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Presidential Debate Recap #1

Written by Maia Lisiecki. For more, check out Code Green.


(Photo on left courtesy of UnSplash. Photo on right was from GoodFreePhotos)


(UNITED STATES) - On Tuesday, September 30th, the first presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden took place, containing major issues crucial to their campaigns. This debate was an opportunity for the American public to learn about the stances each candidate holds on the supreme court nominee, healthcare, the coronavirus, the economy, race relations, climate change, and election integrity, and what they each plan to do if they were elected. CNN reporter, Jake Tapper, expresses his reaction, and the reaction of many Americans on both sides of the political spectrum by describing the debate as “horrific,” a “disgrace,” and a “hot mess inside a dumpster fire inside a train wreck.” Despite the constant interruptions and lack of professionalism seen on stage, one could filter out the following stances the candidates presented.


Supreme Court Nominee


Upon the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, President Trump has nominated Amy Coney Barrett to succeed RBG in the Supreme Court.


Donald Trump


  • It is his and the Senate’s constitutional right and obligation to consider a nominee to the Supreme Court.

  • Republicans won the election and elections have consequences. Republicans have the Senate and White House.

  • Barrett was a respected and outstanding student and professor at Notre Dame, and some of her biggest endorsers are liberals from Notre Dame.

  • Democrats would do the same thing if they were in this position.


Joe Biden


  • It is an effort by the President and Republicans to jam through on an appointment, which is an abuse of power.

  • The American people have a right to have a say in who the Supreme Court nominee is, and that say occurs when they vote for United States senators and their future President. They will not have the chance to do so since they’re in the middle of an election that has already started.

  • The nomination should have waited until the election was over, to see the outcome.

  • Nothing against the nomination and her credentials but is worried about the security of the Affordable Care Act.

  • Does not answer the question of if he plans to pack the court or not.



Healthcare


They presented their stances on healthcare, particularly on the Affordable Care Act.


Donald Trump


  • Against the Affordable Care Act, refers to it as socialist.

  • Plans to repeal and replace Obamacare and offer cheaper healthcare that guarantees pre-existing conditions, but has not yet revealed his plan.

  • Against Roe V. Wade.

  • Signed an Executive Order to protect people with pre-existing conditions five days before the debate.

  • Would like to cut drug prices by 80-90% (e.g. making insulin cheap).


Joe Biden


  • Is in support of the Affordable Care Act and would like to increase it.

  • Getting rid of it would strip 20 million people from health insurance and would change women’s rights, as well as coverage for those with pre-existing conditions.

  • In support of Roe V. Wade.

  • Does not support universal free healthcare, but instead a public option. Does not plan to end private insurance.


The Coronavirus


7 million Americans have contracted COVID-19, and 200,000 of those cases have resulted in death. The two criticize each other’s approach towards the pandemic and share their plans in eradicating the virus.


Donald Trump


  • Biden would have kept the country open and millions of people would have died instead.

  • Blames the virus on China.

  • Claims the numbers provided by China, Russia, and India could be fabricated.

  • People think closing the country is “xenophobic” and “racist,” but he views it as the solution to save lives.

  • Claims Dr. Fauci said he “saved thousands of lives” and that democratic governors said that he did a “phenomenal job.”

  • He has provided masks and ventilators.

  • Claims the U.S. is weeks away from a vaccine.

  • All the bad press on his handling of the virus is “fake news.”

  • Calls Biden’s handling of the Swine Flu a “disaster,” and that far more people would have died of COVID-19 under Biden.

  • Has a history of contradicting scientists, and claims that the issue has been made political by the Left.

  • Claims that Biden wants to shut down the country.

  • Has increasingly questioned the effectiveness of masks as a disease preventer, but during the debate says they’re okay. Everyone coming to the event has been tested and is socially distancing.

  • Has held rallies packed with thousands of attendees, justifies them by saying they were outside.



Joe Biden


  • States that Trump’s response was ineffective.

