Presidential Debate Recap: Coronavirus Edition
The first presidential debate on Sept. 29 between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden presented them with the much-anticipated discussion of COVID-19. The pandemic was the third topic of discussion of the night and many would say it was the most important. Debate moderator Chris Wallace introduced the conversation by asking them to “try to be serious about it,” due to an already controversial night.
Biden is first to speak, immediately calling out Trump for what he has failed to do for his country. He affirms that Trump knew of the seriousness of COVID-19 back in February and didn’t want to warn Americans and cause panic in them. With this, Biden claims that Trump has no plan for lowering the coronavirus cases, a common theme in his case against him. Biden states that he “laid out back in March exactly what we should be doing,” and again in July. “We should be providing protective gear and providing the money from the House to get the people the help they need to keep businesses open.”
Trump retaliates to these thoughts, believing that millions of people would have died under Biden’s plan. The president also supposed that Biden would have closed the country two months after Trump did. Despite Biden seeing failure in Trump’s work, the president claims that many Democrat governors and others who aren’t in support of him believed he did a “phenomenal” job dealing with the pandemic. He then calls out Biden for being unable to control swine flu.
The former vice president is quick to respond, asserting that 14,000 Americans died from swine flu compared to more than 200,000 Americans dying from COVID-19. He adds that there was no economic recession during the flu pandemic unlike the coronavirus pandemic.
Wallace moves on to ask about the future of the disease. In regards to scientists Dr. Redfield and Dr. Slaoui, who stated that it wouldn’t be until summer until vaccines would be “readily available,” Trump disagrees, saying that he has “spoken to the companies and we can have it a lot sooner.” Biden agrees in this sense by saying that we may have a vaccine by the end of this year. However, supporting Redfield and Slaoui’s thoughts, he does believe that it won’t be until middle of next year when they will be distributed. In response to this support, Wallace states that Sen. Kamala Harris, Biden’s vice-president elect, says we can’t trust the scientists on this matter, to which Biden simply disagrees.
The moderator points out the different approaches of the two nominees, disclosing that Biden is more reluctant about reopening the economy and schools, this being due to Trump’s lack of a plan. Trump makes these different approaches clear, reiterating that he wants to keep the country open while Biden wants it shut down. Trump sees this as negative and believes states that are shut down are not doing well. The president also claims that people want it shut down until after the election “because [COVID-19] is a political thing.”
The conversation shifts to mask wearing. It appears that Trump sees wearing masks as optional, circumstantial, and often unnecessary, saying I’ll put one on when I thinks I need it.” He continues with this point, saying that “Tonight is an example [of when I don’t] because everyone has had a test and there’s social distancing…I wear masks when needed.” Trump then calls out Biden for his opposite actions, saying that “every time you see him he’s got a mask,” and despite being far away from people he still wears one. Biden explains that masks make a difference. He states that if everyone wears a mask between now and January, over 100,000 lives would be saved.
The final segment on the topic of the coronavirus is about holding rallies. Wallace clarifies to viewers that Trump holds larger rallies while Biden holds smaller ones. The focus on this segment is mostly on Trump and his reasoning behind the large gatherings. The president emphasizes how his rallies are held outside, and he allows large crowds because “people wanna hear what [he] has to say.” Wallace questions him on if he’s worried about spreading disease, to which he claims that there have been zero problems regarding that. Despite claiming there have been no problems, Biden sees this as being “totally irresponsible” and that Trump is “basically encouraging people not to [wear masks.]”
This interrogation on one of the worst pandemics in U.S. history shows us the importance of the past, present, and future of these political leaders. With over 7 million cases in the U.S. and 40,000 contracted cases in an average day, Tuesday’s debate was more than just educating ourselves on our future president. It was about knowing who we can put our trust in in saving our families, loved ones, and our country.
The full livestream of the debate is linked below.
