat across the country to talk about. Certainly not an ideal situation. I think every Democrat wanted to see the President in the form that he was later that evening or even the next day in North Carolina; that’s the President we wanted to see. We didn’t get that on Thursday night, so now there’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” said Barraza. 

President Biden also needed some time and space to adjust after the debate so he could focus and be prepared for the North Carolina rally. 

“I sense that there was an institutional response following the debacle, to defend him, to give him space to put some time and distance between that event and the subsequent discussions that are going on. I believe there are conversations still going on,” said Coughlin. 

The Republican and Democratic parties haven’t successfully given the American people options that they would like. 

“Both political parties have massively failed in their responsibilities to the American people of providing choices that we would like. So it’s an institutional failure on both sides, and so I think we have known this was coming on President Biden’s side for some time,” said Coughlin.