  • The U.S. has 4% of the world’s population and 20% of its deaths, and 750-1000 people are dying per day.

  • Trump stated in an interview, in response to the deaths, “It is what it is.”

  • Trump downplayed the virus, even though he knew how serious it was back in January.

  • Claims that Trump has no plan.

  • Laid out in March and July what should be happening: providing protective gear and money to Americans to keep them safe and their businesses open.

  • Claims that Trump’s handling of the virus is responsible for the shutdown economy and the thousands of deaths.

  • Criticizes Trump for telling the public that the virus would be gone by April and that Americans should inject themselves with bleach.

  • Claims that all Trump’s statements are lies.

  • Agrees with the CDC guidelines of wearing masks and social distancing.


The Economy


The current state of the economy was discussed and plans for the future were presented. The moderator, Chris Wallace, introduced the subject by stating that the unemployment rate has fallen to 8.4%, and the Federal Reserve says the hit to growth is not going to be nearly as big as they had expected.


Donald Trump


  • The U.S. is in a V-shaped recovery (fell and will spike back up)

  • Says he built the greatest economy in history, and was closed down because of the “China plague.”

  • Now the U.S. is reopening.

  • 10.4 million people have been put back into the workforce within the last four months, which he claims to be a record.

  • Shutdowns have led to an increase in drug use, alcohol consumption, and depression.

  • Claims it is safe to open states up as long as people wash their hands, wear masks, and social distance.

  • The U.S. is coming back well.

  • People do not want their states, businesses, or schools shut down. People want to go back to their lives.

  • Brought back football, which was popular.

  • Claims to have paid millions of dollars of federal income tax in 2016-2017, despite the new report of him paying only $750.

  • Says he does not like to pay taxes, but he did not break any laws.

  • Claimed his tax cuts on corporations caused the economy to boom.

  • Plans to continue his free market approach, lower taxes, and more deregulation.

  • Claims that Obama’s administration had the slowest economic recovery since 1929.

  • Claims that a miracle brought back manufacturing.

  • Brought back 700,000 jobs, and claims that Biden gave up on manufacturing and that Trump has brought Chrysler and General Motors back to Ohio and Michigan.


Joe Biden


  • The U.S. is in a K-shaped recovery (improvement for some, but not all groups)

  • Clams millionaires and billionaires have been doing well, while the working class is struggling.

  • Fewer jobs during Trump’s administration at the end of his term than the beginning.

  • People who lost their jobs are on the front lines. The economy can’t be fixed until the COVID crisis is fixed.

  • Schools are expensive to open safely, and the Trump administration didn’t provide PPE for teachers and students.

  • People want to be safe.

  • Claims that Trump has been taking advantage of the tax code and plans to eliminate Trump’s tax cuts and invest in people who need the help.

  • Proposes more than $4 trillion over a decade in new taxes on individuals making more than $400,000 a year and on corporations. He claims that this would create 7 million more jobs and an additional $1 trillion in economic growth.

  • Plans to raise the corporate tax from 21% to 28% because 91 companies in the Fortune 500 make billions of dollars and do not pay taxes.

  • Obama’s administration inherited the worst recession in American history. Claims that they fixed the economy and handed a booming economy to Trump.

  • In Obama’s final three years as president, more jobs were created than in the first three years of Trump’s presidency.

  • Claims that the U.S. has a higher trade deficit with China now than we did before.


Race Relations


Both candidates respond to the recent events regarding racial injustice in the United States.


Donald Trump


  • Believes he has done more for African Americans than any president with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln.

  • Brings up Biden’s 1994 crime bill and how he used the term “super predators.” Trump’s new prison reforms are letting people out of jail.

  • Claims to have total support of law enforcement, whereas Biden does not.

  • Strong supporter of Law and Order.

  • Against the violent protests.

  • His administration directed federal agencies to end racial sensitivity training that addresses white privilege or critical race theory. Claims that it is racist, radical, and teaching people to hate their country.

