
Trump takes on both Biden and Wallace in first presidential debate
Tuesday night’s first presidential debate, from Cleveland, Ohio, between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden wasted no time getting contentious. The campaigns had agreed to 90 minutes of debate consisting of six segments. Each segment would consist of a question, then 2 minutes for each candidate’s answer and then ten minutes of open discussion on the subject.
The moderator, Chris Wallace anchor at Fox News, started the night with a question about Amy Coney Barrett and the Supreme Court. President Trump and Mr. Biden answered the question in the two minutes provided but the open discussion is where Wallace lost control. It went off the rails with both candidates talking over each other and interrupting throughout the debate.
Wallace made several attempts to reign it in, even shushing the President of the United States on multiple occasions while pushing back on Mr. Biden a few times for interrupting. Biden was heard saying “Will you shut up man” and calling the President “a clown.” Biden continually insisted that everything President Trump was saying was a lie but live fact checkers during the debate were able to point out several inaccuracies in Biden’s statements.
Biden said his son was not discharged from the military for testing positive for cocaine. He said that 100 million Americans have preexisting conditions. He said he did not tell a group of soldiers “clap for that you stupid bastards.” He stated that he did not call black men “Predators.” Biden quipped that Antifa was “an idea, not an organization.” He said mail in West Virginia was not found in dumpsters. All these statements are false and these are just some of the big ones.
In some interesting exchanges, Chris Wallace appeared more aggressive and argumentative with the President than Mr. Biden, so much so that President Trump said to Wallace “I guess I’m debating you and not him.” When President Trump tried to answer questions about coronavirus, the moderator kept interrupting the President, attempting to “correct” him as he was speaking. The president asked Mr. Biden several direct questions including “Name one law enforcement agency that has endorsed you.” to which the democratic candidate had no answer but Wallace was quick to jump in when Biden began to stumble. A move that many critics are saying was providing “cover” for the former Vice President.
The night was chaotic at best and there are two more debates on the horizon. The next debate is October 15 in Miami, Florida with the last debate taking place October 22 in Nashville, Tennessee.