5 key takeaways from the first presidential debate
Wondering what happened at the debate Tuesday night? It was chaotic and full of insults.
Here are 5 key things you should know about the first 2020 presidential debate:
The debate quickly disintegrated from presidential to unprofessional, with President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden hurling insults at each other and speaking over the other. At numerous points, President Trump sparred with moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News Sunday, who had trouble keeping control.
At one point, when asked to condemn white supremacist groups who contribute to violence in riots across the country, President Trump instead pivoted to condemning Antifa groups and when asked to specifically condemn the white supremacist group called the Proud Boys, Trump told them to “stand back and stand by.”
When asked about defunding the police, Biden said that he is “totally opposed to defunding the police” and instead said they need “more assistance.” He also talked about reintroducing “community policing.” He reinforced his belief that violence in protests across the country should be prosecuted.
Towards the end of the debate, Trump made the claim that voting by mail will be invalid because of widespread voter fraud and ballots being thrown in the trash, despite the fact that there is no evidence for this and that he votes by mail himself.
Both candidates debated about replacing deceased Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Trump argued that Americans made their choice by voting him into office in 2016, and that he should be able to nominate Amy Coney Barrett as her replacement before the new president is elected. Biden, on the other hand, argued that Americans should be able to make their voice heard in this election before Barrett is approved.
We reached out to UConn Political Science Professor and former UConn President Susan Herbst about the first debate, and she was not impressed by the theatrics: “I doubt that there is any debate in the history of televised debates that was as unproductive as the one we just witnessed,” she wrote in an email response.
The second presidential debate is scheduled for Oct. 15 in Miami. The group that sponsors the debates, the Commission on Presidential Debates, is already considering rule changes such as cutting off a candidate’s microphone if they start interrupting the other. Herbst, an expert in public opinion, argued the same topics should be covered at this next debate.
“The moderator brought up all the important areas, they just weren’t addressed and need to be: COVID, social justice protests, the economy, the Supreme Court, environmental protection and foreign policy,” Herbst wrote in an email response.
When it comes to deciding which candidate to vote for, Herbst also recommended voters not place too much attention on the insults of the debate.
“Citizens should not focus on petty moments, but should look at the pattern of candidate behavior over time. After all, both candidates are over 70 and have been long in the public spotlight,” she wrote.
UConn Communications Professor Carolyn Lin also argued that Trump and Biden’s behavior during the debate was subtractive from the important topics at hand.
“The debate gave us some information about policy issues, but because of the constant interruption and squabble, it’s hard for people to remember what those policies were,” Lin said.
Frequent interjections made by Trump and Biden attacked the legitimacy of the other’s claims. Lin said voters can discover what claims are true and false by looking at a variety of reputable news sources.
“This election is probably the most important election in American history,” said Lin. “The First Amendment is the foundation of our democracy, right? When you disrespect the First Amendment and attack all the time by calling [news] fake, you’re shaking the foundation of our democracy.”