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Presidential debate Trump vs. Biden: who won?

2020-09-30T18:17:40.709Z


The first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden was a disaster for many. This is the opinion of several CNN contributors.


Biden to Trump: Why don't you shut up, man?

0:43

(CNN) -

CNN Opinion asked contributors for their opinions on how Donald Trump and Joe Biden fared in the first presidential debate.

The opinions expressed in this comment are yours.

Scott Jennings: This was a huge disaster

Scott Jennings.

My knee-jerk reaction to this debate is that Donald Trump will feel great about tying up and beating Joe Biden all night;

Biden wonders if he should appear in the next two debates, and moderator Chris Wallace plans to take a hot bath and cry.

This debate was a disaster.

If you love Trump's aggressive and confrontational style, you surely loved it tonight.

If you are mortified by his behavior, you are angrier than a hornet at the way he treated Biden.

And if you were really indecisive, you learned very little.

Trump's Mistakes -

A Second-Term Agenda and Women.

Trump made a classic incumbent mistake by reciting the accomplishments of the first term, but he never really articulated an agenda for the next four years.

And I suspect that many women voters will be put off by his relentless interruptions and his harassment of Biden and Wallace.

Biden's mistakes -

The former vice president couldn't do much.

Clearly, he hadn't prepared for Trump's routine attack, despite being the most predictable of this debate.

I never really found a beat on any song.

It improved as the night progressed as Trump relaxed.

Wallace's Failures -

God bless the moderator, who did his best to control this debate while being hit in the face with a frying pan for 90 minutes straight.

This will be remembered as the biggest debate mess in presidential campaign history.

It leaves me wondering if the next two debates will take place.

- Scott Jennings, a CNN contributor, is a former special assistant to President George W. Bush and a former campaign adviser to Senator Mitch McConnell.

He is a partner at RunSwitch Public Relations in Louisville, Kentucky.

Follow him on Twitter @ScottJenningsKY.

SE Cupp: Trump's words disgusted suburban women

SE Cupp.

You would have lost a lot more people.

That's what President Trump told Joe Biden, as the former vice president tried to paint the tragic picture of a country that has lost more than 205,000 people to COVID-19.

"How many of you are in a situation," Biden asked, "where you lost your mom or dad and you couldn't even talk to them, you had to have a nurse holding the phone so you could say goodbye ...?"

To what Trump said - I'll repeat it - "You would have lost a lot more people."

In a night of damning sentences, for me, that was one of the worst of the night.

And it made me nauseous.

President Trump, defending his response to COVID-19, which has caused an explosion of disease and death, all under his tenure, used those deaths as a political punchline to deflect his own failures.

To call it grotesque is to be too nice.

And for suburban women, like me, whom Trump has lost en masse, it's exactly what turns them off.

In a moment of American crisis, the forest does not let you see the trees and instead you can only undertake small personal attacks that seek to deflect blame or responsibility.

That phrase was a slap in the face not only to the families of those who died, but to all Americans who have fought this pandemic.

Trump has not taken responsibility for denying the seriousness of the covid for a long time, and here, at this moment, he chose to aim even more.

In a debate filled with hideous inventiveness, childish and intimidating teasing and baseless smears against Biden and his family, this particular attack was not against the former vice president, it was, worse still, against the American people.

- SE Cupp is a CNN political commentator and host of "SE Cupp Unfiltered".

Van Jones: The Only Thing That Mattered

Van Jones.

Only three things happened that mattered in Tuesday's presidential debate.

Number one: Donald Trump refused to condemn white supremacism.

Number two: the president of the United States refused to condemn white supremacism. Number three: the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces refused to condemn white supremacism ..

On a global stage, in front of my children and their families, he was given the opportunity several times to condemn white supremacism and he refused.

Instead, he said "almost everything I see is from the left wing" and winked and nodded at a far-right organization - the Proud Boys - telling them to "back off and stay out of it."

The Proud Boys are now celebrating because they are proud and excited to hear this man back them up with the command to 'wait'.

I have a friend of color whose son saw this, turned to his mom and asked if they should buy a gun to protect themselves.

We are beyond politics at that time.

We are in a moral swamp, observing the behavior of the president, which would not be tolerated in a kindergarten class.

Everyone I know is upset, sad, or horrified.

That includes Republican friends, who are disgusted by Trump's performance tonight.

