Published 12:46 IST, September 30th 2020
US Presidential Debate 2020: From knockout jibes to spar over family; 5 key moments
The first Presidential debate between the United States President Donald Trump and Democratic Presidential hopeful Former VP Joe Biden took place on Tuesday
The presidential debate between the US President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden took place on September 29 at Cleveland, Ohio. The 90-minute debate saw both the candidate angrily interrupting each other, whether on the coronavirus pandemic, the Supreme Court, the economy or anything else, including each other’s families. The two candidates traded barbs about almost every topic and they even made references to each’s job performance.
The debate began with moderator Chris Wallace explaining the ground rules and introducing the candidates, following which he put forth the first question about Supreme Court nominee Any Coney Barrett. Minutes into the debate, Biden snapped at Trump and said: “Will you shut up, man?”. “You’re the worst president America has ever had,” he added. At one point even Wallace raised his voice and said, “I hate to raise my voice, but why shouldn’t I be different that the two of you?”
Here are some key moments from the first debate
Long-awaited clash between Trump and Biden
Things got rolling during a discussion about the Supreme Court that veered into a debate over health care, with the candidates repeatedly talking over each other. While Trump challenged the questions by the moderator, Biden, on the other hand, flashed a smile and laughed at some of the president’s responses. The two leaders started sparring, first over Barrett’s record but quickly moving on to another territory.
Trump spars with Wallace
As moderator Chris Wallace asked the second question of the night, Trump jumped in to push back on the anchor. Wallace began asking about health care and soon after Trump interrupted Wallace to dispute his line of questioning about having not introduced a comprehensive plan to replace the Affordable Care Act implemented by former US President Barack Obama. With Trump repeatedly interrupting, Wallace asked the president to let him finish.
After a few moments, Trump then said, “I guess I’m debating you, not him,” referring to Biden.
Biden criticises Trump’s handling of coronavirus
The Democratic presidential nominee swiped at the Republican leader over the early handling of the coronavirus. Biden alleged that the administration started to inform the public of the disease’s severity only when it hit the stock market.
Biden asked, “Do you believe for a moment what he’s telling you in light of all the lies he’s told you about the whole issue relating to Covid?”
“He still hasn’t even acknowledged that he knew this was happening — knew how dangerous it would be back in February — and he didn’t even tell you. He panicked, or just looked at the stock market, one of the two. Because guess what? A lot of people died and a lot more are going to die unless he gets a lot smarter or a lot quicker,” he added.
Trump and Biden spar over their children
The two leaders sparred over their children, with Trump launching a misleading attack on Biden’s son Hunter over his consulting business. Trump said, “China ate your lunch, Joe. No wonder, your son goes in and he takes out billions of dollars. takes out billions of dollars to manage. He makes millions of dollar”. He continued and added, “Why is it, just out of curiosity, the mayor of Moscow’s wife gave your son $3.5 million?”
While Biden kept on denying the claims, he at one point snapped and said, “Here’s the deal, You want to talk about families and ethics? I don’t want to do that. His family, we can talk about all night”. He added, “This is not about my family. It’s not about your family. It’s about the American people”.
While Wallace tried to change the topic, Trump, in the end, said, “Hunter got thrown out of the military”.
Trump refuses to condemn white supremacists
Trump refused to condemn white supremacists and instead told the hate group ‘proud boys’ to ‘stand back and stand by’. When Wallace asked the Republican leader if he was willing to denounce ‘white supremacists and militia groups’ that have been active at rallies against police violence, Trump initially tried to deflect the question by blaming the ‘left-wing’ for violence and added that he was ‘willing to do anything’.
When pressed by both Wallace and Biden, Trump replied saying, “I’m willing to do anything. I want to see peace”. Wallace and Biden then added, “Do it, say it”. The Republican leader then said, "What do you want to call them? Give me a name,” promoting Biden to mention the ‘Proud Boys’.
Trump then said, “Proud Boys? Stand back, and stand by. But I’ll tell you what, I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about Antifa and the left”.
Trump-Biden debate jibes
From calling Trump the 'worst president' to calling each other 'liar', the two leaders also repeatedly criticised each other. While Biden told Trump to 'shut up', Trump attacked his rival for wanting to shut down the country to deal with the pandemic and said states should reopen. The Democratic leader also called the US President a 'clown' and a 'racist' and further said that 'he's Putin's puppet'.
In response, Trump brought up Biden’s son Hunter, whose business dealings in China and Ukraine have been the focus of Republican criticism this election season. Trump mentioned a finding from a recent Senate Republican investigation saying that the Mayor of Moscow City gave Hunter Biden around half a million dollars and asked his opponent to explain what was the money for.
Updated 12:45 IST, September 30th 2020