Age in the spotlight as Biden, Trump set to face off in first US presidential election debate

All eyes will be on United States President Joe Biden and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump as they face off on the debate stage on Thursday (Jun 27).

It will be their first of two debates ahead of the hotly contested presidential election on Nov 5.

Immigration, inflation, abortion rights, and the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza are among topics expected to dominate the debate.

SCRUTINY ON AGE

During the 90-minute broadcast, age will also be in the spotlight.

Both Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, are way above the average retirement age for Americans and are the two oldest candidates ever to vie for the US presidency.

Experts said voters will be on the lookout for key characteristics during the debate that would convince them of either candidate’s fitness and mental capacity to run the country for the next four years.

“Strength, vigour, vitality. Voters want to see how (Biden and Trump) look up against one another physically,” said political strategist Rina Shah.

In recent weeks, Democrats have decried videos made viral by conservative media which appeared to show Biden freezing or looking lost at big events.

Political experts said this debate will be a chance for Biden to challenge the critics. 

“For Democrats, there’s always a concern that Biden – who’s never really been a great public speaker – would show his age and confirm a lot of the fears people have about him,” said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball, the University of Virginia Center for Politics' authoritative newsletter.

“But on the other hand, the bar for a good performance is so low that Biden may be able to clear and that may be helpful to him.”

TRUMP’S THIRD RUN

This is Trump’s third run for presidency, after serving his first term from 2017 to 2021 and losing to Biden in the 2020 election.

After months of more generalised statements at rallies, Trump may now be pinned down to unequivocally state his position on policies.

“Trump doesn’t generally answer a lot of follow-up questions about a particular policy area,” said Hans Noel, an associate professor of government at Georgetown University.

He added: “Biden, I think, is usually pretty good with that. He’s shown that he’s been able to say ‘I know what’s going on with these nuances’. Trump would maybe like to be able to show that (at this debate).”

TRUMP’S CONSERVATIVE PUSH

Speculation is also growing that if re-elected, Trump would push the strongest conservative agenda that the White House has seen in decades.

Democrats are warning that this conservative vision could endanger the country.

A 900-page policy paper named Project 2025, put forward by Washington-based right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation, is a wishlist of proposals that they want Trump to take up if re-elected.

It calls for policies including the elimination of the Department of Education and giving the president complete control of the Department of Justice.

These proposals are even worrying some moderate Republicans.

“There’s always talk about expanding the rights of certain classes of Americans, not limiting the rights. But that is precisely what they’ve come together to do, and it should shake the American consciousness,” said Shah, the political strategist, who was a former Republican senior congressional aide.

One idea in particular – proposing the removal of non-partisan civil servants and replacing them with Trump loyalists – is raising alarm bells over the potential for expanded presidential powers.

“This goal – to fire and remove more people in the government and replace them with not just Republicans, but people who are personally loyal to Donald Trump himself – that’s exactly the thing that people see as having stopped Trump from being able to accomplish things that they were most concerned with last time,” said Noel.

To prevent that from happening in the case of a change of guard in Washington, the Biden administration has been strengthening federal job protections ahead of the re-match for the White House.

With just over four months until the election, both candidates are hoping that impressing early during the first debate will help swing things in their favour.