Joe Biden and Donald Trump headed to Cleveland on Tuesday, descending upon Case Western Reserve University for the first of three scheduled presidential debates. Moderated by Fox News’ Chris Wallace, who has vowed not to fact-check either candidate, the socially-distanced event featured a far smaller audience than usual. Six topics—“the Trump and Biden Records, the Supreme Court, COVID-19, the Economy, Race and Violence in our Cities, and the Integrity of the Election”—were announced Sept. 22 by the Commission on Presidential Debates, but they’re hardly set in stone. That flexibility is particularly important when considering The New York Times’ bombshell report about Trump’s staggering debt and remarkable decade of tax evasion, the latest loss in Trump’s stupid fight to fund his stupid border wall, Trump’s big reveal of his “health plan,” the latest heartbreaking jobs report, devastating wildfires, and the prediction that a Biden presidency would be better for the U.S. economy—all of which came after Wallace chose his topics.
The candidates have been preparing in their own ways, and the verbal joust is expected to get personal fast, as Trump attempts to come for Hunter Biden, and Biden perhaps brings up Ivanka Trump and her husband of all trades, Jared Kushner. Will Biden be his own worst enemy, cutting himself off when the clock tells him his time is up? Will Trump grow flustered since, due to COVID-19, he can’t pace the stage?
Let’s find out.
The first debate will promises 90 minutes of pure hell uninterrupted discourse between the two candidates, following a specific format outlined by the CPD back in June.
The debate will be divided into six segments of approximately 15 minutes each on major topics to be selected by the moderator and announced at least one week before the debate.
The moderator will open each segment with a question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. Candidates will then have an opportunity to respond to each other. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a deeper discussion of the topic.
Notably, no opening or closing statements are slotted, but it’s a no-brainer that both Biden and Trump will find opportunities to hawk both their websites and their five-digit text codes … it’s just a matter of when. Trump’s already fundraising off the debate, in a classic oopsie that won’t upset the sort of people to be on his mailing list.
All mishaps with newsletter scheduling software aside, expectations are low for Trump—even from his corner.
It’s fair to expect Trump to spew nonsense, and Biden has vowed to fact-check him in real time, which might be a good thing, since Wallace has vowed to do zero fact-checking during the debate. Considering Trump’s avoidance of facts, it’s fair to wonder if correcting him on the stage (and not just on Twitter) will eat up Biden’s time … and for a clueless, bankrupt trust-funder who's is behind in the polls, if lying keeps Biden from showing his empathy or breadth of knowledge, it’s a net-positive.
Let’s go! First up:
THE SUPREME COURT
Trump and Biden were asked why their respective views on whether or not Saturday’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg are correct, why their opponent is wrong, and where they believe a Justice Coney Barrett might take the Court.
Trump went first, and said “Elections have consequences,” and made sure to point out that he has time after the election to push her through. “We won the election and therefore we have the right to choose her,” he said, before not addressing where he thought Coney Barrett would take SCOTUS.
Biden noted that people have already voted in this election, and brought up the Trump administration’s SCOTUS battle against the Affordable Care Act, and how 20 million people can lose their health care if he wins. Though he said he was sure Coney Barrett’s “a fine person,” he cited her previous opposition to the ACA. The former vice president closed by saying that he’d accept the nomination if and after he lost the election and the GOP holds the Senate, a big if indeed.
Trump responded by dismissing the idea that 100 million people carry pre-existing conditions before misquoting Bader Ginsburg. Repeating “I’m not elected for three years, I’m elected for four years,” Trump then accused Biden of kicking everyone off their health care; when Biden challenged that, Trump snuck a couple utterances of “socialism” in amongst the cross-talk before Wallace declared it was time for “open discussion.”
Biden reminded the room that, during the primary, one of the points of contention was that he in fact was committed to allowing people to keep their private insurance. When Trump interrupted—“That’s not what your party says”, saying that Democrats would “overrule” Biden—Biden came back hot, insisting that HE is the Democratic Party right now.
Trump showed his strategy for the night—talking out of turn—with a barb about vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Biden didn’t take the bait, and simultaneously stayed the pre-existing condition course AND introduced COVID-19, wondering what would happen to those who survived it, thus creating a new pre-existing condition.
A desperate Trump veered into the military and Biden’s alleged failures providing them health care, and brought up the China ban. Wallace interrupted him “as the moderator,” promised to discuss COVID-19 soon, and gave Biden the mic again.
