First Presidential Debate: How Did Each Candidate Respond?
President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden met for the first presidential debate at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio on Sept. 29. The candidates discussed a variety of issues, including the Supreme Court seat, COVID-19, the economy, racial injustice, healthcare and mail-in ballots.
Each candidate had two minutes allotted to share their response, plus a few extra seconds for open debates –– a rule moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News struggled to enforce as the candidates, and particularly Trump, talked over one another. Biden even told Trump, “Shut up, man” during one interruption.
After a night of insults and disparate stances on public policy, initial polls from CBS and CNN show that more debate watchers say Biden won the first debate. The Circle prepared two reports summarizing each nominees’ key responses.
President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden faced off in the first presidential debate on Tuesday, Sept. 29. Photo illustration: Sydney Kysar
TRUMP REPORT
By Nicole Iuzzolino
The first segment of the debate covered Supreme Court nominations. Trump defended his choice to nominate Amy Coney Barrett before November in the wake of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death. “Elections have consequences. We have the White House and we have a phenomenal nominee respected by all,” Trump said.
Wallace swiftly moved into segment two: COVID-19. Trump highlighted his closing of the borders at the start of the pandemic. He said, “... if we had listened to you [Vice President Biden], the country would have been left wide open … it is China’s fault.” The economy marked the third segment, with Trump repeating how, “People want their places open.” Biden retorted that the American people would rather be safe, which, once again, induced sparring between the two.
Earlier this week, the New York Times released a report of Trump’s tax information. It revealed that the president paid $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and in 2017. Biden urged Trump to release his tax returns, to which the president responded: “you’ll see it as soon as it’s finished, you’ll see it.”
When it came to race and protests, Trump did not outright condemn white supremacy. Referencing one particular far-right group that endorses violence, Trump said, “Proud Boys — stand back and stand by. But I’ll tell you what. ... Somebody’s got to do something about Antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem.”
Trump put the blame for violent protests on far-left groups, while his own F.B.I. director asserted that “‘racially motivated violent extremism,’ mostly from white supremacists, has made up a majority of domestic terrorism threats,” according a New York Times fact check. Biden, meanwhile, labeled Antifa an “idea” rather than a radical group.
The end of the debate concerned mail-in ballots and the issue of voter fraud. Trump repeated a false claim about poll watchers being blocked from early voting in Philadelphia. President Trump explained that “I am urging my supporters to go into the polls and observe,” perpetuating unsubstantiated claims about voter fraud without evidence.
BIDEN REPORT
By Mackenzie Meaney
Biden highlighted the successes of his work alongside President Barack Obama and presented his hopes to shape the future, saying, “I am the Democratic party right now.”
During the Supreme Court segment, Biden said the voters should decide which nominee will be charged with filling the vacancy. Wallace then ushered the nominees to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic. Biden said that Trump “has no answer to healthcare” and that the pandemic was handled irresponsibly.
“This is the same man who told you by Easter this would be gone away. By the warm weather, it’d be gone — like a miracle. And by the way, maybe you could inject some bleach into your arm," Biden said.
One of the hottest topics of the debate was when race. Racial justice issues intensified over the summer with the killing of George Floyd and others. Biden called Trump “racist.” He furthered his condemnation, saying, “The fact is that there is racial insensitivity, people have to be made aware of what other people feel like. We can take this on and we can defeat racism." Biden wants to reform police and other places of authority so they have “law and order with justice, where people get treated fairly.”
When the president brought up Biden’s son, Hunter, the former vice president took a defensive position to defend his family, stating that he is proud of Hunter for his battle to overcome drug abuse.
Biden urged the American people to vote throughout the debate. He said, “You determine the outcome of this election.”