Republican candidate for the US presidential election Donald Trump accused the President and Democratic candidate Joe Biden of taking money from China and called him the “Manchurian candidate” during their first presidential debate on Thursday. The debate, held at CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta, kicked off the 2024 election cycle.
Trump said the US currently has the “largest deficit in the country’s history.” “We have the largest deficit with China. He gets money from China. He’s a Manchurian candidate. He gets money from China,” Trump said during the heated debate.
Trump: “He gets money from China. He’s a Manchurian candidate.”
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) June 28, 2024
The term “The Manchurian Candidate” appears to be a reference to Frank Sinatra’s 1962 film of the same name. The film tells the story of Raymond Shaw, an American soldier who is captured and brainwashed by communist forces so that he can become a sleeper agent and carry out a political assassination.
Frank Sinatra played Shaw’s commanding officer, Major Bennett Marco, who begins to unravel a sinister conspiracy through disturbing nightmares. The film was remade in 2004 with Denzel Washington as Major Bennett Marco.
The two presidential candidates clashed on a variety of issues, including the economy, abortion and immigration, during the high-profile debate.
President Biden, 81, delivered a scathing critique of Trump’s presidency, at times stumbling over his words. The 78-year-old Republican candidate used Biden’s words to place the blame for the Ukraine war squarely on Biden.
“If we had a leader, this would be a war that should never have started.”
He accused Biden of giving “$200 billion or more to Ukraine,” claiming that the amount was “huge” and that “there has never been a greater amount of money given before.”
Trump also accused Biden of siding with the Palestinians in the Gaza conflict, claiming he refused to support Israel against Hamas. “He doesn’t want to do that. He’s become like a Palestinian — but they don’t like him because he’s a very bad Palestinian. He’s a weakling,” Trump said.