President Donald Trump and former Vice-President Joe Biden lashed out at one another Tuesday night in a chaotic first debate. Trump sought to rattle his Democratic challenger from the start, interrupting him repeatedly during a clash over efforts to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Within minutes, it became clear this was no ordinary or orderly presidential debate. The AJC described it as a “duel” that “devolved into a cacophonous back-and-forth as moderator Chris Wallace tried, often in vain, to bring a sense of order.”
During the evening, Biden jabbed the president saying “Everybody knows he’s a liar.” He called Trump a “clown” and, at another point, snapped: “Will you shut up, man?”
Trump repeatedly tried to pin Biden on his son Hunter’s ties to Ukraine and accused Biden of wanting to defund the police, which Biden vehemently denies.
“You can’t even say the words ‘law enforcement’ because if you do, you’re going to lose all your radical supporters,” Trump said of Biden. The former VP shot back that he supports “Law and order with justice where people get treated fairly.”
When Wallace, a news commentator for Fox News, asked the president if he would condemn white supremacists and militias, Trump asked him, “Give me a name [of a group to condemn].” Biden said, “Proud Boys,” to which Trump responded, “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by! But I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about Antifa and the left.” The president never did outright condemn white supremacists nor militias.
Reaction to debate
A CBS News instant poll gave Biden the debate win, 48% to Trump’s 41%. Other instant polls were as closely split as the electorate, showing the candidates in a virtual tie.
TV Online readers gave Wallace a failing grade as moderator as online critics piled on, calling his performance weak and ineffectual. Some accused the Fox News commentator of being biased against Trump. Others called him out for not enforcing the rules of debate against Trump.
Chris Wallace needs to shut trump down and insist he follow rules…and , as moderator, enforce them…stop the debate for 60 secs and lay down the rules.
— Carl Bernstein (@carlbernstein) September 30, 2020
Chris Wallace needs to shut trump down and insist he follow rules…and , as moderator, enforce them…stop the debate for 60 secs and lay down the rules.
— Carl Bernstein (@carlbernstein) September 30, 2020
Oh my God.
Chris Wallace has totally lost control of this thing.
He’s allowing Trump to behave like schoolyard bully, completely disrespecting the millions of Americans who tuned-in hoping to see a debate of ideas, and a plan to move America forward.— Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) September 30, 2020
The fact that Chris Wallace didn’t follow up on Trump’s “Proud Boys stand by” call to violence. He’s an embarrassment. This debate is a joke.
— Ira Madison III (@ira) September 30, 2020
How much is the Biden campaign paying Chris Wallace to cover for their candidate?
— JT Lewis (@thejtlewis) September 30, 2020
HERE’S THE DEAL:@realDonaldTrump beat Wallace.
Biden came in a distant bumbling mumbling third.
— Rudy W. Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) September 30, 2020
Just confirmed, debate #2 is a just a fist fight in a Chili’s parking lot
— omeedmalek (@OmeedMalek) September 30, 2020
The harsh criticism and tough assignment are sure to settle in the minds of C-SPAN’s Steve Scully and NBC White House Correspondent Kristen Welker as they prepare for their roles as moderators of the next two presidential debates.
The second debate is scheduled for October 15 in Miami. The third and final presidential debate is October 22 at Belmont University in Nashville.
The one and only Vice Presidential Debate between Sen. Kamala Harris and Vice-President Mike Pence will take place on October 7 at the University of Utah.
All debates start at 9:00 p.m. ET and run for 90 minutes without commercial interruption. Check your TV guide for local listings or watch the debates live on C-SPAN and other news outlets on Facebook and YouTube.
