By Annika Singh
On September 29th, Biden and Trump met for the first presidential debate of the race, and while controversy arises as to who ‘won’ the debate, there is little disagreement that the chaos which ensued was disastrous for both campaigns. What was meant to convey policy positions to undecided voters and instill confidence in each campaign’s supporters turned into a name-calling contest. But what topics did Chris Wallace, the debate moderator, actually prepare for that night—and what came of them?
The Supreme Court
Throughout this segment, Trump continued to defend his right to appoint Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Biden voiced his concerns over the reversal of Roe v. Wade (a Supreme Court case which decriminalised abortion on the federal level), but it was immediately dismissed by his opponent. “You don’t know what’s on the ballot… why is it on the ballot? Why is it- it’s not on the ballot? I don’t think so. There’s nothing happening there,” Trump said. “And you don’t know her view on Roe v Wade.” He was adamant in his stance: “I’m not elected for three years. I’m elected for four years.” In other words, Trump made it clear that he firmly believed in his right to nominate Barrett to the Supreme Court.
What was not clear, however, was the direction that the debate headed in. Both candidates delved into the other’s healthcare plans, with the first accusatory ‘socialist’ comment made less than ten minutes into the spectacle. Biden said on the conflicting healthcare plans within his party: “The party is me. Right now, I am the Democratic Party.”
Notable in this segment is also Biden’s comment to his opponent—one that has been highlighted and even made into merchandise to be sold on the official Biden campaign store—“Will you shut up, man?”
Coronavirus
Chris Wallace introduced the topic of COVID-19 with a sentence that seemed to encapsulate the debate as a whole: “It’s an awfully serious subject, so let’s try to be serious about it.” It seemed, however, that the candidates struggled with this. Between bickering over Trump’s time at the golf course and in his bunker, and his refusal to wear a mask (the line “I put a mask on when I think I’ll need it” is ironic, given recent developments), little policy discussion arose from this segment. Biden did make reference to Trump’s suggestion of using disinfectant to treat the coronavirus, saying "And by the way, maybe you could inject some bleach in your arm, and that would take care of it. This is the same man."
The Economy
An attempt to create productive discussion between the two candidates in uninterrupted, two minute speeches about their view of the economy soon deteriorated into criticism of Trump’s federal income tax payments. After asking about how much the President had paid in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017, Wallace was met by the characteristically vague “Millions of dollars.”
In this segment, Trump also highlighted Hunter Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine, which came under scrutiny last year as part of the president’s impeachment. However, this discussion came to a stop after Wallace’s repeated attempts to end the segment ended in, “Gentlemen, I hate to raise my voice, but I- Why should I be any different from you?”—but not before Biden had the chance to call Trump a ‘clown’.
Race and Violence in our Cities
Wallace prefaced the discussion of recent Black Lives Matter protests with, “I’m going to ask a question about race, but if you want to answer about something else, go ahead.” This introduction to discussing race in America has come under widespread criticism, given the heightened tensions following the increased publicity and international attention to the Black Lives Matter movement over the summer.
Trump took the opportunity to highlight Biden’s 1994 crime bill, which has been blamed for accelerating mass incarceration in the US, disproportionately targeting Black Americans. “You did a crime bill, 1994, where you call them ‘superpredators’. African Americans are ‘superpredators’ and they’ve never forgotten it. They’ve never forgotten it,” he asserted.
The framing of the debate topic, “Race and Violence in our Cities”, also invited a discussion on the recent protests against police brutality. The discussion of law enforcement also led to Biden’s comment on police brutality: “There’s systemic injustice in this country, in education and work and in law enforcement and the way in which it’s enforced. But look, the vast majority of police officers are good, decent, honorable men and women… but there are some bad apples.” This sentiment, surprisingly enough, is similar to the one expressed in Trump’s statement during his visit to Kenosha, where Jacob Blake was killed—that a few ‘bad apples’ are responsible for racism by the police force. Amidst calls to defund and demilitarise the police, both candidates seem more willing to blame a few ‘bad apples’ rather than the systemic racism that plagues law enforcement.
Worse so, Trump claimed to have achieved more progress when it comes to Black Americans than any other president, ‘with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln.’ This claim became even more absurd when, later on in the debate, Trump failed to condemn white supremacy when requested by the debate moderator and instead urged the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, to “stand back and stand by”. This moment did not go unnoticed by viewers, with key figures like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez voicing their opinion on Twitter, saying “Donald Trump is a white supremacist… This is facism at our door.” She was not alone in her opinion, and this segment of the debate ended with the understanding that Donald Trump was willing to condemn Antifa, in more certain terms, than he was white supremacy.
Trump and Biden records
This segment allowed both candidates the opportunity to appeal to voters on their strengths against their opponent, making their case as a presidential candidate. In Trump’s initial two-minute speech, he made the bold claim that “there has never been an administration or president who has done more than I’ve done in a period of three and a half years.” Later, in Biden’s speech, he made an opposite claim—“Under this president, we become weaker, sicker, poorer, more divided and more violent,”—and even resorted to calling Trump ‘Putin’s puppy’.
After a brief, tangential argument about Biden’s sons—including repeated accusations by Trump of Hunter Biden’s supposed ‘corrupt’ business in Ukraine—Wallace interjected to end the segment, saying that “We’ve already been through this, I think the American people would rather hear about more substantial subjects.”
* Climate Change
While climate change wasn’t on Wallace’s initial list of debate topics—a controversial decision—it did make its way into the night’s discussion. Unsurprisingly, the candidates offered opposing views on the Paris Agreement, with Biden declaring that ‘the first thing [he] will do, [he] will rejoin the Paris Accord’, whereas Trump maintained that 'if you look at the Paris Accord, it was a disaster from our standpoint.' Given Trump’s decision to formally withdraw the United States from the Agreement in 2019, this stance does not come as a shock to viewers.
However, what did come as a shock was Biden’s stance against the Green New Deal. When asked by Wallace if he supported the climate proposal, he replied “No, I don’t support the Green New Deal.” (Trump immediately remarked, “Oh, you don’t? Well, that’s a big statement. You just lost the radical left.”) Biden, instead, advocated for the Biden plan, which was inspired by the Green New Deal—this stance has been likened to walking a 'political tightrope' (Washington Post).
The Integrity of the Election
The final topic of the night was on the legitimacy of the election, given the increase in mail-in ballots due to COVID-19 restrictions. Biden referenced both the Homeland Security and FBI directors, who have both confirmed that mail-in ballots are not vulnerable to manipulation, and also pointed out that in the past, his opponent has voted by mail-in ballot. Trump countered with the ominous “This is going to be a fraud like you’ve never seen,” and voiced his intent to rely on the Supreme Court, with a possible Justice Barrett, to settle this dispute.
The debate, in all its chaos, did not leave undecided voters with a candidate to support. Instead, it left voters with a lack of clarity and little confidence in either candidate—both equally undesirable as election day nears.
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