History was made on Sept. 29 when the first presidential debate took place in Cleveland, Ohio, with President Donald Trump as the Republican nominee and Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee. Chris Wallace, an anchor for Fox News Sunday, was the debate’s moderator. The debate lasted for ninety minutes, divided into six, fifteen-minute segments.
The topics covered during the debate included: candidates’ tax records, Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, the coronavirus pandemic, the current economic status of the country, race and violence, and the integrity of this year’s election.
Biden is currently holding a narrow lead against Trump and the presidential debate was important to both candidates for it can lead to an important edge that may result in the outcome of the elections later in next month. By the end of it, however, many viewers felt disheartened, angry, and even more confused as proven by Michael Barbaro, host of the daily news podcast by the New York Times called The Daily.
“I think I’ve probably have watched thirty plus presidential debates in my life, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt so physically or emotionally depleted after this one,” Baradro said.
From the beginning, the debate lost control with Trump constantly interrupting both his opponent and the moderator. Mary Bruce, ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent, said there were “parts of that debate that were simply unwatchable because the two were just talking over and over each other.” Tensions rose in the room as the debate delved deeper and deeper into the chaos that Wallace raised his voice stating, “I hate to raise my voice but why shouldn’t I be different than the two of you?”
Never in the history of the United States did a debate get so heated that a candidate told their opponent that they, “are the worst president America has ever had”.
On the other side of the stage, Biden rarely was able to get his point across or finish answering the questions, but during the times he did answer, he often stumbled over his words and used emotional appeal by looking straight at the camera and directly addressing the audience at home rather than answer the question given. When Trump challenged him to “name one law enforcement group that came out and supported you,” Biden simply mumbled through his response.
As chaotic as the debate was on both sides of the nominees, there was a moment that resonated with many. It was a moment within the whirlwind of the presidential debate but a moment that made waves afterward.
“Proud Boys, stand back, and stand by,” said Trump during the debate.
The Proud Boys, a far-right, neo-fascist and male-only group, were emboldened by the president’s words and started to use his statement as a slogan for their organization. Last month, Alan Swinney, a 50-year-old member, got 12 charges for assault, unlawful use of a weapon, pointing a firearm at another person and unlawful use of mace in Portland, Ore., according to KOIN 6 News. Swinney was arraigned Thursday. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and is scheduled a court appearance for Nov. 13. Coupled with Trump’s belief that the integrity of this year’s votes is compromised, many are now questioning what he meant by “stand by”. As Wallace asked both candidates to “urge your supporters to stay calm during this extended period and not to engage in any civil unrest,” Trump told his supporters to “go into the polls and watch very carefully.”
In the aftermath of destruction and ruin that the debate left, what makes it more difficult is the lack of fact-checking. As a response, many media outlets took it upon themselves to fact check the presidential debate because as Trevor Noah, host of The Daily Show said “debates need fact-checkers because otherwise people can stand on the stage and say whatever they want, and there are no consequences.” CBS, NBC, the Washington Post, New York Times, and many more corresponded with their political analysts and researchers to find what was true and can be taken away from the entire debate. In the search for the truth, many found false statements from both sides.
There were many claims made during that night, but some prominent examples of false claims included Trump’s statement regarding the recent report made by the Republican majority in the Senate Finance and Homeland Security Committees. The report claimed that Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s son, received $3.5 million from Elena Baturina, the mayor of Moscow’s wife, through wire transfer for recent consultancy work. CBS News confirmed the allegation to be misleading because of the lack of evidence. Biden on the other hand also made false or exaggerated claims towards the president. He claimed that the president was being “xenophobic” and “racist” for banning travelers from China. This is also misleading since CBS News stated that the ban on travelers from China wasn’t full “it allowed travel from China’s Hong Kong and Macao territories. Largely in line with restrictions, other countries around the world were implementing at the time, the limitations on travel took effect Feb. 2, after the virus was already widely prevalent in China.”
Like the rest of 2020, this debate will be one to remember. As chaotic and draining as the presidential debate was, it can help be the deciding factor on who to vote for this upcoming election. The Commission on Presidential Debates made a statement on Wednesday of putting additional structures to the format of the debate. Wallace told USA Today that he was hesitant on the idea of being able to cut off the microphones for either candidate because “ I don’t want to be in the position of saying, I’m [got to] interpose myself between the president and the public and say, ‘You can’t hear what he has to say now.’”
The best we can do is wait and see what will happen in the next debate which is scheduled to take place on Oct. 15 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, in Miami, Florida. It will be moderated by Steve Scully of C-SPAN Networks and only then will we see if the “additional structures” that the Commission on Presidential Debate implemented will be effective.
Andrea Maldonado