Donald Trump opened Thursday's debate by bragging about the state of the economy while he was in office as well as his handling of the pandemic. He said: “Everything was rocking good." He also said the U.S. economy was ready to start paying down its national debt before the pandemic. But that’s not true. Budget deficits were increasing under Trump because his 2017 tax cuts didn’t pay for themselves as he had promised they would. Trump inherited a budget deficit of $585 billion and it ballooned to $984 billion in 2019, only to climb above $3 trillion in 2020 after the pandemic hit, according to the White House Office of Management and Budget. --- The first general election debate of the 2024 season has kicked off. U.S. President Joe Biden and his Republican rival, Donald Trump, are squaring off as the candidates attempt to lure currently undecided voters. Biden has the opportunity to reassure voters that that, at 81, he is capable of guiding the U.S. through a range of challenges. The 78-year-old Trump could use the moment to try to move past his felony conviction and appeal to tens of millions that he’s temperamentally suited to return to the Oval Office. Thursday’s debate in Atlanta is the first to be hosted by CNN.