Wallace then asked about Trump’s health care plan … specifically, what, exactly, it is. Trump said something about his plan getting such good deals on medicine, “it’s like water.” Biden was then asked about his public option, and as he began to explain that the Biden Plan only offers a public option to the poorest among us (Trump repeated his “not what your party says” refrain), Trump began to spiral out of control, relying on his one skill: Creating a distraction by moving his mouth and saying terrible things. Biden didn’t take much of the bait before Wallace jumped in and stopped him.
Trump rambled about how much he wanted ObamaCare to work, and how well he wanted to run it, so nobody blamed him for its failure. Unfortunately, according to Trump, it was such a “disaster,” he couldn’t run it well.
Wallace then tried to regain control of the debate he was being paid to moderate.
He brought it back to the Supreme Court—sorta—by demanding that Biden express, once and for all, his support for either packing SCOTUS or ending the filibuster. Trump just would not shut up, and Biden got frustrated, saying “Will you just shut up, man?”
That screeched everything to a halt. Chris Wallace declared the topic over, and they moved on, to
COVID-19
Wallace demanded solemnity for the topic, and asked each candidate how their approach would look, and why it’s better than their opponent’s strategy.
Biden was up first, and after rattling off the current statistics, Biden tore apart Trump’s response to the pandemic, noting that “he panicked.” Trump reached into the 2016 playbook, getting in a few “wrongs” before he was checked by Wallace.
Trump, without data, declared that many more would have died under Biden’s watch, bringing up his fabled China Ban that wasn’t actually a ban, and how it was seen as “xenophobic” at the time. After praising himself multiple times, he told Biden he didn’t “have it in his blood” to do any better.
As Biden began to defend himself, Trump brought up the H1N1 response. Bad move.
As Biden began humanizing the pandemic’s losses, Trump repeated that more lives would have been lost under Biden.
Wallace snuck into the fray to move things along; he asked Trump why CDC officials are saying that a vaccine won’t be available until the summer of 2021, but Trump disagrees. Trump insisted that he disagrees with them—the vaccine will be ready much sooner, and the military will be ready to distribute it. Biden vowed to trust the science, and the scientists, and “pray God” that a vaccine comes sooner than later.
Wallace then pointed out that Kamala Harris said that medical experts aren’t trustworthy under Trump. As Biden tried to address that, Trump kept trying to interrupt. Once it was Trump’s turn, he brought up Biden’s time at Delaware State University, and, in a move his supporters are sure to cheer, told Biden to never use the word “smart” around him. Biden was baffled.
Trump resorted to his tactic of never shutting up, interrupting Biden with chants of “Pelosi.” Again, Biden was baffled, and angry. Trump leveraged the moment into explaining why he wants the nation to re-open. Wallace brought up Trump’s anti-mask sentiments, and Trump insisted he isn’t against masks at all, to which both Wallace and Biden chuckled. Biden asserted his belief that masks save lives, but Trump replied by saying that even Dr. Anthony Fauci was against masks once.
Wallace attempted to point out the difference between the Trump and Biden campaigns during the pandemic. Trump insisted that he has “tremendous” crowds and nobody’s gotten COVID-19 from his rallies, insisting there’s been “no negative effect.”
Biden called Trump’s handling of coronavirus culture “totally irresponsible.” Wallace was clearly losing interest in checking Trump by this point.
It was time the next topic:
THE ECONOMY
After saying that the economy has bounced back better than expected from the pandemic, Wallace asked about the candidates’ differing predictions for the economic recovery: Trump’s V-shape versus Biden’s K-shape. Trump was up first and tooted his own recovery horn quite loudly, accusing Democrats of waiting until Nov. 9 to re-open because then the election will be over.
Biden kicked off his uninterrupted two minutes by pointing out that millionaires and billionaires are fine in this pandemic, but the majority of the audience was not. Trump attempted to force words in but was stopped by Wallace. Biden pointed out that (assuming Trump loses) this will be the first president to have less jobs at the end of his term than at the beginning. After insisting that reopening has to be done safely, Biden reinforced the importance of safety. Trump then meandered into the importance of reopening and reopening fast, even saying “I brought back Big 10 football.”
Wallace asked him about his $750 payout in income tax in both 2016 and 2017. Trump dodged the query, just listing random numbers and saying “I paid x in taxes.”
Wallace repeated the question, and Trump insisted it was “millions of dollars” before blaming the tax code and tax credits on both Biden and the Barack Obama administration.
