By Jackson Chadwick | Photo courtesy of Marco Verch
President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joseph Biden faced off in the first presidential debate, Tuesday night at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. The debate dominated discussion on social media platforms such as Twitter, where many found themselves with a headache by the end of the night.
Here’s a recap of what happened, without having to watch it all over again.
The night began with a discussion over Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who was nominated this past weekend to succeed the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; her confirmation would create a 6-3 conservative majority on the Court.
Wallace asked Trump to justify nominating a Supreme Court nominee just weeks before the election, citing that tens of thousands of people have already voted early. Trump responded by saying “we won the election and we have the right to do this.” Biden pushed back by arguing Judge Barrett’s conservative stances would be harmful to the future of women’s reproductive rights.
The debate quickly turned into a firestorm of a back-and-forth exchange between the two candidates, as moderator Chris Wallace attempted to wrangle control of questioning.
Healthcare dominated the first twenty minutes of the debate, but constant interruptions between both candidates ensued. And it didn’t stop there. Forty minutes into the debate, Biden said to Trump: “Would you shut up, man?”
Trump then mischaracterized Biden’s healthcare plan, arguing that it would eliminate private insurance for Americans. According to NBC News, his claim is false, as Biden’s healthcare plan would create a “public option” for those below the poverty line and on Medicaid; his plan would still allow Americans to choose private insurance if they want.
Debate on healthcare quickly turned over to the President’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, where the President stated that his administration saved the lives of nearly two million Americans. Biden rebuked, insisting that the Trump administration responded to the pandemic far too late:
“He’s [Trump] on tape acknowledging he knew it. He said he didn’t tell us or give people a warning of it because he didn’t want to panic the American people. You don’t panic, he panicked.”
Since February, over 200,000 Americans have died from complications of the coronavirus. Biden pressed Trump on the fact that the President has held mass campaign rallies, often outdoors, but disregarding social distancing guidelines and not requiring the enforcement of face coverings. Former Trump supporter and Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain died from coronavirus in July, after attending a Trump rally.
Trump criticized the Obama/Biden administration’s handling of the swine flu, which affected millions of Americans. However, unlike the coronavirus, the swine flu had a much lower rate of death.
The subject of the debate quickly turned to economic recovery, as Trump claimed credit for a “low” 8.4% unemployment rate, as compared to a much higher rate just several months ago during the pinnacle of the coronavirus outbreak. But Biden asserted that the President’s handling of the pandemic is far less than anything adequate, noting that people are being evicted from their homes, still out of work, and a divided Congress and executive branch that won’t compromise on more coronavirus relief funding.
National security emerged as another contentious topic of debate, as the President sidelined questions from Chris Wallace about his refusal to condemn white supremacist groups. Trump instead pressured Biden on Antifa as a more serious problem.
Both nominees conferred on the topic of crime and law enforcement. The President accused Biden of being weak on crime and unwilling to support law enforcement. Biden countered by stating that he supports law enforcement with justice, ensuring that racial justice will persevere.
The debate neared the conclusion as Trump accused Biden of supporting the Green New Deal. Biden has not explicitly said he supports the Deal but has released his own environmental platform that would invest approximately $2 trillion in green infrastructure, energy, and green jobs.
It became personal for the former Vice President when he defended his late son, Beau Biden, a former veteran and Attorney General of Delaware, from Trump’s accused attacks against military personnel. Trump has previously called war heroes and prisoners of war, such as the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, “losers.”
Biden ended by saying he would accept the results of the election, once all the votes had been counted. Trump, meanwhile, said to “watch [the results] very carefully,” but expressed his concern of fraud associated with mail-in-voting. The percentage of fraud cases associated with mail-in-voting is extremely low, contrary to repeated claims made by the President.
Tonight was certainly a testament to an ever-changing political discourse in American politics. Norms, rules, procedures, and common courtesies were largely thrown off to the side, giving way to bickering and interruption, leaving many with headaches, and moments of laughter to others.
NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell captured the essence of the night in five short words:
“This was a disgrace, frankly.”