It didn’t matter the topic. President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden sharply disagreed on all the issues of the day — and they repeatedly talked over each other to make their points.
The Presidential candidates had opportunities to give their views on the response to coronavirus, the economy, voting issues, racial unrest and the present and future makeup of the US Supreme Court. Neither candidate varied from their campaign rhetoric, with Trump saying the country’s response to COVID-19 had gone well, he had jumpstarted the economy, the prospects of voter fraud are high and Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett should be accepted before the Nov. 3 election.
Biden disagreed on all counts, citing Trump’s interview with Bob Woodward back in February where the President said he knew how serious the pandemic was. Biden also said the Obama administration handed Trump a solid economy that was damaged by the pandemic. He said the risk of voter fraud was low, mentioning Trump’s use of the mail ballot process, and he said a decision on the Supreme Court should wait until after the election.
On law, order and racial unrest, Trump accused Biden of wanting to defund police told members of the Proud Boys, a far-right white nationalist group, to “stand back and stand by.” Biden said his law-and-order plan involved adding funding for psychologists, not defunding departments, and he called out the President for ending racial sensitivity training.
Moderator Chris Wallace had little to no success keeping the candidates from jousting through the answers as the debate continued.
The next debate is Oct. 7 between Vice President Mike Pence and challenger Kamala Harris. Presidential debates are also scheduled Oct. 15 and Oct. 22. We will carry all the debates on KVOE and KVOE.com.
