High stakes for Biden and Trump as first 2024 presidential debate approaches

The stakes are high for President Joe Biden's first debate of the 2024 race to the White House, which is set to take place on June 27.

The election is anybody's to win, as the candidates are running neck-in-neck.

While former U.S. President Donald Trump leads incumbent Biden in all the key battleground states according to the latest Real Clear Politics poll averages, he does so by only a hair in some states.

The first presidential debate will see the two candidates square off on national television and proclaim their vision for the nation's future.

"The debate is very high profile because it is a close race and this will be people's first chance to see the two men side-by-side," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua.

Indeed, the two have not faced off since 2020, the year that Biden was elected.

Much has changed since then. The worst inflation in 40 years has impacted the wallets of lower income Americans, as well as retirees on a fixed budget and young people. Rents are up significantly, and it's harder to purchase a home now due to the highest interest rates in decades.

Millions of migrants are illegally pouring over the southern border, straining the resources of cities and towns nationwide, according to some, while others argue they are reducing wages.

Critics raised Biden's age issue. At 81, he is the oldest ever sitting president.

At the same time, Trump has recently been convicted of a felony, although it remains unknown whether the conviction will stick upon appeal. He is also charged with dozens of additional crimes in several other cases.

"I expect a lot of fireworks, with Biden saying Trump is a convicted felon while the former president tries to show that Biden is too old to do an effective job," West said.

"Most Americans have made up their minds but there is 5 to 7 percent of voters who are undecided and the debate could make a big difference to them," West said of the tight race.

Experts said Trump's best bet to score points with voters is to behave in a more "presidential" way than in past debates, which means refraining from interrupting his opponent, launching personal insults or yelling, as he's often done in the past.

"This would be his best shot," said Clay Ramsay, a researcher at the Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland.

Trump could also do well to highlight the fact that inflation was low during his presidency, the economy was humming, and the stock market was boosting people's investment portfolios and retirement accounts to new highs, experts said.

As for Biden, highlighting Trump's recent felony conviction and maintaining a calm demeanor -- unlike Trump, who is prone to public temper tantrums -- could help him in the debate, experts said.

Ramsay told Xinhua that Biden could take the high road "and then mention more in sorrow than in anger that Trump is a convicted felon, and state clearly that Trump is under indictment" for another alleged crime.

The Ukraine crisis is likely to come up in the debate, with each candidate making his case.

President Biden continues to send billions of U.S. dollars to Ukraine, while Trump has been deeply critical of this, and has threatened to cut U.S. aid to Ukraine quickly if reelected.

At the same time, the war in Gaza continues to rage, and some voters, especially young people, disapprove of Biden's Israel policy.

Trump has been open in criticizing Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict, and the issue is sure to be one of contention between the two candidates.

Immigration is also likely to emerge as a major issue in the debate.

Recent years have seen millions of migrants pour illegally over the southern U.S. border. Trump has been highly critical of the situation, referring to it as an "invasion."

During his administration, Trump began building a wall to prevent migrants from illegally entering the United States over the southern border.

For his part, Biden is likely to slam Republicans for refusing to cooperate on the immigration issue.

Biden could highlight a new policy he implemented earlier this month, which prevents undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens from being deported.