The First Presidential Debate Went Off The Rails Fast And The Internet Had Fun With It
President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden had their first presidential debate and things were wild. President Trump spent most of the debate talking over Biden while moderator Chris Wallace did everything in his power to rein in the president. Of course, Americans on social media had a lot to say.
The first presidential debate was a far cry from the presidential debates of the past.
Political pundits have spent the past 24 hours discussing how the presidential debate on Sept. 29 veered far from past norms. The two campaigns had agreed to terms before the debate, including two minutes to respond to question uninterrupted. However, as the moderator, Chris Wallace, eventually said to the nominees, President Trump made quick work of ignoring that rule.
“The country would be better served if we allowed both people to speak with fewer interruptions,” Wallace said to President Trump. “I’m appealing to you, sir, to do it.”
“And him, too?” President Trump retorted.
“Well, frankly, you’ve been doing more interrupting,” Wallace corrected the president.
Debate viewers quickly took to social media to comment on the president’s behavior.
President Trump attempted to bulldoze over Biden as he answered questions asked by the moderator. Rather than playing into the argument, Biden either continued his answer while the president interrupted or simply fell silent. There were times when Biden had to request that his time be restored because of the president’s lack of control.
The barrage of questions was highlighted by some as a trigger for people who stutter. Biden has been public about his work as a child to overcome stuttering. A touching video of Biden speaking with a child who stutters went viral recently showing the Democratic nominee’s compassion in a new way.
A lot of people couldn’t help but compare President Trump to a character in Among Us.
Among Us is a space-themed multiplayer online game that has become really popular during the Covid-19 era. It might be a nerdy inside joke considering that the creators of Among Us have attempted to make the game available on consoles but encountered an issue with player communications.
There is already merch (real and not) of Biden’s most memorable line of the night.
During a rant by the president, Biden turned to him and asked, “Will you shut up, man?” The line immediately made it to social media with Americans wanting the president to let Biden speak when given his chance.
Debate viewers are calling for a mute option to silence the mic if a nominee speaks too long.
“The Commission on Presidential Debates sponsors televised debates for the benefit of the American electorate,” reads a statement by the Commission on Presidential Debates. “Last night’s debate made clear that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues. The CPD will be carefully considering the changes that it will adopt and will announce those measures shortly. The Commission is grateful to Chris Wallace for the professionalism and skill he brought to last night’s debate and intends to ensure that additional tools to maintain order are in place for the remaining debates.”
The American people have made their voices heard on social media.
They clearly want better controlled debates. People want to hear the ideas of both nominees, not just one. The election is very consequential for so many different communities. Trump came out the loser of the night as several surveys and polls showed undecided and lean Biden voters into stronger and more likely Biden voters. For some respondents, the most bothersome part was Trump interrupting Biden, especially during Biden’s moment honoring his son, Beau Biden. Beau served in the military and died of a brain tumor in 2015. Joe was responding to reports of President Trump calling military members “losers” and “suckers.”
