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- President Donald Trump and Democrat candidate Joe Biden went head-to-head in the first presidential debate this morning
- The opponents battled it out over issues such as COVID-19, the Supreme Court, election integrity, race, and civil unrest
- The debate was supposed to be organised around these central topics, but the reality was a chaotic 90 minutes of personal attacks and interruptions
- Amid the snide comments and asides, not much new was set in terms of policy prescriptions and presidential decision-making
President Donald Trump and Democrat candidate Joe Biden went head-to-head in the first presidential debate this morning, talking through everything from the Supreme Court to race to the coronavirus.
However, though the debate was supposed to be organised around six central topics to provide Americans with a clear distinction in policy positions, the reality was a chaotic 90 minutes of personal attacks and interruptions.
Trump insulted Biden’s academic credentials. Biden asked Trump, “Will you shut up, man?” Trump lobbed a personal attack against Biden’s son, Hunter. Biden called Trump a racist. Trump accused Biden of being controlled by the “radical left”. Biden called Trump a clown.
And all this in a debate between the two people in the running to hold the highest office in the country.
The debate was moderated by Fox News’ Chris Wallace, who tried to rein the candidates in and talk policy. So, let’s see what the opponents said on some of the debate headlines between the snide comments.
The coronavirus
The discussion on COVID-19 was nothing we haven’t seen before: Biden accused Trump of handling the virus poorly, while Trump insisted his administration did a “phenomenal job”.
Biden said the President knew of the risks far before the virus spread across the States but did nothing about it.
Trump hit back and said his ban on Chinese travel in January was in response to the spreading virus, and Biden initially did not support the move and called Trump xenophobic for doing it.
The Supreme Court
Trump has caught flak from his opponents over the past week for nominating Amy Coney Barrett to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg so soon before the election.
Biden has called this an “abuse of power”.
This morning, Trump defended the move.
“We won the election. Elections have consequences,” Trump said.
“We have a phenomenal nominee, respected by all,” he said of Amy Coney Barrett. “I think she will be outstanding. She is going to be as good as anybody that has served on that court.”
Biden hit back, claiming Trump’s nomination deprives the American people of having a choice of should be on the Supreme Court.
“We should wait and see what the outcome of the election is,” Biden said.
Race and civil unrest
Race-fuelled looting and rioting have erupted across the United States over recent months as citizens protest against police brutality and alleged systematic racism.
Today, Trump said Biden will lose his left-wing supporters if he even says the words “law enforcement”.
The President highlighted how the majority of the violence has occurred in Democrat-controlled cities — a claim disputed by Biden — and said he stands for law and order while Biden does not.
When asked to condemn white supremacy groups, Trump told the Proud Boys white nationalist group to “stand back and stand by”. He then shot back and asked why Biden won’t condemn radical left-wing groups like Antifa, who Trump says are responsible for the recent violence and looting.
Biden said he can’t condemn Antifa because it’s not an organisation, it’s an idea.
“You gotta be kidding me,” the President responded.
President Trump reiterated claims that he has done more for black Americans than any other president in U.S. history with the exception of Abraham Lincoln.
Biden blatantly called Trump a racist and said the President fuels division.
Election integrity
Again, there was nothing new to be said about this topic in the debate.
Both candidates maintained their public stances, with Trump warning of potential voter fraud and risks associated with mail-in ballots while Biden is unconcerned.
Biden remained calm and moderate and urged Americans to “vote whatever way is best for you”, be it by mail or in-person.
Trump made a clear distinction between solicited mail-in votes, which have been available to U.S. voters for decades, and mandatory mail-in votes.
Regardless, undecided voters are likely to be just as undecided after today’s debate.
Trump, as is his style, went hard on personal attacks and interruptions — to the point of being lectured by moderator Chris Wallace to let his opponent speak — but Biden was not shy to hit back, either.
Unfortunately, for all the flair and chaos of the first 2020 presidential debate, not much is clearer than before in terms of policies and decision-making.