  • Believes that the increase in violence, despite it rising in cities of both political leanings, is a party issue.

  • Afraid that the suburbs will be gone.

  • Fails to condemn white supremacists and right-wing militia, claims that most of the violence is from the left wing/Antifa, and tells Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by.”

  • Supports rebuilding the military, including Space Force.

  • Supports fixing the VA.


Joe Biden


  • Believes in equity, equality, decency, and the constitution.

  • Claims to have never walked away from trying to require equity for everyone.

  • Reminds that previously, in reference to Neo-Nazis and the KKK, Trump claimed “there are very fine people on both sides."

  • Criticizes Trump hiding in his bunker, using the military to tear gas peaceful protests, and posing with the Bible in front of a church.

  • Claims that all Trump does is divide people, not unite them.

  • African-Americans are more likely to die from COVID (1 in 1000), which is tied to Trump’s response to COVID.

  • Believes in the existence of systemic injustice in education, the workforce, and law enforcement.

  • Believes that most police officers are good, but there are bad apples that need to be held accountable.

  • Against violent protests.

  • In support of bringing people together and defeating racism.

  • Believes in law and order with justice, where people get treated fairly.

  • Supports the police having the opportunity to deal with the problems, not defunding them. Supports local police, whose funding has been cut, and believes that they should have more funding for other resources, such as psychologists to help talk people down.


Climate Change


Wallace initiates the discussion on climate change emphasizing the fact that the recent wildfires have burned millions of acres and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.


Donald Trump


  • Record of telling state officials who blamed the fires on climate change that “I don’t think the science knows.”

  • Has pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord and rolled back a number of Obama environmental records.

  • Claims to have the lowest carbon emissions and that the U.S. is doing phenomenally.

  • Has not destroyed businesses and views the Paris Climate Accord as a disaster.

  • Believes that the forest fires are due to a lack of forest management, that forest fires are a result of an abundance of dead trees and leaves on the forest floors.

  • Claims that he will be planting a billion tress under the Billion Tree Project.

  • Believes that human pollution, gas, and greenhouse gas emission contribute to global warming to an extent.

  • Rolled back on the Obama Clean Power Plan which limited carbon emissions and power plants because it was driving energy prices through the sky.

  • Against the Green New Deal.

  • Blames China, Russia, and India for sending dirt into the air.


Joe Biden


  • Plans to bring down the cost of renewable energy to be cheaper than cheap coal, gas, and oil.

  • Plans to make sure that the U.S. is able to take the federal fleet and turn into a fleet that’s run on their electric vehicles. In addition, putting 500,000 charging stations in all of the future highways.

  • Plans to build an economy that is going to provide the ability to take 4 million buildings and make sure that they are weatherized in a way that they’ll emit significantly less gas and oil because the heat will not be going out.

  • Claims that this will create thousands of jobs.

  • Claims that we can get to net zero by 2035 by creating good-paying jobs, not costing them.

  • Plans to rejoin the Paris Accord.

  • Plans to use foreign policy to decrease deforestation in the Amazon.

  • Supports the Biden Plan over the Green New Deal, which will pay for itself.

  • States that the storms in the Midwest and east coast will get worse with global warming and require our attention.


Election Integrity


The final segment was about the 2020 election, particularly about the security of mail-in voting.


Donald Trump


  • Claims that mail-in ballots are a disaster, are fraudulent, are being found in creeks and dumpsters.

  • Says the election is rigged.

  • Urges his voters to vote in person or via absentee ballots.


Joe Biden


  • The Homeland Security director and the FBI director say that there is no evidence at all that main-in ballots are a source of being manipulated and cheated.

  • Mail-on ballots have been used without a problem since the end of the Civil War.

  • Spends his time telling people to make sure and vote, and how.


Dates for Future Debates


October 7 – Vice Presidential Debate

October 15 – Second Presidential Debate

October 22 – Last Presidential Debates


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Presidential Debate transcript courtesy of rev.com

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