Everyone watching the 2020 Presidential Debate probably came out of it thinking, ‘chaotic,’ ‘a brawl’ or ‘embarrassing.’ This is something that Americans can definitely agree on because we know as a country that we can do better than this, and the people we choose to represent us should also do better, in order to unite the country. Despite the obvious, yet sometimes entertaining, issues with the debate, including the constant interrupting, name calling and unwillingness to focus on the questions posed, the debate was definitely what America needed to see. Voters, especially independents, needed to watch President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden fight it out, live on stage.
For the last year, President Trump gave Biden the nickname, “Joe Hiden” due to his rare sightings in public. Biden has barely left his home for interviews, and has been using teleprompters and hiding behind a screen, using the coronavirus as his excuse. America needed to see Joe Biden fight for his campaign, fight Trump and show the country what he believes in because I am not sure anyone really knows. Is he a moderate, or is he going to become a puppet of the far left, with Kamala Harris by his side, who is considered, as stated in an Essence article, “the most liberal compared to all Senators?”
According to Alpha News, Representative Ilhan Omar seems to believe that he will, saying that Biden’s presidential platform is “the most progressive platform a president has ever run on.” If Joe Biden can’t clearly win a debate against Trump, why should America trust him to be able to fight Communist China or ISIS? Many even question how long Biden will last in office if he wins, meaning Kamala Harris, will become our president.
This was the main question from the night of the debate: Was there a clear winner or loser? It’s hard to say, but based on Biden’s performance, he did not win. Going into this debate, the bar was set incredibly low for Biden. According to Fox News, a main focus for the debate was if Biden could show up for the full 90 minutes. It was unknown if he could last without any gaffes, stuttering or forgetting what state he was in. Biden’s strategy of the night seemed to be playing defense. For the majority of the debate, he focused on President Trump, in order to avoid talking about his plans for the next four years. He made it personal, calling Trump a “racist,” “killer,” “clown” and claiming that Trump told the country to “drink bleach.” All this did was satisfy the Democratic party, because their sole purpose of the election is to remove President Trump from office.
On the other hand, President Trump, per usual, came out swinging, showing his dominance. Afterwards, the media exploded with statements about President Trump’s constant interrupting, which were included in a video from Fox News. One reporter called it “an assault on our presidential campaign process.” Although Trump did interrupt too many times, was there a reason? Perhaps it was because Republicans are tired of the mainstream continually not calling Biden out for his history on race, and other policies.
Trump’s plan for the night seemed to be to get Biden on the record on a national stage so voters could clearly be aware of his policy ideas. This is because Biden has been known to flip-flop his opinion in order to pander to minorities and the left. Two major moments were when Biden officiated that he did not support the Green New Deal or defunding the police. Although he has said this in the past, getting Biden to officiate it on a national stage shows the country how inauthentic he is. Another moment that should be highlighted is when Biden was speaking on the economy, and said, “I’m going to eliminate a significant number of the tax–I’m going to make the corporate tax 28 percent. It shouldn’t be 21 percent,” as quoted in a full transcript of the debate from the Concord Monitor. This showed American’s what some of Biden’s economic plans are and how he is definite on raising taxes.
Looking at the topics debated, such as the coronavirus, the economy, Supreme Court nominations, climate change and race relations, I thought they were all important issues about which the country needs to talk. Although the topics were very polarizing, they are extremely important to our country’s future. The first topic that was brought up was the Supreme Court. The question was about whether or not President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barret, should be confirmed or not. Biden clearly answered no, claiming the process should wait until after the election because the American people should choose. On the other hand, President Trump defended his decision, stating that a president is in office for four years, not three, therefore making this his choice. The overturning of Roe v. Wade was also brought up by Biden; however, President Trump quickly shot that idea down. He claimed that it was not even on the ballot. “Why is it on the ballot?…Why is it on the ballot? It’s not on the ballot…There’s nothing happening there,” President Trump said, as quoted from the Concord Monitor debate transcript.
One thing that I did after watching the debate was read the transcript. While watching the debate, I would sometimes get wrapped up in all the excitement and it was also hard to hear the candidates answers, with the moderator yelling and constantly interrupting. Reading the transcript, there were numerous excellent quotes and moments that showed the candidates’ true colors. In my opinion, the highlight of the night was President Trump saying, “I have done more in 47 months, than you have in 47 years.”
That moment showed the country that Biden has been in government for more than four decades, but what exactly has he done to help communities in need? For the most part, the questions were of good quality, despite the question posed to President Trump on white supremacy. In 2016, Chris Wallace also asked Trump to denounce white supremacy, so why did he ask him again, and why did he not ask Biden to denounce ANTIFA or the Black Lives Matter riots? Furthermore, why in his question did Wallace use the debunked example of when Trump said the phrase, “very fine people, on both sides.” This phrase has been continually misused by the media to frame President Trump for being a white supremacist, even though the president was clearly speaking about the the people protesting and tearing down of the statue of General Robert E. Lee. This is just one example of the media spreading fake news about the president, attempting to slander his character.
Overall, it is clear that the country is more polarized and divided than ever. Depending on your political views, everyone will see this debate through a different perspective. No matter your party, what Americans have to remember is that, despite our differences, what brings us together is our love of America, its liberties and its opportunities.
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