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As the first presidential debate of 2024 wrapped up on Thursday evening, China started dunking President Joe Biden for his oratory style.
His performance, marked by confusing remarks, mumbling, and a hoarse voice, was so lackluster that it had prominent Democrats voicing questions about their support for him. Business Insider's Bryan Metzger and Brent D. Griffiths called it a "complete disaster."
Neither presidential candidate is popular in China. Former President Donald Trump is often the subject of memes claiming he's secretly a Communist Party member trying to destroy the US from within.
As both men walked onstage in Atlanta, people joked that one was "trying to prove he's not crazy, and the other trying to prove he's not stupid."
But Biden has been taking the brunt of the jokes on Weibo, China's version of X. Minutes after the debate closed, a topic saying he was "looking like a robot and barely blinking" began picking up steam.
It didn't matter what either man said about the economy, veterans' affairs, or foreign policy — Chinese people just cared about how they looked and sounded.
"Obvious signs of dementia," one person commented on a post from Russian state media RT that showed a clip of Biden's furrowed brows.
"In today's first TV debate, Trump won," wrote the popular blogger Housha Moonlight. "It doesn't matter what the debate was about. The key is that with wit and flexibility, Trump successfully highlighted the old and dying appearance of the sleeping king."
"I'm worried that Deng Deng will die suddenly during this debate," another poster wrote, referring to a nickname for Biden.
To be sure, Weibo is a heavily moderated platform, but it can be useful for observing narratives and language that survive the scrutiny of censors.
A common criticism in China toward US democracy is how old its leaders are. Biden is 81 this year, while Trump is 78. Xi Jinping, the leader of China, is 71.
Indeed, the debate on Thursday prompted hundreds of posts and comments remarking on the ages of both candidates.
"Thanks for the hard work of two old veterans," one person joked.
