The last Presidential Debate was recently held on Thursday, October 22. Our two Presidential candidates, President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, were unlike the ones that we last saw at the previous debate. Remarkably, this debate showed two very dissimilar sides when discussing social issues like race, immigration, and climate change, as well as the nation’s reaction to COVID-19, national security, and government relief. Due to the previous debate, in which ignited a bizarre squabble that the country has never really seen before between the candidates—unbelievably, even with the moderator—there were rumors of a “possibility that each candidates’ mic could be muted if they stepped out of line” (Wise). It was widely believed that the mute button, controlled by this debate’s moderator Kristen Welker, is the reason why the candidates were much more civil with one another, but at least we finally get down to business on the issues that concern the country’s residents. (5)
What was discussed:
- President Trump’s comments on Hunter and Joe Biden’s participation in foreign affairs, and how it caused a great shock to the public.
- President Trump and Democrat nominee Joe Biden’s opposing stance on the use of fossil fuels, one claiming that the economy would suffer while the other offered alternative ways to “expand renewable energy sources” (Greve & Singh).
- Trump’s wish for “the supreme court to dismantle Obamacare” (Greve & Singh). Biden supported Obamacare and gave an option to improve it for the public.
- According to Maggie Astor of the New York Times, Trump gave brief responses to the topic of ecological issues, restating his effort to lessen the environmental regulations and “[make] a tremendous amount of money economically.” Biden retorted with descriptive reasons of how the issues are affecting the planet and its people. (5)
- When on the topic of race, Annie Karni from the New York Times reported that Biden called Trump “one of the most racist presidents we’ve had in modern history.” (5)
- The Coronavirus response was brought up. Biden fired statements against Trump’s leadership throughout the pandemic. Trump assured the public that “a vaccine would be announced within weeks” and there would be no mandatory lockdown any time soon (Peek).
- The last question for the two nominees was relating to the Presidential inauguration. “What [would they] do for the American people, including those who didn’t vote for them…?” (Itkowitz) Trump stated that he will bring success and unification to the country, unlike the opposition—another shot fired at Biden. Contrastingly, Biden stated that “he will be a president for all,” will listen to what science says, and that the choice is to the people. (2)
From that night to the early next morning, polls from various news outlets gathered the public’s opinions in order to evaluate which nominee was winning them over. They showed that former Vice President and Democratic nominee Joe Biden was the most supported by the American people. (3)
Remember, November 3rd is right around the corner. #VOTE
SOURCES
- Peek, L. (2020, October 22). Liz Peek: Winners and losers at final presidential debate- What the Trump, Biden scorecard looks like now. https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/winners-and-losers-presidential-debate-trump-biden-liz-peek
- Itkowitz, C., Becker, I.S, Viser, M., Sullivan, S., Kessler, G., Rizzo, S., Sonmez, F., & Wagner, J. (2020, October 23). Final Biden-Trump meeting covers coronavirus, race, climate change. https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2020/10/22/presidential-debate-live-updates/
- Greve, J. & Singh, M. (2020 October 23). Biden slams Trump on coronavirus response, family separations and racism in final debate- as it happened. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2020/oct/22/presidential-debate-live-latest-trump-biden-news-updates-tonight
- Wise, E. (2020 October 23). ‘Polar opposites’: 2nd presidential debate offers different look at candidates for America. https://wgxa.tv/news/local/polar-opposites-2nd-presidential-debate-offers-different-look-at-candidates-for-america
New York Times. (Updated 2020, October 23). Presidential Debate: Biden and Trump Leave Voters With a Consequential Choice. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/10/22/us/presidential-debate-live