Thursday saw an unprecedented event in U.S. history, as Donald Trump and Joe Biden, the presumptive nominees of the Republican and Democratic parties, respectively, engaged in a presidential debate. It was the first time a current and a former president participated in a debate.
Many voters anticipated how it would turn out, especially because of the volatility of U.S. politics. However, they probably didn’t expect the 81-year-old Biden to show his age, as he seemed hoarse and unintelligible at times during the program. In addition, the presidential hopefuls also used the opportunity to attack one another personally.
The turn of events had some NBA and NFL personalities reacting wildly on X (formerly Twitter), with retired wide receiver Dez Bryant “begging” people to watch the debate.
IM BEGGING YALL TO TUNE INTO THIS DAMN DEBATE IF YALL NOT WATCHING 😂
PURE COMEDY!
AIRING EACH OTHER OUT IS PURE RACHET WORK 😂
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) June 28, 2024
Biden’s occasional struggles to put his thoughts together had people like Miami Dolphins long snapper Blake Ferguson and controversial football icon Antonio Brown offering their observations.
He looks like a corpse
— Blake Ferguson (@blakeferguson48) June 28, 2024
Trump gave him “is this dude retarded” double take 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/Cj21BVWrhx
— AB (@AB84) June 28, 2024
I’m curious wtf Joe Biden is staring at
Must be a child in the audience
— AB (@AB84) June 28, 2024
Of course, the below-the-belt attacks by the candidates elicited some interesting reactions. Biden had no problem bringing up Trump’s criminal convictions, while the former president invoked his nemesis’ son’s own conviction at some point.
Trump is hitting below the belt heavy 😂
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) June 28, 2024
Joe Biden giving Trump a hard time about sex with a porn star on the debate
America 🇺🇸
— AB (@AB84) June 28, 2024
On the other hand, NBA veterans Patrick Beverley and Kyle Kuzma focused more on the discussion of the policies that were supposed to be the highlight of the debate.
Trump “idk what he said at the end of this, I don’t think he knows what he said also”
Debate was 🔥🔥🔥
Childcare
Mental health
EducationMy TOP 3 what’s yours?
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) June 28, 2024
No one spoke about child care. That didn’t sit right with me.
And no one brought it up again to speak about.
Golf, and criticizing each other.
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) June 28, 2024
https://t.co/8tjgofSql1 pic.twitter.com/YToPoQiojk
— kuz (@kylekuzma) June 28, 2024
Despite some of the negative aspects of what could be the first of a string of debates between the political opponents, the country would likely be better off having one of them secure the presidency than having Brown go through with his suggestion.
Maybe I should run for president
— AB (@AB84) June 28, 2024
Some of those who watched the debate said that Trump won the face-off. Meanwhile, some leading Democratic figures are reportedly worried about the incumbent president’s performance, with some of them apparently already thinking about replacing him on the presidential ticket.
There are still several months before the 2024 presidential election takes place. With both the NBA and NFL currently in the offseason, the league’s players have some time on their hands to monitor the lead-up to what could be a monumental election. One can expect many of them to continue voicing out their opinions in the following weeks and months.
