by Nick Givas, The Daily Caller:
President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden faced off in a Tuesday debate riddled with constant interruptions and shouting matches in Cleveland, Ohio.
Fox News’ Chris Wallace wrenched the candidates through topics from coronavirus and their political records to the Supreme Court and the integrity of the upcoming election, but the discussion often descended into incoherence once the topic had been set. Wallace, who said he personally decided upon the topics, is the only 2016 debate moderator who was invited to the process again in 2020.
He attempted to bring the same assertive moderation style he had in 2016, but Biden and particularly Trump weren’t having it, repeatedly speaking over one another and ignoring Wallace’s attempts to bring the debate under control.
“I’m just going to say it like it is. That was a shit show.” #DanaBash #CNN #Debate #Debatenight #PresidentialDebate2020 pic.twitter.com/tnKXpqLCCX
— Ryan Kaufman (@RyanWCTV) September 30, 2020
Trump’s campaign kicked off the debate day with early morning accusations that Biden was reneging on a previous agreement to undergo an inspection to ensure he wouldn’t be wearing an earpiece during the debate. Trump had also called for Biden to take a drug test, a request which his opponent derided.
Biden joked about the Trump campaign’s allegations on Twitter less than two hours before the debate.
It’s debate night, so I’ve got my earpiece and performance enhancers ready. pic.twitter.com/EhOiWdjh1b
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 29, 2020
Wallace started off the debate by asking Trump to make his case for why Republicans are justified in nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett to replace the late justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.
“We won the election and therefore we have the right choose her,” Trump said, going on to argue that Democrats would do the same thing if the situations were reversed. (RELATED: Biden Says Amy Coney Barrett Is A ‘Very Fine Person’)
Trump said Democrats had only been stopped from replacing Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016 with Judge Merrick Garland because Republicans held the Senate. Biden saw it differently, however.
“The American people have a right to have a say in who the new Supreme Court justice is going to be,” Biden said. “What’s at stake here, the president has made it clear he wants to get rid of the Affordable Care Act.”
Biden quickly shifted the debate to the Supreme Court’s impact on healthcare, igniting a firestorm of interruptions over whether Trump has a cohesive plan to replace Obamacare, which the Trump administration is currently seeking to end.
