Hot-button topics include inflation, immigration, abortion access and democracy.

ByABC NEWS
June 27, 2024

The presidential debate on Thursday will showcase Joe Biden and Donald Trump going toe-to-toe on policy for the first time this election cycle.

The matchup is the only time a sitting president has squared off with a former president, meaning each candidate will have a record to defend and a possible second-term strategy to lay out to the American people.

Hot-button topics all but certain to be discussed include immigration, the economy, reproductive rights and democracy.

Here is a closer look at where Biden and Trump stand on key election-year issues, as reflected and ranked in a recent ABC News/Ipsos poll.

Cost of living

Inflation has consistently polled as a top issue for voters, leaving both candidates eager to draw favorable contrasts at the debate.

On the campaign trail, Trump has frequently criticized Biden for the nation's yearslong bout of elevated inflation. Consumer prices have climbed roughly 20% over the three-plus years since Biden took office, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show. "Inflation has killed our economy," Trump said at a rally in Racine, Wisconsin, last week. "It's a nation buster."

For his part, Biden has acknowledged that price increases remain too high but he has touted significant progress in bringing inflation down well below its peak. He has also noted that wage increases are outpacing inflation, leaving Americans with greater spending power despite the high prices.

On policy, Trump has targeted Biden over environmental regulations such as limits placed on some oil and gas drilling, though last year the U.S. produced more oil than any year in its history, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Biden, by contrast, has promoted proposals that seek to alleviate stubborn prices for goods such as housing and prescription drugs. He has portrayed Trump's proposed tax cuts and tariffs as policies that would raise prices and benefit the wealthy.

"They're fighting for billionaires on Park Avenue -- I'm fighting for families like the ones I grew up with in Scranton," Biden said in a statement earlier this month.

--ABC News' Max Zhan