For those of you who didn’t watch, the first presidential debate included 90 minutes of Donald Trump and Joe Biden talking over each other while Chris Wallace of “Fox News Sunday” sat by helplessly.
The topics Wallace selected for the debate were Trump and Biden’s tax records, the Supreme Court, the coronavirus pandemic, the economy, race and violence in cities and the integrity of the election, with 15 minutes being allotted for each topic.
Throughout the debate, Trump tried repeatedly to paint Joe Biden as a member of the “radical left.” This accusation didn’t seem to stick though, because Biden was the most moderate candidate in the Democratic primary. He and Kamala Harris are running on a very moderate ticket. Republicans trying to portray them as the type of people who want to take our guns and turn America into a socialist nation simply isn’t going to be successful.
On the topic of healthcare, Joe Biden spoke for all of us when he sarcastically stated “That was a really productive segment, wasn’t it.” Neither candidate managed to describe their complete thoughts without being interrupted.
The COVID-19 segment was a tad more productive, with Joe Biden telling viewers that Trump still doesn’t have a plan and Trump rebutting by saying that Biden would have been responsible for the deaths of millions of Americans instead of hundreds of thousands because he doesn’t have what it takes to lead the country.
Biden’s COVID-19 plan includes providing businesses with the proper funding with adequate personal protective equipment, but Trump cut him off before he could discuss the rest of his ideas.
After the COVID-19 discussion, Trump’s income tax was brought up, a topic that has been trending this week after the New York Times reported that Trump had been avoiding paying full income tax, paying only $750 in 2016 and 2017.
Trump denied this claim in the debate, stating that he had paid “millions of dollars” and would make his tax returns public “as soon as it’s finished.”
In the race and violence section of the debate, many viewers were appalled when Trump seemingly avoided condemning white supremacy. When asked by Biden to denounce the Proud Boys, an all-male, far-right, neo-fascist organization, Trump stated, “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.”
Although the first presidential debate went about as tragically as expected, voters can look forward to the vice presidential debate next Tuesday, Oct. 7. Kamala Harris has not yet come face-to-face with Mike Pence as a vice presidential candidate, and many are eager to see how both candidates handle themselves.
