5 Takeaways From The First 2020 Presidential Debate Between Trump And Biden
The only difference between Tuesday night’s debate between former Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump and a train wreck was that many Americans were able to ― and likely did ― look away from the debate.
Trump spent almost the debate interrupting both moderator Chris Wallace and Democratic rival Biden, which he mixed with lying about both his and Biden’s positions, wrapping it up with a refusal to condemn white supremacists and repeated attacks on Biden’s family.
Biden responded by occasionally confronting Trump and sometimes treating him as, to use Biden’s words, “a clown” who deserved only scorn and eye-rolling. His efforts to engage in substance were often met by interruptions from Trump, who was only sporadically kept in check by Wallace’s admonishments.
The overall result was nothing short of a condemnation of American political culture, which did relatively little to inform Americans further about how either candidate would solve the numerous crises facing the country today. Trump created the mess, which was unlikely to help him climb out of his polling deficit against Biden.
One of the lowest moments of the 90 minutes came toward the end of the debate, when Trump unleashed a string of lies about mail-in voting, falsely claiming it would lead to fraud as he sowed doubt about the legitimacy of the Nov. 3 election.
And all of this, at least according to the instant polls that news networks conducted of people who watched the debate, did almost nothing to change the minds of voters.
Here are four additional takeaways from an absurd and messy debate.
What Trump Didn’t Say Might Matter Most
If there was a newsmaking moment across the hour and half, it was Trump’s refusal to condemn white supremacist violence, a moment reminiscent of his infamous “both sides” comments following a violent white supremacist rally in Virginia in 2017. After twice claiming he was willing to condemn white supremacist...
