The First 2020 Presidential Debate
The First Presidential Debate of 2020 took place on Tuesday, September 29, and the world is in shambles over the 90 minutes of pure chaos and incoherence it generated. It was expected that this debate would get heated, but many were surprised by just how far it went.
From the start of the debate, President Trump interrupted former Vice President Joe Biden as well as moderator Chris Wallace, creating highly unproductive commentary between the two sides, which resulted in many questions going unanswered or not getting ample focus. The candidates spent so much time going back and forth and making personal attacks on each other that the actual topic at hand got little attention, and left viewers angry about the lack of professionalism that was displayed by America’s presidential candidates. Ultimately, neither side did much to expand their voter base.
Despite the feuding, there were a number of important takeaways that left a lasting impression on the viewers. The first was President Trump’s refusal to condemn white supremicist violence. When addressing the far-right extremist group known as the Proud Boys, he stated that they should “stand back and stand by.” The Proud Boys took this as a sign of encouragement from the president, and they promptly added this quote to their logo. Another notable takeaway from the night was Biden’s personal attacks on Trump. Many people were surprised when Biden told Trump to “shut up,” as well as when he called him a “clown” and “the worst president America has ever had.” While some are praising Biden for his words, many are disappointed in him for stooping to Trump’s level of unprofessionalism. Similarly, Trump made many personal attacks on Biden. The most noteworthy one being Trump’s attack on Biden’s sons, one of whom passed away in 2015, and the other who is a recovering drug addict.
Aside from the candidates' direct criticisms of each other, viewers were also left unsatisfied by the absence of substantive arguments on the topics of climate change and COVID-19. Trump attempted to tie Biden to the policies of the far left in regards to Medicare for All, defunding the police, and the Green New Deal, but this backfired when Biden restated his positions to align with more moderate views. The very fact that Biden seemingly changed his stance on many issues caused confusion and disappointment among many of his far left supporters, as his website contradicts this moderate stance.
As for COVID-19, Trump had nothing new to say. Trump’s tactic for addressing his poor management of the virus was to simply not address it at all. When Biden stated that a lot more lives will be lost due to Coronavirus unless Trump gets “a lot smarter a lot quicker,” Trump quickly deflected the attention from himself, and responded by insulting Biden’s intelligence, claiming that Biden did not know what he was talking about because he “graduated either the lowest or almost the lowest in [his] class.” He then insisted that a vaccine would be available soon, and that “two million would be dead” if Biden had been in charge of handling the pandemic.
In an interview following the debate, Chris Wallace said it best when he suggested that the debate was a “terrible missed opportunity,” expressing his disappointment in the evening as a whole, and a waste of what could have been a useful time for voters to hear about the serious matters that our country is facing. The consistent interruptions from both sides and the lack of discussion about significant issues stirred up controversy as well as fear for our country in what some are calling the worst presidential debate in American History.
By Sophia Sanders