By: Tayhana Taylor, Contributing Writer
After a period of heightened anticipation, Americans finally got the opportunity to witness President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden face-off in the first of three Presidential debates; the debate was held on Sept. 29, 2020, and was moderated by Fox News’ Chris Wallace. There was also the Vice-Presidential debate between Senator Kamala Harris of the Democratic party and Vice President Mike Pence of the Republican party.
In case you missed the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Debates, here is a recap.
The first presidential debate was a clash of political and personality differences.
Source: Patrick Semansky/AP
During the Presidential debate, there were a total of six questions asked by Wallace, each candidate had a total of two minutes to give their response or counter their opponent’s response. One of the major topics during this debate was the ongoing issue of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Wallace asked each candidate to respond to the question, “Why should America trust you more on dealing with COVID-19?’’
Biden voiced that Trump knew the critical condition of the virus and failed the American people by choosing to not respond to the virus.
“The President has no plan; he hasn’t laid out any. He knew back in February how serious this crisis was[…]what did he do? He’s on tape acknowledging he knew. He said he didn’t tell us because he didn’t want to panic the American people. You don’t panic, he panicked,” Biden said. “I laid out in July what we should be doing. We should be providing all the protective gear possible; we should be providing the money of the house had passed to be able to go out and get people the help they need to keep their businesses open.”
Social distancing was prioritized at the Presidential debate. Members of the audience were required to wear a mask.
Source: Brian Snyder/Reuters
Trump responded and said, “We got the mask, we got the gowns, we made the ventilators, you wouldn’t have made ventilators, and now we are weeks away from the vaccine.”
The filling of the recent Supreme Court vacancy was another highlight of the debate. Both nominees hold opposing views as to how the vacancy should be filled. Trump has nominated Amy Coney Barrett as he stated that she is “respected by all, top-top academic, and good in every way.”
“We won the election and elections have consequences. We won the election and therefore we have the right to choose her,” said Trump.
Biden, on the other hand, holds the view that it is the right of the American people to choose the next Supreme Court Justice.
CNN Politics reported that Vice President Joe Biden won the first presidential debate.
Source: Morry Gash/AP
Wallace raised the concern about the state of the economy during the pandemic. There have been reports that the economy has been recovering at a faster rate than expected from the shutdown as unemployment is now at 8.4 percent.
“We built the greatest economy in history and closed it down when the China plague came,” said Trump.
Additionally, he voiced that 2 million people would have died during the pandemic instead of 204,000 if Biden was President. Biden stated that the economy during the pandemic has only benefited the millionaires and billionaires in the country, like Trump. Biden also pointed out that Trump’s tax records revealed that he only pays $750 USD in taxes.
The Presidential debate further addressed the questions on the integrity of this election as a result of the new voting procedures due to the pandemic, racial injustice, and violence in the cities.
President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden were joined by their wives, First Lady Melania Trump and Jill Biden at the end of the debate.
Source: Morry Gash/Pool/Getty Images
The heated Vice-Presidential debate between Harris and Pence followed the Presidential debate; this debate was held on Oct. 7 and moderated by USA Today’s Susan Page. Both candidates boosted the suitability of the nominee heading their political ticket. There were high expectations of this debate as Harris is known for her strong prosecuting skills, therefore Americans awaited these skills to be shown in the debate against Pence. CNN Politics reported that Harris “played it safe” this debate.
Page first raised questions about the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare, the justice system, the economy, foreign policy, and climate change.
Harris voiced that the Biden administration has a plan for the American people to move forward and recover from the pandemic. Pence followed up by stating that the Biden administration’s plans for the pandemic mirror the plans of the Trump administration. Pence critiqued the Biden administration of plagiarizing the plans of the Trump administration.
Page mentioned the potential of a COVID-19 being developed soon by the Trump administration; Harris boldly stated that she will be the first in line to take the vaccine if it is approved by health professionals.
“If Donald Trump tells us we should take it, I’m not taking it,” said Harris.
Towards the end of the debate, the question of whether Breonna Taylor was served justice by the courts was asked to both nominees.
Plexi glass was placed between the candidates during the Vice-Presidential debate. They also seated the candidates 12 feet apart.
Source: Mary Gash/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
“I don’t believe so, and I’ve talked with Breonna’s mother, Tamika Palmer, and her family, and she deserves justice,” Harris said. “We need reform of our policing in America and our criminal justice system, which is why Joe and I will immediately ban chokeholds and carotid holds. George Ford would be alive today if we did that.”
Pence shared a different opinion on the issue, he denied the American justice system needs reform.
“Well, our heart breaks for the loss of any innocent American lives, and the family of Breonna Taylor has our sympathies. But I trust our justice system, a grand jury that reviews the evidence,” said Pence.
The final question of the debate came from 8th grader, Brecklynn Brown.
Brown wrote, “When I watch the news, all I see is arguing between Democrats and Republicans. When I watch the news, all I see is citizens fighting against citizens. When I watch the news, all I see are two candidate parties, trying to tear each other down. If our leaders can’t get along, how are the citizens supposed to get along? Your examples could make all the difference to bring us together.”
Both candidates commended Brown for her questions to which they both agreed that Americans always come together for one another regardless of the disagreements they may have.
During the debate, a fly landed on Vice President Mike Pence’s head. This sparked the creation of memes mocking the Vice President on social media.
Source: Patrick Semansky/AP
The Vice-Presidential debate was a mixture of solid arguments and laughable moments. Promptly after the debate ended there were memes mimicking Harris’ facial expressions and the fly that perched on Pence’s head during the debate.
CNN Politics declared Harris the winner of the debate, six out of ten of the poll watchers voted Harris as the winner.
The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) announced the cancellation of the second presidential debate that was scheduled for Oct. 15. This was due to Trump refusing to participate in a virtual debate after being tested positive for COVID-19. However, the CPD still has plans in place for the final presidential debate, which is scheduled to be held on Oct. 22.