We need a leader with great empathy to bandage America's wounds and bring peace and stability.

Ask yourself: Which leader showed empathy tonight?

Who spoke directly to the American people?

Which is related to the pain of the people who suffer?

And which one spent all night interrupting, yelling, arguing with the moderator, launching personal attacks, and refusing to expose white supremacists?

Biden repeatedly turned to the camera and addressed the American people directly.

He spoke about the deaths from covid-19 that have left empty chairs at families' tables.

She shared the struggle of having a child with substance abuse problems.

She had some difficult times.

It wasn't perfect.

We can talk about politics and presentation throughout the day.

But on the big moral issues that transcend partisan debate, it's clear which candidate won.

- Van Jones is a CNN anchor and executive director of the REFORM Alliance, a criminal justice organization.

Raúl Reyes: Trump's failure to denounce white supremacism is a parody

Raúl Reyes.

Calling the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden a circus is an insult to the good people who actually work in the circus industry, including clowns.

Tonight was daunting, unenlightening, and it proved, once again, that Trump is capable of bringing everyone around her down to her level.

It was a great disservice to the American people that Trump had such a corrosive presence throughout the debate.

Trump was wildly aggressive, sometimes appearing to be in a debate with both the moderator and the former vice president.

Biden surely spoke for many viewers when he said, "Could you shut up, man?"

Trump's combative personality is unlikely to win him new support among independent voters or suburban women.

But Biden was off the game, clearly disturbed by Trump's childish interruptions, and stumbled to articulate his points effectively.

Still, his exasperation can be related to anyone who has tangled up with an abuser.

That said, Biden offered much more substance than Trump.

Where the president launched accusations and insults, Biden acknowledged racial inequality and the devastating cost of COVID-19.

He also cleverly touched on two important numbers: 750 (the amount of federal income taxes that The New York Times reports Trump paid in 2016, although the president argued tonight that he paid in millions) and 200,000 (the approximate number of American deaths from covid-19, until now).

There were two notable low points on the night: One was when the president refused to condemn clearly and succinctly white supremacism.

Given the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, and the attack on the synagogue in Pittsburgh, it is still shocking that Trump did not denounce such intolerance.

Rather than blaming white supremacists directly, when pressed to broach the issue, he said, 'I'm willing to do anything.

I want to see peace.

He then undermined himself by referring to a right-wing group, saying, "Proud Boys: back off, wait, but I'll tell you something, someone has to do something with antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem… This is a problem of the left ».

The second was when Biden spoke emotionally about his late son Beau, dismissing reports that the president had called those who died in military service "losers" and "fools," reports Trump continues to deny.

Even then, Trump failed to show a modicum of compassion and humanity, instead going ahead and attacking Hunter Biden, the former vice president's other son.

Biden went out of his way to have a serious discussion about the issues and he deserves credit for that.

Tonight's losers were Trump, hapless moderator Chris Wallace, and viewers who endured more than 90 minutes of this televised disgrace.

Sarah Isgur: The winner was a mute button on the TV remote control

Sarah Isgur.

I tuned in tonight hoping to write about what we learned about each campaign's strategy to engage its voters.

But this debate taught us that there is only one tool that will help us build a happier and healthier America: the mute button.

This debate was a futile exercise.

Three men spoke to each other for the vast majority of the 90 minutes.

For voters who wanted even the most basic understanding of what Donald Trump or Joe Biden would do as president for the next four years, it was too ambitious a goal for this debate.

When only one person was speaking, which is rare, a viewer was more likely to hear little insults and disjointed thoughts than a plan to speed up the production and distribution of a vaccine to deal with the coronavirus pandemic or how to make sure that children return to the school in spring.

I do not know what to say.

I worked in the presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney, in 2008 and 2012, and Carly Fiorina, in 2016, and in the three branches of our Government.

I've never seen anything like this and it served no discernible purpose.

President Trump entered the debating room tonight behind Joe Biden in all national polls.

He needed to change the career, and there were dozens of ways he could have tried to do it.

Needless to say, nothing that happened in tonight's debate changed the fundamentals of this race, except perhaps to reduce the audience for future debates, unless the moderators have the ability to silence each candidate when not. it's your turn to speak.

The winner tonight?

The mute button on the remote control.

Sarah Isgur is a political analyst at CNN.

She is a writer for The Dispatch and an adjunct professor in the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs.