Biden jumped in, vowing to eliminate the Trump tax cuts. Trump then asked him why he didn’t do so while veep and a Senator, and Biden again lost his temper, saying “You are the worst president we’ve ever had.” Trump echoed the “47 years vs. 47 months” refrain the right has been saying throughout September. Biden was then asked about his plan for the tax code. Biden noted that his proposal would create more jobs and drive more domestic spending, and explained that he’d tax the wealthy more and invest that in the nation. Wallace brought up Trump’s oft-repeated lie about creating more jobs in the Obama administration, and he responded by saying that the post-Great Recession recovery was the slowest in history.
Biden fired back that Trump blew a great economy, pointing out fleeing manufacturing jobs. When Trump claimed that Biden didn’t create or save manufacturing jobs, Biden brought up his efforts to bail out the automobile reference.
Trump then started shrieking something about “the Chinese ate your lunch” before bringing out his next weapon: talking about Hunter Biden. Biden explained that everything Trump was discredited, but Trump kept talking.
For an extended period of time, Wallace kept saying “Mr. President. Mr President, please. No, no, no, Mr. President” to Trump, and “Go ahead, sir. Go ahead, I’m listening to you, sir” to Biden.
Things devolved quickly, and Wallace lost his cool, saying that he “hates to raise my voice,” and begging Trump to stop interrupting.
Wallace also gave permission for Trump to talk about whatever he wanted when asked about race.
No. Really.
On to ...
RACE
Wallace brought up Trump’s actions post-Charlottesville, and how Biden claimed it spurred him to run for president, before asking the next question: Why should voters trust you to deal with race issues over your opponent? Biden spent a chunk of his time reminding us of Trump’s infamous “both sides” argument, and the rest talking about Trump’s clearance of Lafayette Park and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the African American community, and didn't quite to get to his own stances.
Trump leaned on the 1994 crime bill and “super-predators.” He brought up his support among law enforcement, claiming that Biden couldn’t even “say law enforcement” or he’d lose support.
Trump then claimed that all the most dangerous cities have “radical left” mayors. Trump also didn’t explain any policy, but hey, Wallace told him he didn’t have to.
Biden was then asked if he thought the justice system was “separate and inequal” for Black Americans. Biden said that it was, before saying #NotAllCops and vowing to bring law enforcement to the White House and “work it all out.” He then voiced support for “peaceful protest.”
Trump started rambling about setting cars on fire before Wallace interrupted him, vowing to discuss “law and order” later.
Sidebar: This happened.
Wallace then asked Trump about his discontinuance of racial sensitivity training. Trump said such trainings were “racist” and “insane,” and teaching people to hate the nation, but not on his watch.
He repeated himself before it was Biden’s turn. Biden insisted that such trainings do no such thing, and focused on what good they do, and pointed out that people do look down on each other, but such trainings can “bring us together.”
Trump listed a bunch of cities—Ferguson, Baltimore, Oakland—seemingly unaware that’s where unarmed Black men and women were murdered by police during the Obama administration. He successfully dodged the race conversation, just as Wallace promised he could.
Wallace then brought up “law and order,” and asked if there was a difference between the Republican leadership of cities and that of Democrats. Trump claimed that there was, and railed against other cities, claiming that the suburbs were at risk. Biden pointed out that Trump doesn’t know anything about the suburbs. Wallace then asked Biden about his joint plan with Bernie Sanders, and whether or not he supported Black Lives Matter. Biden said he supported “reimagining the police” and successfully expressed his vision of community-driven policing. Trump interrupted to say that BLM wants something different, and again brought up how many cops support him.
Wallace then asked Biden if he’s called the mayor of Portland or governor of Oregon and told them to shut down the unrest.
Biden pointed out that he doesn’t hold public office, and Wallace repeated the question. Biden then noted that Kellyanne Conway once said that chaos and violence benefit Trump, and how correct that statement was.
Trump went into attack mode, and Wallace grew so frustrated that he told Trump they could switch roles.
Wallace then asked Trump to condemn white supremacists and militias, and tell them to “stand down.” Trump hedged.
Trump dipped and dodged and did not do it, sneaking in an order to the Proud Boys. He further attempted to deflect by bringing up Biden’s refusal to “condemn antifa.”
Biden pointed out that antifa is an idea, not an organization. Then it was time for
THE TRUMP AND BIDEN RECORDS
When asked why he was better “than the alternative,” Trump said he’s the greatest, nobody’s done more than him, something something Space Force, and then said he was great for the VA and for vets. He then pointed out how many judges he’d place, blaming Obama for leaving so many openings and touting “300 judges” he got to place.
