US Election Debate: Trump says tariffs will decrease deficits and urges scrutiny of countries like China
The first US presidential debate between President Joe Biden and Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump began on CNN News. It is their first showdown of the 2024 election process.
The first question asked was on the state of the economy, including spiraling inflation, and whether it has been worse off after US President Biden took over.
Biden acknowledged that “inflation had driven prices substantially higher than at the start of his term but said he deserves credit for putting 'things back together again' following the coronavirus pandemic,” per Reuters.
Biden said that he aims to reduce housing prices, increase construction, and limit rent caps if he gets elected for the second term.
Trump condemned elevated inflation levels. He suggested that tariffs would decrease deficits and urged scrutiny of countries like China.
When asked about the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump said that If Russia respected President Biden, he wouldn’t have invaded Ukraine. He added that Biden in fact encouraged Putin to get into the war.
“Shortly after I win the presidency, I will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled,” Trump said.
Biden refuted saying that former President Trump wants to get out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and start a nuclear war.
Further, both candidates slammed each other on topics such as immigration, abortion rights, foreign policy and the Middle East conflict.
“Would you support the creation of an independent Palestinian state in order to support peace in the region,” CNN moderator Dana Bash asked Trump.
“I’d have to see,” Trump replied.
Trump called Biden’s withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan “the most embarrassing day in the history of our country’s life.”
As the debate drew to a close, Trump finished ahead of Biden in speaking time at the close of the debate, according to CNN News, even as both candidates had an equal chance to respond to questions.
Some Democrats expressed their concerns about President Biden’s performance while the Trump campaign declared victory.
US Dollar keeps pushing higher
The US dollar catches a fresh bid against its major currency rivals, mainly driven by surging USD/JPY, as the Japanese Yen slides further. The debate seems to have a limited impact across the FX board. At the time of writing, the US Dollar Index is up 0.17% on the day to trade near 106.10.
US Dollar PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the Australian Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.17% | 0.12% | 0.19% | 0.23% | 0.34% | 0.30% | 0.14% | |
| EUR | -0.17% | -0.04% | 0.03% | 0.06% | 0.16% | 0.13% | -0.02% | |
| GBP | -0.12% | 0.04% | 0.06% | 0.09% | 0.20% | 0.17% | -0.01% | |
| JPY | -0.19% | -0.03% | -0.06% | 0.00% | 0.13% | 0.08% | -0.06% | |
| CAD | -0.23% | -0.06% | -0.09% | -0.01% | 0.10% | 0.07% | -0.12% | |
| AUD | -0.34% | -0.16% | -0.20% | -0.13% | -0.10% | -0.03% | -0.21% | |
| NZD | -0.30% | -0.13% | -0.17% | -0.08% | -0.07% | 0.03% | -0.18% | |
| CHF | -0.14% | 0.02% | 0.01% | 0.06% | 0.12% | 0.21% | 0.18% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
Author
Dhwani Mehta
FXStreet
Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.
