--- title: Trump’s Debate Strategy: Let Biden Bury Himself description: Trump seemed to calculate on the debate stage that he stood to gain more by letting the visibly aged Biden be the focus. canonical: https://time.com/6993347/trump-debate/ author: Eric Cortellessa article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-06-28T04:29:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T07:43:52.956Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump’s Debate Strategy: Let Biden Bury Himself og:description: Trump’s Debate Strategy: Let Biden Bury Himself og:url: https://time.com/6993347/trump-debate/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17fb239158d6399e/698a583e457a520ed1d6a74b/GettyImages-2158937135.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: US-VOTE-POLITICS-DEBATE-BIDEN-TRUMP og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump’s Debate Strategy: Let Biden Bury Himself twitter:description: Trump’s Debate Strategy: Let Biden Bury Himself twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17fb239158d6399e/698a583e457a520ed1d6a74b/GettyImages-2158937135.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump’s Debate Strategy: Let Biden Bury Himself > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=897b824e-e86d-4e27-8aad-e04938f72667&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: These Are the Biggest Moments From the First 2024 Presidential Debate [Watch (HLS stream): These Are the Biggest Moments From the First 2024 Presidential Debate](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/aYKZlt9t.m3u8) (2:59)  _Published 2024-06-28. Awkward exchanges, personal jabs, and falsehoods dominated the CNN Presidential Debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump._  by [Eric Cortellessa](https://time.com/author/eric-cortellessa/)  ## Eric Cortellessa Senior Correspondent Jun 28, 2024 4:29 AM UTC Awkward exchanges, personal jabs, and falsehoods dominated the CNN Presidential Debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.  by [Eric Cortellessa](https://time.com/author/eric-cortellessa/)  ## Eric Cortellessa Senior Correspondent Jun 28, 2024 4:29 AM UTC Former President Donald Trump defended the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6\. He called the Charlottesville white supremacist rally a “made up story.” He [boasted](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-climate-debate-h2o%5Fn%5F667dd762e4b036ae7ce9e21b) that “We had H20” during his administration. He tried to assure American voters that he did not have sex with a porn star. Under normal circumstances, Trump’s words would mark defining moments in the first 2024 presidential debate. But they may not make the most lasting impression. Throughout the night, President Joe Biden stumbled over answers and often appeared frail, intensifying concerns that he’s too old for the job. That was Trump’s debate strategy. He recognized that the restrictive format designed to restrain him—no audience in attendance, mikes shut off while the other candidate was speaking—could work to his advantage. He remained more focused and disciplined than he has in previous debates, mostly sticking to usual attack lines and largelyavoiding the kind of belligerent outbursts that are anathema to moderate voters. Trump seemed to calculate that he stood to gain more by letting the visibly aged and gaffe-prone Biden damage himself. When Biden spoke, Trump often grimaced and furrowed his brow. But never did he try to interrupt him. Nor did he try to become the biggest story. Instead, he sought to let Biden self-immolate and feed the perception that he’s too enfeebled to retain the presidency. “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence,” Trump said after one of Biden’s answers. “I don’t think he does either.” Trump couldn’t resist all of his combative impulses. He hit Biden on the issues he believes are most salient to voters: immigration and the economy. Falsely claiming that “millions of people” are crossing the border illegally and “murdering hundreds of thousands,” Trump said the President was allowing terrorists and criminals into the country: “I call it Biden migrant crime.” He blamed Biden for the worldwide inflation triggered by the Covid-induced supply chain crisis, seeking to capitalize on Americans’ economic angst. He criticized Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, saying “he’s become like a Palestinian.” Most personally, Trump invoked the President’s troubled son Hunter, recently found guilty of three felony gun charges. “His son is a convicted felon at a very high level.” At other times, Trump modulated his stance on core policy issues. Asked if he would revivea 19th century statute to ban the mailing of abortion pills, the former President said he would not, adding that he agreed with a recent Supreme Court decision that [rejected](https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court-will-not-restrict-access-abortion-pill-2024-06-13/) anti-abortion groups’ attempts to restrict access to medication abortions. He sought to assuage voter concerns about his past public vows to exact revenge against his political enemies in a second term, saying “my retribution is going to be success.” He also avoided a signature tendency in previous debates. He never once attacked the moderators, CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. Going into the debate, Trump held a slight edge over Biden in the _538_ [average](https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/national/) of national polling. Since a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments, the former President has raised hundreds of millions of dollars while Biden has [gained](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4646708-biden-leads-trump-polls-ddhq/) in the polls. It’s not clear that trend will continue. Biden was widely skewered for struggling in his