Undecided voters unimpressed with Biden, Trump after first 2024 presidential debate

All eyes were on the first debate of 2024 between President Biden and former President Donald Trump on Thursday night – but as their ad buys proved, both were primarily interested in reaching voters in swing states, which are likely to decide the election.

The Post spoke to undecided voters in battleground states and got their reaction to the showdown — and Biden’s shocking performance.

Nathan Punwani, 36, Phoenix, Arizona, physician

“Seeing Biden yesterday, I think he’s an honest guy and he has good intentions, but it wasn’t the performance I expected from a commander in chief,” said Punwani, who voted for Biden last time.

“He simply wandered in his answers and did not inspire confidence in me.”

He wonders if another candidate could become the Democratic nominee.

“The debate has made me, in some ways, more uncertain because there is now a potential prospect for a new candidate on the Democratic side,” he said. “It’s hard for me to see Biden continue this. What interests me more is who the Democrats would choose as their potential successor in August.”

But Punwani is hesitant to support Trump because he is too divisive: “The ongoing lawsuits and Jan. 6 make his brand a little bit noxious,” he said.

Korry Franke, Nazareth, Pennsylvania area, pilot for a major U.S. airline

Franke didn’t seem to be a big fan of Trump or Biden before debate night. Watching the match, however, made things “very clear” when “watching both.” The visual alone!

We “don’t want insults,” we “just want results,” Franke said.

“I don’t care who was the worst president. I don’t care what their golf scores are. I just want my neighbors and my kids to have a better future than they have today, and I think that’s a clear choice,” he concluded – he’s voting for Trump.

Kunal Lobo, Tucson, Arizona, recent Ph.D. graduate

Lobo voted for Biden in 2020 and Hillary Clinton in 2016, but he is undecided this year.

“I didn’t like him, but I kind of liked him,” he said of Biden 2020, adding that he preferred Andrew Yang and Mike Bloomberg.

Lobo thought Biden would be a unifier, but the president “ended up being extremely divisive. Even if you don’t like Trump, as Bill Maher said, you can’t hate everybody who voted for him.”

He had a mixed reaction to the debate. “It certainly didn’t push me toward Biden, but it didn’t push me more toward Trump because there were so many lies,” he said. Trump “did not answer questions and repeated the same talking points over and over again.”

“It took me away from Biden and almost took me away from Trump as well. I’m almost considering voting for a third party.

Taylor Johnson, 34, of Dayton, Ohio, works in the IT industry

Johnson, an undecided voter, did not watch the entire debate, but saw parts of it and watched more on Friday.

“Honestly, after watching it, I’m a little disappointed,” she said. “I was hoping we would talk about the issues that America is facing right now. From what I saw and heard, it was just kids fighting with each other.”

However, she did reach some conclusions about the candidates.

“I’m also a little concerned about Biden’s cognitive state. Even when he was asked a question, he didn’t seem to be able to answer, but he was dodging the question. It seemed like Trump did a better job.”