Clash and Chaos: A Recap of the First Presidential Debate

The long-awaited first debate of the 2020 presidential election between President Donald J. Trump and former Vice President Joseph Biden Jr. took place on Tuesday night, marking an important and exciting moment in what has been a unique election cycle. This event, moderated by Fox News anchor Christopher Wallace, was entertaining, though extremely undignified for a presidential debate. Despite Wallace’s best efforts, the verbal sparring between Trump and Biden got comically out of hand at times. Going into the night, it was clear that President Trump had significant ground to cover in the polls, and many wondered how the president would choose to present himself to try and win over undecided voters. This question was quickly answered in the first half of the 90-minute showdown: Trump, from the beginning of the debate, looked to attack Biden and even Wallace. 

In between incoherent jabs and interjections, here is what the two men covered:

The Supreme Court

During the segment concerning the recent vacancy in the Supreme Court caused by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the president was adamant that he had every right to push through his nomination of Amy Coney Barrett. Biden countered this, arguing that the American people must have a say in such a nomination, citing concerns over the potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act as an issue at stake. Trump questioned the accuracy of Biden’s statement and claimed that Biden wanted to eliminate private health care altogether, calling him a socialist. When Biden attempted to clarify his healthcare plan, the President branded him as a radical left-wing puppet.  Furthermore, Trump made reference to Biden’s 47 year period in politics, both at this point in the debate and throughout the night, stating that the vice president had accomplished nothing during those years. Trump continued to press Biden, mocking his primary victory over Senator Bernie Sanders as narrow claiming that Biden “got lucky.” Biden fired back, calling Trump a liar and arguing that the president has no real plan for health care, citing Trump’s lack of experience and expertise. During this segment Trump was disruptive, catching Biden off guard with an array of ridicules. Wallace seemed hard-pressed to keep Trump in check and keep the discussion civil. Meanwhile, Trump claimed that Wallace was on Biden’s side. It was evident that Trump’s constant interruptions and antics frustrated the Democratic nominee as Biden asked Trump if he would “shut up” and called him a “clown” multiple times throughout the debate. 

Covid-19

As the debate went on, Biden found his footing and gained momentum, and Wallace slowly began to reestablish his control as the moderator. During the questions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, Biden made strong appeals to statistics and the experts and gave a sobering reminder of what he viewed as a colossal failure on the part of the President. Biden criticized Trump for failing to trust the experts and downplaying the virus’s dangers, stating that Trump is to blame for the deaths of 200,000 Americans. In response, the President said to Biden “you don’t have it in your blood” when lauding his own management of the pandemic. When Biden called Trump’s large rallies irresponsible, Trump declared that Biden was incapable of attracting the crowds required for such events. The President then began to insist that a vaccine would be coming very soon and doubled down on his reopening of the country. Additionally, Trump scrutinized Democrat governors for their lockdown measures, exclaiming that their policies were “political” as he highlighted the negative effects of lockdown on the American people.  

The Economy

During Wallace’s questions about the economy, Trump maintained that he ran the best economy in history before the pandemic, citing the “record low” unemployment before the pandemic, and proudly describing the current recovery as “V-shaped” (a sharp decline followed by equally sharp growth). In response, Biden went after the President for dodging tax payments, referencing that it is the elites who have done well in this pandemic and in Trump’s economy rather than the people. Biden, who referred to the recovery as “K-shaped” (in a k-shaped recovery, parts of the economy may see strong growth while others continue to decline), Biden argued for the elimination of Trump’s tax cuts, saying that his economic plan will generate more jobs, thereby justifying the increase in  government spending it will generate. Both candidates attacked each other on the issue of China with Trump’s rhetoric of keeping businesses and manufacturing in America, clashing with Biden’s assertions. In one such moment, Biden told the audience that Trump “blew” the booming economy that he and President Obama had created, going on to call Trump’s trade deficit with China ‘The Art of the Steal’. This striking remark by Biden led Trump to target Biden’s son, giving the debate an uncomfortable personal tone. However, Biden and Wallace were able to quickly dispel these attacks from the President.

Racism & Police Reform

Biden invoked the events of Charlottesville when both candidates began to discuss the issues of race, commenting that Trump did not condemn the racists who attended the rally. Biden condemned Trump as a cowardly dog whistler, who had done little to help African-Americans. Biden managed to take a measured stance on law enforcement, only denouncing the “bad apples,” much to Trump’s disappointment. Biden’s overarching message was one of unity as he emphasized community-based police reform, but said that he was against defunding the police. The President took this opportunity to point out Biden’s past support for the controversial 1994 Crime Bill, as well as his lack of endorsement from law enforcement and the military. Trump took a harsh stance on the demonstrations and riots that have taken place across American cities, denying that the protests had been peaceful and slamming the violence of the “radical left.” Trump stated that he wanted to end the chaos by intervening with the National Guard but the Democrat governors had hamstrung his efforts. Trump also alleged that there would be “problems like you have never seen before” across the nation if Biden were president. Following this, Chris Wallace questioned Trump’s elimination of racial sensitivity training in the federal government, here, Trump unapologetically lambasted such training as anti-American. When pressed by Wallace, Trump chose to not disavow the organization known as the ‘Proud Boys’, commanding them to “stand back and stand by” while he pivoted the discussion towards the violence of leftists groups like Antifa. Biden, who said that Trump simply “pours gasoline on the fire” rather than working to solve the issue, closed this portion of the debate by explaining that a continuance of Trump’s presidency would only make America far weaker and more divided. 

Climate Change

On the topic of climate change, Trump expressed that he had done a good job on curbing carbon emissions without tanking the economy. He called the Paris Accords a disaster and largely ignored Wallace, who pressed the President on his trust in the scientific community. Trump criticized Biden’s views on climate change, arguing that such strict regulations would destroy the economy. Biden, on the other hand, stressed the need to rejoin the Paris Accords to keep the world accountable and cement the move towards renewable energy. Biden emphasized the benefits of moderate practical ‘green’ policy such as the creation of new jobs and tax incentives to create a safer, more sustainable economy.

Voting & The Election

The final portion of the debate covered the topic of electoral integrity in an election that will be largely unconventional. Biden told the audience that mail-in ballots are wise and safe in this pandemic, and said that there is no risk of fraud, bashing Trump for fear-mongering. Biden qualified his trust in the system by saying that he is willing to accept the results of the fair election. Conversely to his opponent, Trump called mail-in ballots “a disaster” and prone to fraud, claiming that pro-Trump ballots have been found in garbage bins. Furthermore, he brought up the fact that some ballots will be counted seven days after the election, calling the election “rigged.” Nevertheless, Trump did express some trust in the Supreme Court to examine the results of the election if they were required to do so. Overall, Trump implored Americans to vote in person, insinuating that this election is going to be a “fraud,” the likes of which “you’ve never seen.” Trump pledged that he would not submit to a “fraudulent election” where his opponents cheated.

Final Verdict 

It is safe to say that this debate pleased nobody and depressed many. Despite the range of topics covered, much the contest consisted of unproductive bullying and interrupting. Altogether, these debates will have a marginal effect on the election with the majority of voters already decided. Even so, the frustrating and disturbing content of this debate has left many Americans frightened for the future.