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Biden and Trump attacked each other in personal terms for more than 90 minutes
The first debate of the 2020 presidential election on Tuesday night was fiery from beginning to end.
President Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden attacked each other in starkly personal terms for more than 90 minutes as moderator Chris Wallace worked to get both candidates, but especially Trump, to follow the debate rules the candidates had agreed to.
The conversation ranged from the coronavirus crisis to the Supreme Court vacancy to health care. It's not clear how much substance voters could get out of the debate, however, as it largely consisted of lines aimed to appeal to partisans.
Here are the top five moments from the first presidential debate.
1. Biden and Trump clash on who controls the Democratic Party
During the initial segment on the Supreme Court vacancy, the discussion turned to health care and Trump began to attack Biden by saying that he would be accountable to the Bernie Sanders-backing segment of his party and its support for "Medicare-for-all." In what was the first of many explosive spats between the pair, Biden shot back that “I am the Democratic Party right now. The platform of the Democratic Party is what I in fact approved of."
It was one of the strongest statements from Biden to date distancing himself from the farthest-left wings of the party. Trump would continue to hammer this point throughout the debate.
Notably, also on the Supreme Court topic, Wallace asked Biden whether he would be willing to pack the Supreme Court and support the end of the Senate filibuster. Biden flatly refused to take a stance on the issue.
2. Wallace reminds the candidates who the moderator is
During the transition between the first segment of the debate and the second segment, Trump talked over Wallace for several seconds as the moderator attempted to get his question in. Wallace eventually raised his voice to say, “I’m the moderator of this debate” before finishing the question.
Trump and Biden continually talked with each other throughout much of the debate, leading Wallace at one point to say, “Gentlemen, you realize you’re both speaking at the same time?”
Just a couple minutes later while Trump was giving an answer during his two-minute uninterrupted time period, Biden tried to chime in and Wallace responded by reminding Biden the time was Trump’s. Wallace would continue to need to scold both candidates repeatedly.
Continued below.
Trump-Biden presidential debate in Cleveland: Top 5 moments
The first debate of the 2020 presidential election on Tuesday night was fiery from beginning to end.
President Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden attacked each other in starkly personal terms for more than 90 minutes as moderator Chris Wallace worked to get both candidates, but especially Trump, to follow the debate rules the candidates had agreed to.
The conversation ranged from the coronavirus crisis to the Supreme Court vacancy to health care. It's not clear how much substance voters could get out of the debate, however, as it largely consisted of lines aimed to appeal to partisans.
Here are the top five moments from the first presidential debate.
1. Biden and Trump clash on who controls the Democratic Party
During the initial segment on the Supreme Court vacancy, the discussion turned to health care and Trump began to attack Biden by saying that he would be accountable to the Bernie Sanders-backing segment of his party and its support for "Medicare-for-all." In what was the first of many explosive spats between the pair, Biden shot back that “I am the Democratic Party right now. The platform of the Democratic Party is what I in fact approved of."
It was one of the strongest statements from Biden to date distancing himself from the farthest-left wings of the party. Trump would continue to hammer this point throughout the debate.
Notably, also on the Supreme Court topic, Wallace asked Biden whether he would be willing to pack the Supreme Court and support the end of the Senate filibuster. Biden flatly refused to take a stance on the issue.
2. Wallace reminds the candidates who the moderator is
During the transition between the first segment of the debate and the second segment, Trump talked over Wallace for several seconds as the moderator attempted to get his question in. Wallace eventually raised his voice to say, “I’m the moderator of this debate” before finishing the question.
Trump and Biden continually talked with each other throughout much of the debate, leading Wallace at one point to say, “Gentlemen, you realize you’re both speaking at the same time?”
Just a couple minutes later while Trump was giving an answer during his two-minute uninterrupted time period, Biden tried to chime in and Wallace responded by reminding Biden the time was Trump’s. Wallace would continue to need to scold both candidates repeatedly.
Continued below.
Trump-Biden presidential debate in Cleveland: Top 5 moments
