The former president has accused his opponent of badly damaging America’s reputation
Former President Donald Trump criticized his opponent, Joe Biden, during the first presidential debate on Thursday, alleging that Biden has diminished America’s standing on the global stage.
Trump launched into a scathing attack on Biden early in the debate, accusing him of ruining the US economy, sparking the migration crisis at the border, and engaging in “political persecution.” He further asserted that Biden’s handling of the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan was disastrous.
Trump argued that such policy failures have severely tarnished America’s reputation around the world. “Across the globe, we are no longer viewed as a respected nation,” Trump declared during the CNN-hosted debate. “They no longer respect our leadership, they no longer respect the United States… We’ve become like a third-world nation.”
Biden countered by defending his record as president, arguing that Trump’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic was inadequate and that his tax reform only benefitted “the wealthy.”
“The economy collapsed, there were no jobs. The unemployment rose to 15%,” Biden said of his opponent’s term in office. Trump had left the country “in chaos,” he added, arguing that his administration has been successfully rebuilding the economy.