President Biden and former President Donald Trump were put in the hot seat regarding Middle East policy in Thursday night's first presidential debate of the 2024 campaign when asked respectively about leverage over Hamas and Israel to end the war and support for a Palestinian state.
Biden outlined the three phases of his ceasefire proposal and said Hamas is the only one who wants the war to continue and is standing in the way of the deal.
"We're still pushing hard for them to accept," Biden said.
He added that Hamas has been greatly weakened and should be eliminated.
Israel remained a crucial topic for Republican and Democratic candidates alike
While not naming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden acknowledged Netanyahu's claims that he's denied Israel weapons.
"The only thing I've denied Israel was 2,000-pound bombs; they don't work very well in populated areas," he said. "We are providing Israel with all the weapons they need and when they need them."
Biden added that "he's the guy that organized the world against Iran" when they had a full-blown ballistic missile attack on Israel.
Biden touted that not one Israeli was accidentally killed.
"We saved Israel. We are the biggest producer of support for Israel out of anyone in the world," Biden said.
Trump said "he'd have to see" when asked if he'd support a Palestinian state.
Referencing Biden's claim that Hamas is the only one who wants war, Trump said Israel wants war.
"And he should let them go and let them finish the job," Trump said of Biden. "He doesn't want to do it. He's become like a Palestinian, but they don't like him because he's a very bad Palestinian. He's a weak one."
During the debate, Trump claimed that Hamas would never have invaded Israel if he were president.
Regarding the Israel-Hamas war, Biden stated, "We are the biggest supporter of Israel in the world," adding, "Hamas cannot be allowed to continue."
There were no questions about humanitarian aid to Gaza or specific day-after plans.
There were also no questions on Lebanon or rising antisemitism in the US and around the world.
The two men also traded barbs on abortion, immigration, the wars 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.
Background behind the highly anticipated debate
Biden and Trump have made little effort to disguise their mutual dislike. During their first debate in 2020, Trump aggressively talked over Biden in a performance that turned off many voters.
Both men entered the debate in Atlanta with political vulnerabilities that presented a mix of risk and opportunity.
The clash also arrived at a moment of profound polarization and deep-seated anxiety among voters about the state of American politics. Two-thirds of voters said in a May Reuters/Ipsos poll that they were concerned violence could follow the election, nearly four years after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol.
Trump, 78, took the stage as a felon who still faces a trio of criminal cases, including charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Biden, 81, was under intense pressure to avoid verbal stumbles and deliver a forceful debate performance after months of Republican assertions his faculties have dulled with age.
Ahead of the debate, each campaign was set to launch a new ad campaign attacking its rival.
The Biden campaign said it would launch a new ad blitz in the Atlanta area focused on what a second Trump presidency could look like, including threats to reproductive freedom, a ban on abortion, cuts to Social Security, and undermining democracy.
CNN attempted to avoid cross-talk by muting the candidates' microphones when it was not their turn to speak. The debate also took place without an audience, and neither candidate was allowed to bring prepared notes or props, though they were allowed to have a pen and paper.
Biden advisers say he emphasized Trump's role in threatening abortion access, portray him as a danger to democratic norms, and remind voters of Trump's often chaotic 2017-2021 term in office.
Trump focused on Biden's stewardship of the southern US border in the face of record numbers of migrants crossing illegally as well as the economy, particularly inflation, while also questioning his world leadership at a time of war in Gaza and Ukraine, Trump advisers said.
The second and final debate in this year's campaign is scheduled for September.