She previously served three Republican presidential campaigns and graduated from Harvard Law School.

Tara Setmayer: The contrast between Biden and Trump couldn't have been more stark

After nearly four years, it should come as no surprise that the first presidential debate would reflect the chaotic dysfunction of the Trump presidency.

Presidential debates are supposed to be platforms for candidates to inform voters about their political records and prescriptions, their vision of the country, and their temperament for leadership.

Unfortunately, Trump's petulant intransigence and dishonest display tainted the enshrined event.

Entering the debate on Tuesday, Trump was already underwater with women voters by historic margins.

It's hard to find anything Trump said or did to reverse that trend.

It was so rude and uncontrollable that moderator Chris Wallace had to stop and scold the president like a rebellious child multiple times.

The few remaining undecided voters should wonder why, if they would not tolerate such behavior from their own son, would they accept it from the President of the United States.

After Trump's incessant interruptions for almost every reply, Biden succumbed in frustration to his exasperation and called Trump a clown.

Fortunately, there were many other moments when Biden's passion, empathy and decency manifested.

One of the most effective and memorable moments came after a barrage of rants from Trump, when Biden looked at the camera and spoke directly to the American people about the devastating impacts of Trump's leadership failures, particularly regarding COVID-19. 19.

Unlike Trump, who attacked the electoral process as "it's going to be a fraud the likes of which has never been seen" and refrained from clearly condemning white supremacists (again), Biden pledged to accept the election results and spoke out against anarchy and racial injustice.

While Trump's debate responses seemed aimed at providing help and comfort to extremists and conspiracy theorists, Biden's message was one of unity, security and a return to normalcy.

The contrast could not be more stark and it was in full view of the American people.

Do they really want four more years of indecency, incompetence and mayhem?

When Election Day comes, we will know what vision for America they have chosen.

- Tara Setmayer is a former GOP communications director, host of the “Honestly Speaking with Tara” podcast, and CNN political contributor.

She is a senior advisor to the Lincoln Project.

Keith Boykin: It was the worst debate in American history

Keith Boykin.

Joe Biden clearly won the Tuesday night debate, but that's not the point.

What the Americans just witnessed was the worst presidential debate in American history and a compelling argument for canceling the rest of the presidential debates of the season.

From the very first question, President Donald Trump was rude, disrespectful, and unpresidential, but his responses to three of moderator Chris Wallace's questions were completely disqualifying.

First, Trump called the upcoming election, in which we are seeing an increase in mail ballots, as "a fraud," was outrageous.

We have never seen an American president openly undermine the integrity of the American electoral system just before an election.

That is what dictators do, not democratic leaders.

Second, Trump refuses to forcefully condemn white supremacists and right-wing militia groups, even after one of his own supporters was recently accused of killing two people and wounding a third.

This shows how insensitive he is to America's raging racial problem.

Pressed by moderator Chris Wallace on whether he would condemn supporters of white supremacism, Trump said: "Sure.

I am willing to do that.

But then he seemed to back down, telling the Proud Boys, a far-right group, to "back off and stay on the sidelines."

It was a disgrace that brought help and comfort to racist fanatics across America.

Third, amid the worst public health crisis in 100 years and the worst economic crisis in 80 years, Trump did not provide plans for what he would do about these crises if he were given another four years in office.

Instead, with more than 200,000 Americans killed by Covid-19, Trump took credit for bringing college football back.

While the president spent the entire night attacking, lying, distracting, rambling, and interrupting, Biden was calm and intelligent, often staring directly into the camera to leave the show behind and address the American people directly.

Biden asked: "Do you believe for a moment what he is telling you, in light of all the lies he has told, about the whole thing related to COVID?"

Finally, while Trump made vague promises of "pristine air" and "pristine water," Biden made specific proposals on climate change and other issues.

The contrast was dramatic.

The United States should be ashamed of allowing Trump to be president.

- Keith Boykin is a CNN political commentator and a former White House adviser to President Bill Clinton.

Peter Bergen: Biden won in the most important crisis facing the United States

Peter Bergen.

The coronavirus is the worst public health crisis the country has faced in a century;

However, in Tuesday night's presidential debate, President Donald Trump did not even make a formal statement acknowledging the pain and suffering of the more than 200,000 American families who have had loved ones killed by COVID-19.

The president also did not make any kind of empathy gesture toward the 7 million Americans who have been infected with the coronavirus, many of whom will face health complications that may not be life-threatening, but will still leave them seriously ill.

