Boston, Massachusetts, US
Posts: 11
how has it come to this
The first debate was by far the most unprecidented, unorganized, and least productive debate I've ever heard. No one man made a serious point, it just ended up being who could critizice the other more. Like I understand they're not friends or anything, but would you stop piping in on the other person and listen? Or maybe instead of saying how the opponent is bad or wrong, how bout say how you are right and how you should be elected or re-elected. Comments regarding smarts, Biden's son, and "sarcasm" are just not necessary.
I don't think I learned anything from the debate, only that our country is in serious trouble. They are polar opposite people when it comes to a lot of notions, such as taxes, climate change, and even covid. Trump I think took the aggresive role in this debate, constantly going at Biden and interupting him and the moderator. Biden wanted to seem calm and collected but started to lose it by the end. The moderator also had a very tough time keeping control of the situation, and although it's not very difficult to keep a conversation on track, the moderator seemed to lose it. I think this debate will only make people double back on their previous decisions involving which side they are on by the sure irresponsibility that was shown.
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Posts: 10
The Presidential Debate
One of the moments that stood out the most to me was when Trump would not clearly state that he condemns white supremacists. When asked the question by the moderator, he tried to avoid answering it, and when he was pushed into a position where he had to answer the question, he said that white supremacists should stand down and stand by. What makes this response concerning is that he said that the white supremacists should “stand by,” implying that he does not fully condemn them. Another moment that stood out to me was the personal attack that Trump made against Biden about his family. Attacks such as this on Biden’s personal life were entirely uncalled for, and did not have a place under the setting of a presidential debate. These debates are meant to be an opportunity for the candidates to strengthen their campaign by explaining their plans, but both Trump and Biden took it as an opportunity to make rude comments about the other person. Overall, I would say that Biden did a better job at explaining his plans, but due to the sheer number of interruptions from the opposing side, he could barely get through his statements. I would say that this debate showed an important side of the characters of the presidential candidates. Both of them were childish in their insults and interruptions, which is not an aid to either side of the debate. I find it concerning that they could behave in such a way, especially considering the importance of this election for the future of the country. This debate does not look good for either side of the competition, and does not bode well for the future of the election. All we can hope is that they are able to compose themselves before the next debate, so that it can be more productive and informative for the people watching it.
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Posts: 10
An Upsetting Show of Volume
That debate wasn't a debate at all. It was a glorified shouting match between two men (and a moderator). Watching it was very upsetting, for both me and my parents. We are all ideological democrats, so watching Trump shout over Biden for the majority of the performance was highly upsetting, eventually resulting in all three of us shouting for them to "turn off his fucking mic" at different intervals. I feel like I am just now, two full days later able to look at and understand the events of the debate. Now to walk through my reactions to whatever happened on Tuesday: At first I was saddened, when I thought at how ineffective a lot of that "debate" felt. My next reaction was upset-ness, at how unfair it all felt sometimes, where Trump can just shout louder than the opposition and idiots will come flocking to defend his every word. The next morning, as I was eating breakfast and scrolling through reddit, all I saw was articles about the debate, and that line that will forever amuse me, "Will you shut up, man?" For the rest of that Wednesday, my only thought of it was in class, about how to prevent that from ever happening again. And now as I reflect on it, I realize that it was only ever another way for Trump to boost his ego through publicity. Biden, I feel, went in to it to try and convince people on policy, while Trump went in only to win through personality. And what is better than not only preventing your opponent from winning by showing their policy than shouting about your policy, stealing their precious time and gaining extra for you? I remember a quote from Bob Woodward's book, in which Kushner says that people would rather Trump be wrong than they be right, so they'll make crazy stances just to oppose him. I feel like Trump was trying to use that strategy again in the debate, but Biden just wasn't willing to jump, which I am very happy about.
"Shut up clown"
At the time I’m reading this, an article has come out stating that “Trump and first lady take coronavirus tests after top aide Hope Hicks tests positive for Covid-19”. Hope Hicks did travel with Trump to the debate, and if Trump did catch the virus we possibly won’t see the October 15th debate, and that’s unfortunate because the first debate was an embarrassment argument between three toddlers. Moments that stood out to me was the incapability to actually enforce the time limit from the moderator, Trump’s incapability to wait for his turn, and Biden for not fighting Trump on stage for calling his son a loser and a drug addict. I wasn’t even surprised when the moderator asked Trump to denounce white supremacy and he dodged the question and blamed it on the left. It was mind boggling that the person running the country acts like an actual child. Despite this I question if his accusation of mail in ballots voting Trump are actually being thrown away. At the end of the day the debate was more a source of entertainment than a political debate. If future debates are like this, I don’t see the point, and it’s about who can make themselves look more foolish. Like a man once said, “Shut up clown”.