So bad. Both candidates talked over each other and the arguments were very unclear. President Trump went on the attack and made Joe Biden look very ignorant at times, but it was significantly annoying in the way he went over topics that really mattered to Americans. In that regard, there was little substantive discussion over the demonstrated partisanship that dominated their dialogue–if it can even be counted as dialogue.
Biden lost himself at certain points, calling Trump a clown and telling him to shut up. Very different from Hillary Clinton during the 2016 debates. Trump also gave many unsubstantiated claims that he backed up with his own “trust me” attitudes. Within those areas Trump faces the future backlash of fact checkers.
The sensationalism was more present than actual reality. Trump relied on talking points such as the Democratic Party seeking to abolish cows or saying that ballots are being sold by mailmen. These sensationalist points were only used to fearmonger, a strategy he has used much in the past to feed his audience. While it probably wasn’t effective for the undecided majority watching the debate, those who already had their minds made up either doubled down on their support for the sitting president or moved more to the left with Biden.
If there’s anything the debate showed the spectators, it’s that democracy is as precious as its leaders. The debate was more than just a supposed dialogue, it was an example of America. The country is extremely divided over politics with no clear view over the smoke rising from partisanship. The sitting president going up to the stage and going from claiming facts are lies to questioning the legitimacy of our own democratic institutions is a threat to democracy in and of itself.
If there were winners and losers, there most likely would only be a single loser in this debate. That loser would be the moderator: Chris Wallace. He allowed the president to talk over Biden and had no control over those on the stage. Additionally, many of his questions were biased. He’d laugh off quips put out by Biden and launched many loaded questions into the stage. He yielded much time to Trump as well even though both campaigns agreed to strict terms relating to time.
There were several low points during the debate, though the most shocking was Trump’s insults over Biden’s son’s cocaine addiction. In a country where substance abuse is prevalent, the tone was especially cold and deaf. Those in New Hampshire who might be leaning to the left could have that final push once they hear the president they elected to solve the opioid crisis mocked a fellow American’s addiction.
All in all, the debate purely resembled a circus. Biden made that absolutely clear when he referred to the sitting president as a clown numerous times throughout the show’s duration. At this point there seems to be only one way to end the clownery and that is to elect Biden.