Instead, during the debate, Trump, as he has repeatedly done before, gave himself a giant slap on the back for the "great job" his administration has done in fighting COVID-19.

As Biden was quick to point out, the US has 4% of the world's population, but more than 20% of the deaths reported from the virus.

During the debate, Trump did not present any plans for what he would really do with the coronavirus if he were elected to a second term, other than shouting some slogans about Biden that he wants to close the country and that the United States is "weeks away from a vaccine." while leading scientists in his own administration say that any potential vaccine will likely not be widely available until the summer of 2021.

Biden jumped on Trump about his past delusional thinking about the coronavirus: that it would disappear by Easter;

that taking disinfectant could help kill the virus and that warm weather would scare the virus away.

The coronavirus, of course, did not take a summer vacation.

Instead, states like Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming have seen record one-day increases in coronavirus infection rates over the past week, according to Reuters.

So whoever takes office on January 20, 2021, will have to deal with the possibly most complex crisis facing the United States since World War II.

Trump certainly did not argue that he was the right man to deal with this crisis on the debate stage Tuesday night.

- Peter Bergen is a CNN National Security Analyst, Vice President of New America, and Professor of Practice at Arizona State University.

He is Senior Editor of Coronavirus Daily Brief and author of the book "Trump and His Generals: The Cost of Chaos."

Frida Ghitis: In a gruesome debate, Trump showed why he is a threat to the United States

Frida Ghitis.

If the election is a referendum on the presidency of Donald Trump, this debate, horrible as it was, offered the perfect showcase.

Trump acted like a bully, lying, yelling, sweating, and saying things that could fuel more racism and more violence.

It wasn't even subtle.

Pressured by moderator Chris Wallace, who insisted on knowing whether Trump would be willing to condemn supporters of white supremacism, Trump finally said: “Sure.

I am willing to do that.

But he also appealed to one of America's most abhorrent groups, the so-called Proud Boys, whose name you may have first heard at the infamous 2017 rally in Charlottesville, amid the crowd shouting "Jews don't they will replace us ».

Trump's message from the debate stage, "Proud Boy: Stand Back and Wait."

Wait?

For what?

When asked later if he would tell his supporters to refrain from violence and accept the election results, Trump declined and instead told his supporters to go "see" the polls.

We've already seen reports of Trump supporters harassing Democratic voters at the polls.

Trump threw more logs into the fire that he has been building for months, with claims about voter fraud, ominously laying the groundwork for rejecting the election results if he loses.

It showed how dangerous he is as president.

He confirmed that this election is a choice on whether the country will accelerate its drift towards autocracy or return to its democratic path.

Biden kept his cool and made a lot of positive points.

Yelling at Trump was out of the question even for the weakened moderator.

Biden was in his prime when he ignored Trump's rants and spoke directly to viewers.

"Do you believe for a moment what he is telling you, in light of all the lies he has told, especially the issue related to covid?"

Trump repeatedly tried to change the subject and beat up Biden over his son Hunter, who is not running for president.

Biden rejected the claims about his son.

Then he looked directly at the camera and said, “This is not about my family or yours.

It's about your family.

He doesn't want to talk about you, what you need.

Don't feel sorry for Biden, feel sorry for America.

This was a bad night for the country, a shameful display of a shameless president.

- Frida Ghitis, former producer and CNN correspondent, is a columnist for international affairs.

She is a frequent CNN opinion writer, a contributing columnist for The Washington Post, and a columnist for the World Politics Review.

Follow her on Twitter @fridaghitis.

Paul Begala: Trump confirms that he is the candidate who brings chaos

Paul Begala.

Chaos.

That's the word Democrats want to use to define the Trump presidency.

Chaos is the accusation Democrats want to press against Donald Trump.

And tonight, Donald Trump pleaded guilty.

The first presidential debate was, even for the Trump era, chaotic.

The President repeatedly interrupted former Vice President Joe Biden, complained to the press, and confronted poor Chris Wallace, the moderator.

Biden responded in frustration, saying to Trump at one point, "You wanna shut up, man?"

And the people watching at home surely yelled, "Amen!"

Biden was at his strongest talking about the Covid-19 crisis, talking about the more than 205,000 dead;

families with an empty chair at the table.

Trump's performance seemed almost unhinged, as if he or his strategists concluded that the American people wanted him to yell more, interrupt more, lie more.

