The first of the three Presidential debates were held on 7th October 2020 which was midst the tensions caused from not only the COVID-19 pandemic but also the hit that the US economy has suffered due to the negative GDP, shuttered schools and loss of education and police brutality towards the black people. But the debate did not reflect that these concerns were causing troubles in any way, rather, it was a display of fight for power that insulted the Americans when it was actually meant to persuade them. Instead of a meaningful discussion of the multiple ongoing national emergencies, viewers were shown three men – Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Chris Wallace, the moderator, who were just interrupting, shouting at and insulting each other. The harshness and dishonesty were an insult to the dignity of the electoral process and to the Americans whose lives are dependent on the governance of the next President.
The first question was about the Supreme Court, where Trump has nominated conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “We won the election,” Trump began. “Elections have consequences.” Biden responded that “the American people have a right to have a say,” and that “we should wait” until after the presidential election to select another justice. When questioned upon the American economy, President Trump talked about his business-friendly tax cuts and stock market gains while Presidential candidate Joe Biden talked about significant job creation while he was vice president in the Obama administration. President Trump responded by saying “When the stock market goes up, that means jobs.” He also said to Joe Bidden that “If you ever became president with your ideas, you want to terminate my taxes. You’ll lose half of the companies that have poured in here. They’ll leave.” Joe Biden responded to this by saying “We were able to have an economic recovery that created the jobs you’re talking about. We handed him a booming economy. He blew it.” He continued and said that “Even before COVID-19, manufacturing went in the hole. I’m the guy that brought back the automobile industry. I was asked to bring back Chrysler and General Motors. We brought them back right here in the state of Ohio and Michigan. He blew it.”
Throughout the debate President Donald Trump continuously lied and misrepresented his own record, his opponent’s record, President Obama’s record, Hillary Clinton’s record, the records of several Senate and congressional Democrats, and the state of crime, economic activity and coronavirus infection rates. He wrongly claimed that Joe Biden supports “socialist medicine”. He wrongly claimed that Joe Biden supports a Green New Deal. He wrongly claimed that Joe Biden opposes the police. And wrongly claimed that Joe Biden had the power to limit the coronavirus outbreak during his time as a senator, vice-president and presidential candidate. His closing remarks were that the election would be illegitimate if he lost. “This is going to be a fraud like you’ve never seen,” he said. “This is a rigged election.” Many times, the debate split-screen showed the two candidates trying to talk over one another while Wallace, the moderator, speaking at the same time, pleading for clarity. “Please let the vice president talk,” Wallace warned President Trump during one of his interruptions after earlier making clear that he was the moderator.
Joe Biden, leading in national polls by a large margin, challenged Trump on the state of the country. He brought up the increasing number of coronavirus dead and emphasized the grief of those left behind who loved them. He brought up the Trump administration’s attempts to revoke the Affordable Care Act and the healthcare expansion that started in the era of Obama and has extended insurance to millions during the pandemic. He brought up the failing economy, the uncertainty of jobs and the tax cuts for the rich and wealthy while the majority of Americans face a tremendous pressure of taxes. He even brought up the corruption of Trump himself, calling him out on his alleged tax evading, supporting white supremacists and his refusal to agree to a peaceful transfer of power to the next President if he loses the election.
It was difficult for Joe Bidden to express his views clearly to the audience because of Trump’s constant interruption. “It’s hard to get anything in with this clown,” he said. He called Trump a clown several times and was frank in his annoyance. He even looked directly at the camera and addressed his frustrations not to Trump or the moderator, but to the viewers at home. “Folks, do you have any idea what this clown is doing?” he asked the audience. At other times, he was dismissive of Trump. “Will you shut up, man?” he asked. “You’re the worst president America has ever had,” he said.
What was the point of this debate? The environment of lies and hostility certainly didn’t reveal anything new about the candidates but served as an add on to the existing anxiety of the people as now there not even sure about the political future of their country as most of the citizens would be wishing for a President who would actually want to serve the nation and for whom the being the President of the United States is a responsibility and an opportunity to make a difference and not a power to rule. It would be laughable to suggest that the debate was productive to the democratic process. Moreover, the debate was a national embarrassment. This debate between the existing President and the Presential candidate should have been a respectful discussion about the lives of the people and the future of the nation instead of a display of the desperateness for power.
Written by : Aditi Agrawal.