first face-off with Trump. His voice was raspy and his skin was pale; he oftenseemed unable to land a punch against Trump. During the debate, his staff [leaked](https://x.com/KellyO/status/1806505436457189594) that he has a cold. One of the most unusual moments came toward the end, when the two candidates argued over who was the better golfer. “I just won two club championships,” Trump said. “I’m happy to play golf with you,” Biden shot back, “if you can carry your own bag.” It was the kind of petty, school-yard variety of politics that turns many Americans off. Trump tried to gain the upper hand. “Let’s not act like children,” he said. ## Transcript [00:00] If I'm elected, I'm going to restore Ro Wade. [00:02] So that means he can take the life of the baby in the ninth month and even after birth, [00:08] because some states, Democrat run, take it after birth. [00:12] Again, the governor former governor of Virginia, [00:14] put the baby down then we decide what to do with it. [00:17] Get the total ban on the total initiative relative to [00:22] what we're going to do with more border patrol and more asylum officers. President Trump. [00:28] I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence. [00:31] I don't think he knows what he said either. [00:32] Look, Hamas cannot be allowed to be continued. [00:35] We continue to send our experts and [00:37] our intelligence people as to how they can get Hamas like we did Bin Laden. [00:41] But he said the only one who wants to keep going is Hamas. [00:44] Actually, Israel is the one, [00:45] and you should let him go and let him finish the job. He doesn't want to do it. [00:48] He's become like a Palestinian, [00:50] but they don't like him because he's a very bad Palestinian. He's a weak one. [00:54] On January 6, we had a great border. [00:57] Nobody coming through, very few. [00:59] On January 6, we were energy independent. [01:02] On January 6, we had the lowest taxes ever. [01:04] We had the lowest regulations ever. [01:06] On January 6, we were respected all over the world, [01:10] all over the world, we were respected. [01:12] And then he comes in, and we're now left at. [01:15] We're like, a bunch of stupid people. [01:17] I said peacefully and patriotically. [01:19] He encouraged those folks to go up at Capitol Hill, number one. [01:22] I sat in the dining room off the Oval office. [01:25] He sat there for 3 hours, [01:27] 3 hours watching, begging, [01:29] being begged by his vice president. [01:31] The only person on this stage is a convicted felon is the man I'm looking at right now. [01:36] And the fact of the matter is, [01:38] he is what he's telling you is simply not true. [01:41] But when he talks about a convicted felon, [01:43] his son is a convicted felon, [01:45] at a very high level. His son is convicted. [01:47] Gonna be convicted probably numerous other times. [01:49] Should have been convicted before, [01:51] but his justice department let [01:53] the statute of limitations lapse on the most important things. [01:56] How many billions of dollars do you owe in [01:58] civil penalties for molesting a woman in public, [02:01] for doing a whole range of things of having sex with [02:05] a porn star on the night while your wife was pregnant. [02:09] I mean, what are he talking about? [02:12] You have the morals of an alley cat. [02:14] Give you a minute, sir. I didn't have sex with a Porn Star, number one. [02:18] Number two, that was a case that was started and moved. [02:22] And, by the way, I told you before, [02:24] I'm happy to play golf if you carry your own bag. Think you can do it? [02:29] That's the biggest lie. He's a six handicap of all. [02:32] I was eight handicap. Yeah. [02:34] Eight You know how many I've seen you swing. [02:38] I know you swing. Let's's act like children. [02:41] President Trump we're going to. Let's not act like children. [02:44] Pacific. Russia would have never attacked In preside. [02:48] The question was, will you accept the results of the election, [02:51] regardless of who wins? [02:53] Yes or no, please. If it's a fair and legal and good election, absolutely. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6993347/trump-debate/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6993347/trump-debate/"},"headline":"Trump’s Debate Strategy: Let Biden Bury Himself","datePublished":"2024-06-28T04:29:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-19T07:43:52.956Z","description":"Trump was a more disciplined debater, creating a harsher contrast.","url":"https://time.com/6993347/trump-debate/","keywords":["Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17fb239158d6399e/698a583e457a520ed1d6a74b/GettyImages-2158937135.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Cortellessa","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eric-cortellessa/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17fb239158d6399e/698a583e457a520ed1d6a74b/GettyImages-2158937135.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-VOTE-POLITICS-DEBATE-BIDEN-TRUMP","caption":"US-VOTE-POLITICS-DEBATE-BIDEN-TRUMP","creditText":"AFP via Getty Images—AFP or licensors","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6993347/trump-debate/","name":"Trump’s Debate Strategy: Let Biden Bury Himself"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"These Are the Biggest Moments From the First 2024 Presidential Debate","description":"Awkward exchanges, personal jabs, and falsehoods dominated the CNN Presidential Debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/aYKZlt9t/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-06-28T04:44:05.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/aYKZlt9t.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6993347/trump-debate/","duration":"PT2M59S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6993347/trump-debate/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```