Who won the first US presidential debate between Trump and Biden?
PRESIDENT Donald Trump squared off with Joe Biden last night (September 29) in what was a contentious debate.
The first of three verbal sparring matches came about five weeks before Election Day, with Joe Biden clashing with Donald Trump over a number of levels in what has been described as one of the most fractious in history.
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Who won the first debate?
The first debate largely descended into an ugly war of words for 90 minutes, with the incumbent President repeatedly talking over his rival and going on the attack.
Biden grew exasperated with the constant interruptions, at one point calling his opponent a “clown” and telling him to “shut up, man”.
However Biden, despite being the more calm of the two, struggled to rise above the squabbling and many answers on vital questions were not heard.
It is thought undecided voters will not have been swayed by the debate last night, although commentators are suggesting Biden swung it slightly.
According to one expert ahead of the debate, it was key for Biden to have a specially strong showing to win it.
Mitchell McKinney told MarketWatch: “For Biden to win, he’s got to exceed this low bar of expectations that he can’t stand there for 90 minutes and string two sentences together.
“But he also has to demonstrate for anxious, nervous Democrats, and also for an anxious, nervous perhaps even wider swath of the citizenry, that he can aggressively meet Donald Trump and push back.”
Bowling Green political science professor Melissa Miller told the outlet that pundits focus on who “was most coherent, had fewer issues with the fact-checkers, and had the most memorable one-liners”.
A USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll gave an edge to Trump in the debates.
“Trump is gonna run all over Biden,” Georgia independent voter Curtis Saffi told USA Today.
“Kamala Harris, she is gonna be all over (Mike) Pence” in the VP debate, he added.
“I feel like it’s just gonna be a one-sided show,” Indiana Trump supporter David Brockman told USA Today.
What did Trump and Biden talk about?
Segments include the Supreme Court, coronavirus, the economy, taxes, race and policing, election integrity and the candidates’ records.
The Supreme Court – especially Trump’s recent nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett – was expected to be the dominant topic, but it was superseded by discussions over the Affordable Care Act, Biden’s son Hunter and Trump’s failure to denounce right wing, white supremacist groups.
Biden has said Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat should remain vacant until after the election.
Ginsburg passed away on September 18.
Some time was dedicated to the New York Times article that claimed Trump had paid as little as $750 in taxes the year he became president – however, perhaps not as long as Biden may have liked.
What is the presidential debate schedule?
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump square off in 2016 debate
There are a total of three debates scheduled.
After the September 29 debate, Trump and Democratic challenger Biden will also square off on October 15 and October 22.
A vice presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris will be held on October 7 in Salt Lake City.
Did Trump win 2016 Election debates?
Donald Trump was up against Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Election debates but it was Clinton who came out on top.
Six in 10 debate viewers chose Democrat candidate Hilary Clinton as the winner of the debates.
Other Democratic candidates Barack Obama (2008), John Kerry (2004) and Bill Clinton (1996) were declared the winner of all of the presidential debates they participated in.
Obama and Clinton went on to win the election, but it was Trump who triumphed in 2016.
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When is the first presidential debate?
The first debate will take place in Cleveland tonight (Tuesday, September 29th) at 9pm.
The grudge match will air on multiple networks, including CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox and PBS as well as all major UK news channels, including BBC News and Sky News, and on CNN which is available on Sky.
You can watch LIVE coverage here or on The Sun’s YouTube page.