It's hard to imagine that someone who isn't already committed to Trump will see that performance and settle down.

Repulsion is the closest thing.

For months, Trump has claimed that Joe Biden is not up to the job.

On the morning of the debate, Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani even accused Biden of having dementia.

Indeed, Biden showed flashes of righteous outrage, throwing his most withering and effective line of the night when Trump attacked his son Hunter: "This is not about my family," he said, turning to the camera.

It's about your family, the American people.

It's about you".

Many families are struggling.

They are balancing lost jobs, dealing with depleted savings, impending eviction, canceled health insurance, a deadly virus on the rise, children unable to go to school.

Their lives are chaotic enough.

They want compassion.

They want competition.

They want love.

Biden offered that tonight.

Trump only offered more chaos.

Nayyera Haq: Biden was the one who attacked the strongest

Nayyera haq

Even though there were no women on stage in Tuesday's presidential debate, Joe Biden's tone and composure made him identifiable to female voters.

Biden's responses to Donald Trump showed empathy with suburban voters who can determine the outcome of the election.

Biden spoke directly to the camera multiple times, telling viewers that he was committed to working for American families, in contrast to Trump, who only focused on getting rich.

All of the watching mothers surely related to Biden's increasingly exasperated sighs and deep, calming breaths in response to Trump's constant childish interruptions, and every working woman must at some point have channeled Biden's efforts for the serenity when men like Trump criticize and reject her.

Biden earns extra points for largely maintaining his composure during debate;

most parents would have broken up long before 90 minutes of non-stop chattering.

Biden also did not involve Trump's children in the debate, despite Trump's attacks on Biden's son throughout, a sign of Biden's admirable strength of character.

Biden spoke excitedly about his two sons.

While Trump's inability to empathize with Biden's loss of his son Beau was jarring, Biden's statement that he was proud of his son Hunter for overcoming addiction offered a rare and moving moment.

That's not to say that Biden was soft in response to Trump's pit bull behavior.

Rather, Biden was actually the one who actually attacked Tuesday night, berating Trump for "barking" and telling Trump he was "Putin's puppy."

While Trump continued to preoccupy himself with the essence of belligerence, Biden's composure and continued effort to speak directly to American families brought him out of this debate as the alpha male.

- Nayyera Haq is a host of The Global Experience on SiriusXM Progress.

She served in the Obama administration as a Senior Advisor to the State Department and Senior Director of the White House.

Follow her on @nayyeroar.

Julian Zelizer: The big problem that Chris Wallace, strangely, downplayed

Julian Zelizer.

No one "won this debate."

It was pure chaos, an insult to deliberative democracy.

We all lose when something like this happens.

But in terms of whose campaign she'll be most pleased with, it's probably Joe Biden.

Why is this the case?

Biden is winning the race right now;

President Trump is a weak headline.

Polls consistently show that Biden is doing well in most of the key states.

Despite all the low expectations, Biden proved he mastered issues and can handle this type of interaction much better than his critics predicted.

He addressed a number of key issues and stayed on the sidelines while the president failed to condemn white supremacist groups.

When the president went after Hunter Biden, Trump showed the ugly.

The debate, however, was certainly not a home run for the Democrats.

Chris Wallace structured the debate in a way that downplayed the central issue of our time: Covid-19.

The moderator treated the pandemic and the failed response since February as one problem among many, rather than the defining problem of our time.

It's like not highlighting the financial crash and the Great Depression during a debate in 1932.

In the second half of the debate, the swing descended into chaos on steroids.

It seemed that more time was being spent on Hunter Biden than on COVID-19.

Chaos takes Biden away from core issues.

For now, Biden can live with it.

Trump is not working for large numbers of voters, including those lovely suburbs.

This debate will not change things.

Julian Zelizer, a CNN political analyst, is Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University and author of the book "Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich, the Fall of a Speaker, and the Rise of the New Republican Party."

Follow him on Twitter @julianzelizer.

Jessica Anderson: Unfinished Business After First Debate

Jessica Anderson.

The two candidates on stage tonight had an audience in mind: independent undecided in undecided states.

Biden was unable to convince them, while Trump probably made progress.

Biden may have performed well, by Washington's groupthink standards, but he didn't commit to the real concerns on the minds of independents.

