Biden, Trump square off in testy debate

US President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump shared the stage on Thursday night in the first debate of the 2024 election season.

It was a rematch for Biden and Trump, who faced each other twice in 2020. The presumptive Democratic and Republican party nominees debated for slightly more than 90 minutes in a studio at CNN's headquarters in Atlanta for the first of their two debates.

The two men traded barbs on abortion, immigration, the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, their handling of the economy and even their golf games, as they each sought to shake up what opinion polls show has been a virtually tied race for months.

The candidates did not shake hands when they were introduced. Throughout their answers to moderators and responses to each other's comments, they attacked one another, with each repeatedly calling the other a "liar" and Trump at one point calling Biden a "bad Palestinian" when the Israel-Hamas conflict came up.

Biden's voice was clearly hoarse when he spoke.

At one point after a question on immigration, Trump said about Biden's answers, "I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence, and I don't think he knows what he said either."

During the debate, Trump trod carefully on the issue of Israel when asked about whether he would support a Palestinian state, but criticized Biden for trying to hold Israel back from winning the fight against Hamas, saying that the president was now "like a Palestinian".

Biden proclaimed his support for Israel and laid out his plan for ending the conflict.

When asked about the conflict in Ukraine, Trump said it would never have happened if he had won in 2020.

Biden brought up Trump's recent felony conviction in a New York courtroom, related to a "hush money" payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election, in the context of those who were charged with crimes during the Jan 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

"The only person on the stage that is a convicted felon is the man I'm looking at right now," he said. "The idea that those people are patriots? Come on."

When Trump was asked to speak about his 34 felony convictions, he brought up Hunter Biden's felony convictions.

The debate was held two weeks before Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in New York. Jurors also have found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll.

Tight race

With less than five months before the election on Nov 5, opinion polls show Biden and Trump in a tight race that could come down to a handful of key swing states.

They also have shown concern by voters about their age — especially Biden's — and their capacity to serve as president. Biden is the oldest US president at 81, and Trump, 78, was among the oldest to serve.

Their ages came up near the end of the debate.

"I took two cognitive tests; I aced them," Trump said, when asked about his age. "I just won two club(golf) championships, not even senior. To do that, you have to be quite smart, and you have to hit the ball a long way."

Biden responded by going after Trump's reported height and weight. "Take a look at what he is. I'd be happy to have a driving contest with him."

After the debate, Biden said he believes he did well in the debate.

"I think we did well," Biden told reporters as he dropped by a Waffle House restaurant in Atlanta for post-debate food.

As for Trump, he was expected to hold a rally on Friday in Virginia, a state he has lost twice but hopes to put into play in November.

Agencies contributed to this story.