Biden noted that we’ve become “weaker, sicker, poorer, and more divided” under Trump, and noted he rebuilt the economy once. He declared that he stood up to Putin, while Trump wouldn’t even call him out for bounties on U.S. soldiers. Trump attempted to interrupt to bring up Hunter Biden again but Wallace cut him off, noting that his campaign agreed to a certain format and he needed to comply.
Biden demanded his time be reinstated before pointing out we’re all worse off thanks to Trump. He then declared that his son Beau Biden was a patriot, bringing up Trump’s nasty comments about the military. Trump claimed he hadn’t heard of Beau but went on with discredited Hunter Biden claims, and brought up his cocaine struggle. Biden defended his son and said he was proud of him for conquering his addiction—in what might have been the most “real” moment of the night.
Wallace checked Trump as he tried to talk about Burisma again, and moved to the next, unexpected topic:
CLIMATE CHANGE
Trump was asked what he believes about the science of climate change. Trump explained that he wants “crystal clear water,” among other fantasies. Wallace asked what he believed about the science of climate change. When prodded, Trump barely conceded that humans might be the cause before rambling about how California needs to clean up their forests to end wildfires.
Wallace then asked why his policies roll back regulations, and Trump explained it was to make energy and cars more affordable—again complaining about California.
Biden was given the chance to respond to Trump’s record and explain his own, and whether it would kill the economy. Biden explained his plans to end coal plants, including not allowing another to be built. He vowed to convert the federal fleet to clean energy vehicles, and upgrade federal buildings, creating new jobs. He vowed to re-join the Paris Climate Accord, and to get the nation closer to zero-emissions. Biden also spoke to the destruction of the Amazon Rainforest and how he’d like to combat it. Wallace then asked how to balance economic and environmental interests, like Trump says he does. When Biden brought up Trump’s rollback of methane regulations, the impeached president interrupted to say “Green New Deal.”
Wallace then brought up Biden’s plan’s cost, and Biden again explained that his plan would cost money, but it would also create jobs. He also spoke to the need for the U.S. to lead the world in environmental policy. Trump scrambled in the face of actual policy and brought up the “47 years, 47 months” talking point, along with some more utterances of “Green New Deal.” Wallace let Trump off the hook entirely, and asked Biden if he supported the Green New Deal. Biden said he did not.
Finally, we were onto the final (!!) topic:
THE INTEGRITY OF THE ELECTION
Biden was up first, and asked how to ensure the integrity and legitimacy of the election. Biden said all the common sense things that anyone who believes in elections and democracy and voting rights would say: Let people vote by mail. Let people vote in person. Let the ballots be counted. Vote. He addressed the electorate then, and entreated us all to vote, warning us that otherwise, we’ll get “four more years of lies.”
Trump rambled about his grievances—Crooked Hillary, etc.—for most of his time, before saying that “the ballots were a disaster,” claiming that ballots are found in creeks and predicting that it was “gonna be a fraud like you’ve never seen” before insisting he was going to win. He also rattled off a list of states where he said they’re losing “40%” of the ballots.
Wallace laughed at him before pointing out that more than a quarter of the 2018 electorate voted by mail. He then asked if he was counting on SCOTUS—including Coney Barrett—to swing the results.
Trump said he was, before saying that millions of 2016 ballots were invalidated. When Wallace redirected him, Trump told people who have already voted by mail to “go and vote” before speaking of paid-off mail carriers and rivers full of ballots.
Wallace then asked about invalidated mail-in ballots, and asked if he was worried about a Coney Barrett SCOTUS getting involved. Biden used his time to explain how to properly fill out a valid mail-in ballot.
Wallace then brought up the eight states where mail-in and absentee ballots can’t be opened until Election Day, and the imminent delays caused by that policy. He then asked each candidate to tell their supporters to stay calm, respect the process, even if it takes time to get the results certified. Trump was first, and refused to “go along with that.” He then repeated his refrain about “military ballots” in “wastepaper baskets.” Biden, on the other hand, agreed to do what Wallace asked, and pointed out that the military has been voting by mail for over a century. He then vowed to “support the outcome” if he lost.
Wallace then ended the debate, and it was beyond clear that he considered Biden to be the only adult on the stage.
I’ve never heard a pundit speaking what was in my head, but, y’all, Jake Tapper said it all as soon as the debate ended.
Exactly. For the love of this country and all that is right in this world, I entreat you: VOTE. Help others vote.
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