We are currently less than 25 days away from what will be one of the most critical elections of our lifetimes. This year has been filled with insanity and chaos but why not top it off with the cherry of all modern political fiascos: a United States Presidential election. Since the 1960’s, debates have been highly controversial and it is very hard for political scientists to tell whether or not the debates actually have any effect on the results of the election. Regardless of these controversies, the debates are always a focal point of an election season.
If you missed the first of the presidential debates, you missed an hour and a half of two old white guys talking over each other. Consider yourself lucky. You also were not alone as the debate had historically low ratings. Among all the terrible, horrible, very bad things that have happened this year, I completely understand not wanting to subject yourself to that hot mess of a debate.
How the debate was supposed to work was that the moderator, Chris Wallace, would ask the candidates a question and they would each get two uninterrupted minutes to answer and then start responding to each other and he would pose more questions. This style was to be repeated for 6 different topics: the Supreme Court, the coronavirus pandemic, the economy, race and violence in cities, and the integrity of the election.
Based on watching the debate, talking to people of different political backgrounds, and reading major networks highlighted moments, I’ve compiled a short list of the most important sentiments of the night and what to make of them.
Interrupting and Insulting
Both Biden and Trump came out on the offensive last night, which was generally expected for President Trump based on the 2016 election debates, but unexpected for Biden based on the primary debates. The New York Times hypothesizes the President’s constant interruptions and digs at Biden’s family matters as an attempt to pull Biden into a personal “mud-slinging” down spiral, but Biden managed to maintain his cool for most of the debate. The former Vice President did vocalize his disdain for the current President and referred to him as “racist”, “a clown” and “the worst president America has ever had.” Interruptions and bickering resulted in a chaotic, confusing debate that appalled Americans on both sides. CNN’s Jake Tapper referred to it as “a hot mess inside a dumpster fire inside a trainwreck.” The Commission on Presidential Debates issued a statement that they are going to release new rules for the upcoming debates because it was that bad.
Biden Distancing from the Left
Trump tried to emphasize Biden’s ties to leftist and socialist democratic party ideals, but Biden responded by doing everything he could to limit these ties. Biden claimed to support “law and order and justice” and be against any defunding of local police; he actually mentioned supporting more funding for psychological experts working with police to answer emergency situations in which their expertise would be necessary. He also refuted claims from President Trump that the Democratic Party was traveling in a socialist direction by saying, “The party is me, right now” and “ I am the Democratic Party.” He also claimed to be against the Green New Deal and is for the “Biden Deal”.
Trump’s Strategy and Failure to Denounce White Supremacy
Trump’s strongest moments in the debate were in his stance on law and order and in these moments I felt he spoke most clearly to his base. Drawing attention away from the arguable mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic and the recent economic recession as a result of it seems to be Trump’s main strategy. His attack of Biden is similar to that of Hilary being that he constantly references Biden’s 47 years in politics and questions why he hasn’t fulfilled his promises in the past. He maintains an outsider position and highlights his administrative economic successes prior to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Another frequently mentioned moment of the debate was when Chris Wallace plainly asked Trump to condemn white supremacists and militia groups. Trump responded “sure” and then begun to ask the far right group Proud Boys, who he mentioned by name and said to “stand back and stand by”; he then redirected the conversation to Antifa, the left wing political movement and called any radical violence a left wing problem. This moment has since caused major backlash because the Proud Boys, who have previously endorsed violence, have celebrated this national mentioning and reportedly had a spike in membership.
Question of Election Integrity
The final segment of the debate focused on election integrity and the President both refused to commit to encouraging his supporters to be calm and also questioned the legitimacy of mail in voting. Biden did the opposite and said he would accept the results of the election no matter the outcome and encourage patience and discourage any unrest in the event the election takes longer than normal considering the circumstances of this year.
Many things about this debate make me as a political science student and as an American concerned about the divisive and disrespectful political climate we currently live in. I worry that Trump’s possible loss in the election could have dangerous implications. While this debate was hard to watch, I think important messages were hidden in the bickering and Biden did make multiple attempts to turn to the American people and express messages of unification. One of his most important points was the importance of registering to vote! You can register today by visiting vote.org and have a say in your future!
There will be at least one more presidential debate if you want to see the shit show live again, but I wouldn’t blame you if you don’t.
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