Biden falters as Trump unleashes falsehoods during presidential debate | U.S. & World [Video]

By Helen Coster, Steve Holland, Joseph Ax

ATLANTA (Reuters)i -President Joe Biden delivered a shaky, halting performance while his Republican rival Donald Trump battered him with a series of often false attacks at their debate on Thursday, as the two oldest presidential candidates ever exchanged personal insults ahead of the November election.

The two men 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.

Biden’s allies tried to put a brave face on the evening, and two White House officials said Biden had a cold. 

But the president’s poor performance rattled his fellow Democrats and will likely deepen voter concerns that the 81-year-old is too old to serve another four-year term.

One top Biden donor, who did not want to be identified while criticizing the president, …