Biden sidestepped a question about how to fill the Supreme Court, how he would handle the pandemic differently, as well as shutting down the entire country, and whether he would abolish Senate filibuster.

It also staggered when faced with the violence that plagued the nation's cities.

Biden cannot answer these questions without alienating extremists from his party.

If you scream that you don't pack up in court, you lose the liberals.

If you articulate a well-coordinated plan for economic recovery and pandemic, you lose the straw man arguments against Trump.

Biden has nowhere to go, so he kept mum and lost any advantage he might have had with swing voters.

We know that Biden has said that he would eliminate many of Trump's tax cuts, which were a historic boon for the middle class, according to The Heritage Foundation.

Rather than telling working families how his platform would help them, Biden undermined them by talking about expanding Obamacare, raising taxes, and offering an odd comment on Brazilian rainforests.

Rather, Trump focused on his administration's broad achievements and provided details that matter, such as the massive pre-covid-19 job creation he's recovering, and his support for small businesses through pro-growth tax reform. .

He reiterated his support for law enforcement and opposition to violence and lawlessness, something Biden strove to do.

These issues are important.

While independents may not like President Trump's style, they like his substance and have benefited from his presidency.

The upcoming debate offers an opportunity to bring those voters home.

- Jessica Anderson is Executive Director of Heritage Action, a nationwide grassroots organization.

She is also the founder and president of Moms for Safe Neighborhoods, a political advocacy group that advocates for safety issues and supports President Trump.

Anderson previously served as Associate Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget from 2017 to 2018. Follow her on Twitter at @ JessAnderson2.

David Gergen: A serious insult to American voters

David Gergen.

Tuesday night's "debate," if you can call it that, was a grave insult to American voters and an embarrassment to the United States abroad.

The Committee on Presidential Debates should suspend the remaining presidential debates unless it can renegotiate the terms.

Keep the format of two minutes, for example, but for every minute that one candidate interrupts the other, the moderator must reduce their remaining time by two minutes.

Sure, there may be more creative solutions, but if the Commission cannot negotiate one, let the curtain drop to avoid more monstrosities like the first debate.

It was also a disaster for President Donald Trump.

He entered the debate with an urgent need to change the career.

In CNN's post-debate poll, six out of 10 voters thought Joe Biden beat Trump.

Perhaps one day we will look back and say that this debate ended his prospects for re-election.

As for Biden, several commenters thought he got it right.

For me it was flat and wavering in the first half hour or so, but just when it looked like it was getting tired, it pulled itself together and was much more effective.

Overall, Biden showed he has the energy, grit, and sharpness to take on the job.

He rarely let Trump bother him, which was no easy task.

And instead of being a radical socialist, as Trump argued, he gave the impression of being moderate and genuinely caring for his fellow citizens.

Bottom line: Trump self-destructively and Biden is now a strong favorite.

- David Gergen has been a White House adviser to four presidents and is a senior political analyst for CNN.

A graduate of Harvard Law School, he is Professor of Public Service at Harvard Kennedy School, where he founded the Center for Public Leadership.

Lanhee J. Chen: American Democracy Left with a Black Eye

Tuesday's debate was a black eye on American democracy.

Across the country, people watched the two candidates arguing and wondered, "Is this the best we can do?"

General election debates are often said to be a job interview for the United States Presidency.

If so, we may want to look back at that pile of resumes after tonight's mess.

Moderator Chris Wallace bravely tried to turn down both candidates when they broke the rules, but could do no more than admonish them.

Given how unproductive the debate was, it should come as no surprise that the two candidates decide not to meet for one or two more.

And the American people will be no worse from attrition if that happens, because we really didn't learn anything new about Donald Trump or Joe Biden tonight.

Each candidate will be able to claim victory in some way.

Trump and his campaign were able to use the debate to put a cycle of bad news behind them and can take comfort in the fact that Biden was not more aggressive in attacking the president with The New York Times' reporting on miniscule income tax payments. Trump in 2016 and 2017.

On the other hand, Biden's team can argue that their candidate was competent (if not sharp) in his responses during the debate and did not lose his composure even when he was attacked and pushed during the debate.

He was also able to land a few blows against the president, particularly with regard to his administration's handling of the covid-19 pandemic.

Ultimately, however, the debate probably doesn't matter much because it didn't change your mind.

Voters who are undecided will likely remain undecided, and the battle for their support will continue for the next five weeks.

But they shouldn't have more discussions to help them make a decision.

