Los Angeles, United States: The US presidential debate between the oldest candidates ever to run for office descended into a heated argument over golf skills on Thursday.

In their first face-to-face encounter of an already drawn-out campaign, 81-year-old Joe Biden and 78-year-old Donald Trump exchanged barbs and accusations for 90 minutes on prime-time television.

The debate featured name-calling: “You’re the worst!” “No, you’re the worst!”

There were also accusations: “You’re a whiner!”

And then they argued about their golf handicaps.

“He can’t hit a ball 50 yards,” Trump said, one of the few moments the two men directly addressed each other. “He challenged me to a golf match. He can’t hit a ball 50 yards.”

Trump boasted about his own vitality, insisting, “I’m in as good a shape as I was years ago.”

Biden, not to be outdone, insisted he was proficient on the green. “I’d be happy to have a driving contest,” he said. “I got my handicap down to a six when I was vice president.”

Trump scoffed, “A six handicap?” he snorted. “I’ve seen your swing. I know your swing.”

The exchange came toward the end of the CNN-hosted debate, which began without the customary handshake and quickly deteriorated from there.

The animosity between the two men was palpable, with Biden taking an early shot at Trump, saying he had “the morals of an alley cat.”

US Presidential Debate 2024: Issues and Accusations

“How many billions of dollars do you owe in civil penalties for molesting a woman in public… for having sex with a porn star… while your wife was pregnant,” Biden said, referring to Trump’s alleged affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Trump denied the affair, but a New York jury found him guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush-money payments to Daniels.

Trump seized numerous opportunities to label Biden as “weak” and not “a leader,” also targeting Biden’s perceived mental frailties, a recurring concern in polls.

“I took two cognitive tests. I aced them, both of them, as you know. We made it public,” Trump said. “He took none. I’d like to see him take one, just one, a real easy one, like go through the first five questions. He couldn’t do it.

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