A Presidential debate debrief: A glimpse at 2020’s first presidential debate
A Presidential debate debrief: A glimpse at 2020’s first presidential debate
Emma Valdiserri / Asst. News Editor
The 2020 presidential debates have kicked off and it’s safe to say the first one, like much of 2020, was unlike anything America has ever seen. The first debate between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, took place on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Chris Wallace of “Fox News Sunday” moderated the debate, though initially was reluctant to be a moderator, admitting in an interview with The New York Times that he had “never dreamt it would go off the tracks the way it did.” Wallace is likely not the only individual who felt this way, as the debate dropped the jaws and struck the ears of many.
Preceding the debate, each of the candidate’s families took their seats in an empty audience that would normally be filled with spectators. Trump’s family ignored the mandatory mask rule at the debate while Biden’s family members were seen wearing face coverings. During the debate, President Trump even criticized Biden for always wearing a mask. Coincidentally, the President and his wife, Melania Trump, tested positive for the virus on Oct. 1.
USD students, through the USD Votes program in collaboration with the university’s political science department, had the chance to participate in a discussion board of the debate through a messaging platform called Discord. The discussion served as an academic space where students and faculty could share their ideas or ask questions about the debate.
The debate itself consisted of six segments, all chosen and announced by Chris Wallace. The segments included President Trump’s recent SCOTUS nomination, COVID-19, the economy, race, climate change, and the heated controversy around election fraud.
Each segment was intended to allow each candidate two minutes to take their position on the topic at hand. It then was meant to transition into an open discussion. However, the debate was overruled by constant interruption between the two candidates which distracted them from focusing on the very crucial and relevant topics at hand.
USD junior undergraduate, Natalie Gubas, expressed her concern about each of the candidates’ performance.
“(They) didn’t say much of actual substance,” Gubas said. “I feel like the level of discourse between politicians is getting less sophisticated and more about who can say the most one-liners that will appeal to their base.”
Senior undergraduate, Kira Ford, as well as Gubas and some of those who participated in the Discord discussion, expressed their disappointment about how the debate was overrun by personal attacks.
“Watching the debate was like watching two children fight over who is the best,” Ford said. “For example, President Trump brought up Biden’s son, Hunter Biden’s drug addiction, and Biden claimed that Trump is the worst president America has ever had.”
Leading into the debate, the controversy around President Trump’s recent Supreme Court Justice nomination, Amy Coney Barrett, to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg, triggered discussion around other topics like the state of healthcare in America and the future of women’s rights.
When it came to COVID-19, President Trump named it the “China plague,” and repeatedly claimed that if Biden had been in his position, nearly two million people would have died. On the other hand, Biden based his argument on the fact that Trump withheld his knowledge about the danger and rapid spread of the virus when it surfaced in February.
“Trump trying to make it seem like the coronavirus is not a big deal, even making fun of Biden for constantly wearing a mask is completely ridiculous,” Ford added.
This segment also covered the reopening of the economy and the education system. Trump argued Biden would destroy the country and its economy if elected. In rebuttal, Biden claimed his priorities to lie in the safety of American people before returning the country to a pre-pandemic sense of normalcy.
Since the debate, one of the major headlines has been about Trump’s refusal to denounce white supremacy during the segment of race.
“When the moderator asked Trump outright if he was willing to condemn white supremacy and racist militias and Trump responded by telling those individuals to ‘stand back and stand by,’ it became even more clear to me how divisive and dangerous it is to have him in office,” Gubas said.
The remaining segments about climate change, the economy, and election fraud brought forth little information about policy from Trump and Biden, and instead leaned towards chaos and personal accusations. In regards to voting, Trump expressed his concern about election fraud while Biden addressed the nation, encouraging them to go out and vote in time for the election.
Throughout this tumultuous debate, The New York Times ran a livestream fact-checking database that exposed many of Trump’s and a few of Biden’s comments as ‘false,’ ‘lacking evidence,’ or ‘misleading.’
One of Trump’s false claims was when he claimed to have paid millions of dollars in income taxes, when in fact, the Times released his tax returns last week, revealing he paid a total of $750 in federal income tax in both 2016 and 2017. One of Biden’s falsehoods was when he said the United States currently has a higher deficit with China than ever before, when in reality, the nation’s deficit with China has fallen as its trade deficit with the rest of the world is rising.
The vice presidential debate, between Vice President, Mike Pence, and Senator Kamala Harris is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 7. The next two presidential debates are scheduled for Oct. 15 and 22. However, considering Trump has tested positive for the virus, it is unknown as to how the following debates will proceed.