- Lanhee J. Chen is the David and Diane Steffy Fellow in American Public Policy Studies at the Hoover Institution and Director of Domestic Policy Studies in the Public Policy Program at Stanford University.

He served as Policy Director for Mitt Romney's 2012 Presidential Campaign and Senior Campaign Advisor for Marco Rubio in 2016.

Alice Stewart: The American People Deserve A Debate, Not A Cage Fight

Alice Stewart.

Three words for the first presidential debate in Ohio: train crash.

Valid points and persuasion were lost in the interruptions and insults.

Visions of the future were clouded by the beatings of the past.

If the goal is to win over undecided voters, I don't see where either side moved the needle.

President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden made several important talking points that went directly to their parties, but what they did not say will be remembered.

Trump touted his successes: the appointment of hundreds of judges to federal courts, a strong pre-pandemic economy, and a strong commitment to the law enforcement community.

He said he had done more in 47 months than Biden had done in 47 years.

The president, however, will pay a price for his refusal to strongly condemn white supremacists and deny everything they stand for.

Trump had set the bar quite low for Biden too, after months of attacking his mental acuity.

In the debate, Biden managed to take two steps forward and one step back.

The former vice president got points for looking directly into the camera and connecting with voters.

As long as it is remembered, it will be of great help to women and undecided voters.

Many of them probably want a candidate with empathy.

But Biden lost points by calling Trump a "clown" and telling him to shut up.

Voters appreciate Michelle Obama's mantra: "When they go down, we go up."

It also didn't help her cause when she didn't answer a question directly.

Biden criticized Trump for going ahead with a female candidate to fill the Supreme Court vacancy weeks before an election, but declined to answer the question about whether he will pack the Court.

Sooner or later, you will have to put this critical problem on record.

I like a healthy debate, but both candidates need to re-mark it at their next meeting.

The American people deserve a debate, not a cage fight.

- Alice Stewart is a CNN political commentator, a fellow at Harvard University's Kennedy Institute for Politics, and a former Ted Cruz Communications Director for President.

John Avlon: The first debate lacks the dignity America deserves

Presidential debates are supposed to illuminate, create stark contrasts between candidates, and show the strength of our democracy.

This was a disaster, overwhelmingly due to President Trump's bully acting.

It demonstrated the fundamental lack of respect it has for the democratic process.

Debates are often remembered with witty phrases.

In my opinion, these are the two that will stand out when the smoke clears:

Joe Biden: "You want to shut up, man?"

Donald Trump: "Prod Boys, stand back and wait."

Former Vice President Joe Biden's exasperated comment was a rare moment when he lost his cool under constant fire.

But with Trump serially interrupting him, as a matter of strategy or instinct, Biden spoke on behalf of many Americans who were watching him at home.

Trump's statement about the Proud Boys was the most troubling: He seemed to back down in his response to a question from moderator Chris Wallace, moments earlier, that he would condemn white supremacist violence.

It was not a difficult question.

Trump gave the impression that he believes the Proud Boys are informing him, and more importantly, he raised the question: what are they waiting for?

Whenever Biden got angry, Trump would interrupt and step down, sometimes in strange ways.

For example, he interrupted a statement about the pandemic that has killed an estimated 205,000 Americans to date to say that Biden is not smart and to falsely suggest that he lied about where he had gone to college.

Trump lied about his environmental policies, his economic record, voting by mail, and much more.

Biden could have hit more: He didn't hit hard enough on Trump's $ 750 in federal income tax issue.

He didn't mention Trump's indictment, again, which was for the president's attempt to dig up the dirt on the Biden family, withholding military aid in the process (although Biden called Trump "Putin's puppy" was a good line).

Some people will walk away thinking that both candidates were diminished by the debate, but this is not the time for bilateralism, it is dangerous.

Don't miss the underlying threat that Trump doubled back on, refusing to commit to a peaceful transfer of power, and basically stating that he believed the election results would be fraudulent.

Despite all the noise, the signal was still clear: Biden showed up for a presidential debate.

Trump appeared to spew rhetorical feces, mistaking bravado for force.

In the process, he made a mess of himself and the debate.

Now it will be up to the American people to clean up this mess on Election Day and restore some dignity to our democracy.

- John Avlon is a senior political analyst at CNN.

United States Presidential Debate Donald Trump Joe Biden

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2020-09-30

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