As Joe Biden and Donald Trump stepped up to the plate as their names were called last week, the entire country fixated on what everyone knew would be a total trainwreck. From the first punch to the twelfth round, this boxing match was an ugly, scrappy, uncouth dogfight. At certain points as Chris Wallace did his best to mediate, I couldn’t help but wince at the current state of American politics. Upon reading reviews and talking with other Penn State students in the following days, I learned that my opinion was not in the minority.
Despite the utter chaos that lasted a full hour and thirty minutes, I enjoyed the fiery debate, but for all the wrong reasons. Presidential debates should not be fun to watch. They shouldn’t have us on the edge of our seats waiting to see who says something wildly inappropriate next. I thought that some of Wallace’s questions were well thought out and I was intrigued to see how the candidates would answer. Foolishly, I forgot to consider that neither candidate would directly answer any question and instead refer back to one of their 3 or 4 talking points that sounded like a broken record by the end of the night. Politicians are masters at dodging questions and sounding good without saying anything of substance, and the debate last week exemplified that. Through all of the playground insults and shouting matches, one moment stood out to me the most. When asked to condemn white supremacy, Donald Trump couldn’t. When pressed on the issue, he still could not disown his most loyal supporters. I think that he understands that he can’t lose his base, so he didn’t condemn their racist actions, instead choosing to order the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by”. I think that quote will echo and possibly haunt Donald Trump as the election draws to a close.
Last night, the Vice Presidential debate was much more civil. Apart from a few tense moments regarding interruptions and equal talking time, civil discourse was restored – even if for just one night. Kamala Harris and Mike Pence both rose to the occasion and vastly outplayed their respective Presidential candidates, in my opinion. I couldn’t determine a “winner” from the night, but the losers are definitely the presidential nominees. Both Harris and Pence effectively dodged scathing questions like the other candidates from last week’s debate, but they did so in a much more eloquent and sophisticated way. It was easy to notice debate experience in both Harris and Pence, and I look forward to their next debate more so than the next Presidential debate/
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I am most Definitely with you on the outcome of the debate. i must say that my favorite part was when Trump confidently asserted that he brought back college football without any real reason to do so. I also confess that it was very entertaining until i remembered that one of them would be running our country. chris wallace is a hero in my eyes for being willing to put himself through that, since i cant imagine his stress levels throughout the whole debate. I also agree with your Opinion on the vice presidential debate, and i am glad that you Included it in your post. the vP debate took me back to 2012 when things were a lot less Volatile and it was a lot less of an emotional roller coaster. I do think that there was a winner in the VP debate though, and it was the fly that landed on Pence’s head.
I agree on pretty much every issue you brought up. And yes, the debate was very intriguing to watch. Debates should not be fun to watch but should bring up issues that affect American citizens. I like the comparison to the Vice President debate at the end.