Here we are with less than 12 days until the long-awaited election day of 2020, and we just witnessed the last presidential debate. This one was, without a doubt, the most civilized and controlled debate of the two that took place. One major difference between the first debate and this one is that each candidate’s microphone was turned off to allow equal time for each person to speak and give their opinion. There was a problem at the first debate where the public felt as though President Donald Trump did not give Former Vice President Joseph Biden a fair chance to respond to the questions being asked. Kristen Welker also did a much better job moderating the debate than the other two moderators from the first Presidential debate and the Vice Presidential debate. Even with its success, however, the friends and family that I have talked to all said that this debate was not helpful and would not have influenced their decision on who to vote for either way. Without any further ado, let’s jump right in and recap this debate!
The debate started with a discussion of COVID-19, and both candidates gave completely opposing views. President Trump discussed his time in Walter Reed Hospital with COVID-19 and what we should expect in the future as far as a vaccine. He said, “we have a vaccine that’s coming. It’s ready … the military is going to distribute the vaccine” Trump believes that we closed up the greatest economy in the world when we didn’t need to. Two point two million people were expected to die from this disease and only 220,000 died. He believes that the solution to fighting COVID-19 is for everything to reopen, otherwise, we no longer have a nation. He said that more and more people are getting better, just like him. He was given lots of medication in the hospital which allowed him to get better very quickly, however, he does not realize that some people do not have access to these types of medications. He closed out his two minutes by saying that we are rounding the corner, the disease is going away and will continue to go away.
Joe Biden then shared a completely different view than his running mate. He started out with one of the most powerful and memorable quotes of the night: “220,000 Americans dead. If you hear nothing else I say tonight, hear this. Anyone who’s responsible for not taking control, in fact, not saying I take no responsibility initially. Anyone who’s responsible for that many deaths, should not remain as President of the United States of America” When I watched this debate, this line hit both my family and me extremely hard and it was the quote that I have not forgotten since the debate. It was a great way for Joe Biden to then share his opinion on how we should fight COVID-19. Biden took out a mask from his pocket and told America that if we were just wearing masks, we could save so many more lives. He then said that the reason why COVID-19 is still an issue is that our President, has no comprehensive plan. Biden then followed up by saying if he were president, he would make sure everyone wore masks all the time, that we have rapid testing, we would set up national standards as to how to open schools and businesses so they can be safe and have the financial resources they need in order to do this.
Biden also criticized President Trump’s views about COVID-19 and how he believes that we are learning to live with it and should learn to live with it. Meanwhile, Biden made a very personalized and intimate statement to every viewer watching and said “people are learning to die with it. You folks home will have an empty chair at the kitchen table this morning”, which again was a very effective statement made by the former vice president. Biden wants to shut down the virus, not the country as he believes Trump has been doing. Then he says that it is Trump’s ineptitude that caused the country to have to shut down, to which Trump shakes his head with an interesting expression on his face. The president did, however, say for the first time, “I take full responsibility” for the impact of the virus. But to no surprise, he then put the blame on someone else and said, “It’s not my fault that it came here—it’s China’s fault”.
Another interesting topic discussed was President Trump’s taxes. A few weeks ago, a statement was released saying that in 2017, Donald Trump only paid a total of $750 in federal income taxes. This was definitely a highly anticipated discussion point that viewers were looking forward to hearing about during this last debate. Trump responded to this statement by saying that he prepaid millions and millions of dollars in taxes. Trump then says that he gets treated horribly by the IRS and “worse than the Tea Party got treated”. While Trump was saying this, it was clear that Biden was trying very hard not to laugh. When it was Biden’s turn to respond, he was very blunt with Trump and said “just show us (referring to his tax return documents). Stop playing around. You’ve been saying for four years that you are going to release your taxes”. Since the debate, there have been numerous articles published claiming that Trump was not honest about his taxes, and viewers felt the same way. Trump later says that he gave 28 billion dollars to our farmers, and Biden quickly interrupted him with an extremely clever remark and said, “taxpayers’ money”. It was evident by his facial expression and tone of voice that Trump was extremely taken aback by this and responded by saying, “You know who the taxpayer is? It’s called China”. This again made viewers feel as though Trump did not know what he was talking about, and Biden had clearly won this section of the debate.
The second to last topic discussed was healthcare and health insurance. Once again, Trump and Biden have completely opposing views when it comes to healthcare and health insurance. Trump began this section of the debate by criticizing the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. “I’d like to terminate Obamacare, come up with a brand new, beautiful health care,” hesaid. Approximately 133 million Americans who have pre-existing health conditions could be denied coverage or charged significantly higher premiums if this act were to be abolished. Biden then responded by saying that Trump does not even know nor has he explained how he would do any of this. Biden also took the opportunity to prevent his own health care plan, which he is now calling “Bidencare”. The former Vice President would boost the ACA’s subsidies to help more people buy health coverage and would create a government-run public option. Biden also delivered another powerful and memorable quote by saying, “I think healthcare is not a privilege. It’s a right. Everyone should have the right to have affordable healthcare”
The final topic of the debate that I will be focusing on is racism in America. Ever since debate night, I have seen so many reposts on Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat of what Trump said during this section of the debate. When asked by Kristen Welker about racial strife and hate in the U.S., President Trump responded by saying that “he is the least racist person in this room.” Biden immediately responded and said “Abraham Lincoln here is one of the most racist presidents we’ve had in modern history,” Biden said, referring to Trump as “Abraham Lincoln” in a sarcastic manner. “He pours fuel on every single racist fire.” Biden then continued, “he started off his campaign, coming down the escalator saying he was going to get rid of the Mexican rapists. He’s banned Muslims because they are Muslim. He has moved around, and made everything worse, across the board […] Come on. This guy is a dog whistle about as big as the fog horn.” Trump was given only ten seconds to respond and questioned why Biden brought up Abraham Lincoln in the first place. Throughout the topic, both candidates also discussed borders and immigration.
To wrap up this recap, let’s finish with closing statements. In Trump’s closing statement, he first discussed how we have to make our country as successful as it was prior to “the plague coming in from China”. He believes that we are rebuilding and repairing the country in record-breaking numbers, especially when it comes to employment. He then said that success is going to bring us together and that we are on the road to success. He said that he is planning to cut taxes but Biden is planning to raise them. The most powerful line of this closing statement was as follows, “If he gets in, you will have a depression the likes of which you’ve never seen, your 401Ks will go to hell and it will be a very, very sad day for this country.” Biden then had his minute to give his closing remarks. He said that he represents all of America, whether people voted for him or against him. He also said that he will give all Americans hope, that “we are going to choose science over fiction and hope over fear. He then finished by saying, “What is on the ballot here is the character of this country. Decency, honor, respect, treating people with dignity, making sure that everyone has an even chance, and I’m gonna make sure you get that. You haven’t been getting it the last four years.”
Overall, the debate was definitely a success and was run a lot smoother than the first one. Kristen Welker did an amazing job as the moderator, and it felt as though the candidates actually listened to her and followed her rules. Election day is just around the corner. If you are 18 and older, make sure you vote. Your voice matters. I just voted the other day for the first time and it felt absolutely amazing. You should do it too. Follow @lafayettevotes on Instagram for updates on events and information on how to keep Lafayette voting in the upcoming election.