Biden and Trump spar over China, economy and security in debate about America’s future
- Joe Biden and Donald Trump presented starkly different visions for America’s place in the world in a high-stakes debate
US President Joe Biden took aim at former president Donald Trump’s proposed tariff hikes during their first presidential debate of 2024, while the presumptive Republican nominee accused Biden of being “afraid” to deal with China and raising the risk of global conflict.
Speaking Thursday at CNN’s studios in Atlanta, Georgia, Biden accused Trump of planning to make the average American pay US$2500 more per year with his proposal to a impose a tariff of 10 per cent or more on all imports. “He will increase the taxes on middle class people,” Biden said.
Trump defended his plan, noting that Biden has kept much of the tariffs imposed on hundreds of billions’ worth of Chinese goods by his administration.
“China’s going to own us if you keep allowing them to do what they’re doing to us as a country. They are killing us as a country, Joe,” the former president said, accusing Biden of being a “Manchurian Candidate” in China’s pocket.
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US presidential debate: Biden and Trump spar over economy, war in Ukraine
Instead of raising prices on consumers, Trump claimed his plan would lead to countries like China to “pay us a lot of money, reduce our deficit tremendously, and give us a lot of power for other things”.
