September 29 marked the first of three presidential debates, an event that has regularly been compared to the practices of a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) smackdown. This year, our wrestlers included President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden who both engaged in verbal combat during the hour and a half long debate. Our referee was Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, who moderated the debate and asked questions to each presidential candidate. The goal of this article is to examine each segment of the debate and offer a condensation of both candidates’ stance on the important issues facing our country.
Supreme Court justice pick: Barrett or bar it?
The debate opened with discussions on Trump’s new Supreme Court justice pick, Amy Coney Barrett. Trump describes Barrett as “good in every way” and claimed that picking a successor to Ruth Bader Ginsburg was well within his rights as an elected president. Trump also claimed that the Democrats would act in a similar fashion if they had a Senate majority and control of the White House.
Biden expressed an opposite rhetoric, saying the American people will not get a chance to express their voice if a justice is chosen before the election results. He also criticized a few of Barrett’s views and mentioned her potential and alleged plans to revoke the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and create negative changes in terms of women’s rights. Biden failed to comment on whether or not he supports packing the Supreme Court or terminating the filibuster; instead, he responded by urging Americans to vote for the assurance that their voices are heard.
“Plans” on healthcare
Healthcare was the next hot topic of the debate. Trump claimed that “Obamacare is no good” and spoke about its high cost and the high premiums burdening families. For his own plan, Trump promises to cut the prices of drugs by 80–90%. To offer support, Trump asserted that the price of insulin would significantly decrease and become comparable to the price of water.
Biden’s stance was more focused on protecting the ACA. Under his plan, anyone who qualifies for Medicaid will be automatically enrolled into a public option for healthcare. Biden also refuted Trump’s positions on healthcare by claiming that Trump had promised a concrete healthcare plan but failed to deliver one.
Coronavirus
Next, Wallace introduced questions to each candidate regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Biden asserted that Trump had failed to provide a physical plan, even while knowing the severity of the virus; Biden additionally claimed that Trump waited too long to inform the public because he was hesitant to cause panic within the country. Biden also commented on the 2009 H1N1 pandemic where 14,000 lives were lost, a number he claimed to be trivial compared to the 200,000 lives that have been lost to COVID-19. When asked about plans to control the virus, Biden explained that his reluctancy towards reopening businesses stems from fears that they do not have proper access to protective equipment and sanitation. In another attack, Biden pointed out Trump’s failure to mandate masks, a policy that could have potentially saved 100,000 lives.
Trump applauded himself with the way he has handled the pandemic, saying that if Biden had been in his position the number of lives lost to COVID-19 would have increased exponentially. He attributed this to Biden’s alleged protestations against closing the U.S. borders. Trump also claimed that Biden wants to shut down the country and pointed to cities and states run by Democrats who have enforced stricter shutdown rules, stating that they have suffered economically.
Economic recovery: K or V?
The distinctive economic ideas between Trump and Biden are their projections for recovery. Trump believes in a “V-shaped recovery.” He commended his efforts to build a great economy using a free market approach, in which almost 10.4 million people have been put back to work after the economy’s closure. While Trump believes the economy should be open, Democrats, he claims, don’t want to reopen the economy in an effort to help them swing the election.
Biden, who believes in a “K-shaped” recovery, began by claiming that only millionaires and billionaires (like Trump) have been prosperous; however, working-class families have suffered gravely. He also bashed Trump’s inability to help small businesses. Biden promised $1 trillion in economic growth under his plan. He also referred to the economy under the Obama administration as “booming” and juxtaposed this to the current economic climate.
Between talks of the economy, the latest news regarding Trump’s tax returns was discussed. Trump claimed to have paid millions of dollars in income taxes in the years 2016 and 2017, and refuted the stories of him paying $750. Following this statement, he claimed that he used tax codes pertaining to private businesses to his advantage. Biden promised to eliminate these tax codes.
Race relations & law enforcement
The sensitive topic of race relations in America was also a major talking point for both candidates. Biden claimed that he will not walk away from this issue as his opponent has, and highlighted his belief in the existence of systematic racism. In regard to law enforcement, Biden claimed that the majority of law enforcement is good but acknowledged the existence of racial bias in some police. Biden also supported peaceful protests, condemned violent protests, and expressed his interest in working with law enforcement to fix these issues.
Trump claimed he believes he has the support of almost all law enforcement officials, something he claimed Biden does not have. He also attacked his opponent, claiming that Biden had previously referred to the African American community as “super predators.” Trump also brought up statistics from the Obama administration, claiming that there was more division and hatred because of the Democrats’ hesitation to want to enforce law and order. On that note, Trump claimed to believe law and order is a party issue. On a question regarding condemnation of white supremacists, Trump failed to comment; instead, he commented that antifa must be overthrown.
Climate change
Climate change, a pivotal and imminent issue, was the topic of the next segment. Trump claimed that his visions for climate change include obtaining clean air and water. He claimed his reasoning for pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement was because he believed it would have been detrimental for businesses. When asked about the California wildfires, Trump commented that they were mainly caused by poor forest management. Trump also claims to have relaxed fuel energy standards, pulled back Obama’s clean power plan, and saved money on vehicles.
Biden gave some insight into his plans to reach net-zero energy production while also creating well-paying jobs. Even though he admitted his plans are expensive, Biden claims his actions will help create many new jobs. Biden’s stance on the Green New Deal (a climate action plan promoted by most left-leaning liberals) is fuzzy, but he claims to oppose this plan. Instead, he is in favor of what he markets as the “Biden plan.”
Final remarks
The debate itself did not contain a single moment of silence. Both Trump and Biden consistently offered their ideas and refutations (so much so that they often talked over one another, requiring Wallace to reestablish order). It is also important to note the ad hominem nature of the debate, which had a major influence on the candidates’ talking points. It is safe to assume the next debate will offer more insight into our contenders’ plans.
The facts and figures in this article are directly taken from the candidates and their claims during the debate.
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