The first Presidential Debate between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden was held on Thursday night at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
The debate, moderated by Fox News host Chris Wallace, was unlike any other presidential debates: full of interruptions, insults, and unpresidential behavior.
Biden at one point told the president to shut up, saying, "Will you shut up, man?" He also called Trump a "clown," "racist," and the "worst president America ever had." Trump, on the other hand, frequently talked over Biden, many times repeatedly during a single question.
Incase you missed it, here are four issues that Trump and Biden argued over in this wild first debate. They include Trump's Supreme Court nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, the COVID-19 response, and systemic racism.
1. Supreme Court
The first topic brought up was the nomination of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Trump defended the nomination, citing support from legal experts on the left. Trump said that she was "respected by all" and that he had the constitutional authority and Senate support to immediately fill the seat.
"We won the election. Elections have consequences. We have the Senate, we have the White House, and we have a phenomenal nominee," said Trump.
Biden responded that although he thinks Barrett is "a very fine person," he was concerned about her reported opposition to the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, which is up for legal challenge.
Biden also argued that since voting has begun in some states, the current election and not the last one should decide who gets to nominate the justice: "We're in the middle of an election already."
"We should wait and see what the outcome of the election is because that's the only way the American people get to express their view," the former Vice President argued.
2. COVID-19 Response
Next, Biden pointed out the staggering statistics of Covid-19 in America, arguing that the president's complacency and downplaying of the virus had cost lives.
"Forty-thousand people a day are contracting COVID. In addition to that, between 750 and 1,000 people a day are dying. When [Trump] was presented with that number he said 'it is what it is.'"
"Well, it is what it is because you are who you are. That's why it is. The president has no plan. He hasn't laid out anything. ... He knew it was a deadly disease. What did he do?"
Trump, as he has previously, touted his decision to ban travel from China. He also made sure to point out Biden's tweet which criticized Trump for his "xenophobia" on the day the ban was announced.
"You didn't think that we should have closed our country because you thought it was too terrible. You wouldn't have closed it for another two months," continued Trump.
Trump argued that "the country would have been left wide open, millions of people would have died, not 200,000, and one person is too much. It's China's fault. It should have never happened."
Trump continued to speak optimistically about the virus: "We got the gowns, we got the masks, we made the ventilators," he added. "And now, we're weeks away from a vaccine, we're doing therapeutics already, fewer people are dying, when they get sick, far fewer people are dying. We've done a great job."
3. Trump's Taxes
According to a New York Times story published on Sunday, Trump only paid $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017, the first year of his presidency.
When Chris Wallace asked Trump to comment on the veracity of the story, the president denied the allegations and said he paid "millions of dollars in income taxes."
Trump explained, as he did when running for president in 2016, that he was under audit and he would release his tax returns "as soon as it's finished."
Biden responded, interestingly, with sarcasm in Arabic, asking Trump, "When? Inshallah?" Inshallah, which means "God willing", can be used sardonically to express doubt.
Trump attempted to shift blame to Biden for passing tax codes "that gave us all these privileges," which allow private developers and businessmen to pay less in taxes.
"He does take advantage of the tax code," said Biden, "He pays less tax than a school teacher."
Biden explained that this is why he aims to "eliminate the Trump tax cuts" and "make sure that we invest in the people who in fact need the help."
Wallace pointed out that Biden is planning to raise taxes by more than $4T over the next ten years, by taxing big business and people making more than $400k. Biden elaborated on his tax plan: "I'm going to make the corporate tax 28 percent; it shouldn't be 21 percent. You have 91 companies in the Fortune 500 who don't pay a single penny in tax."
4. Systemic Racism
Wallace then posed the question: "Why should voters trust you rather than your opponent to deal with the race issues facing this country over the next 4 years?"
Biden answered, "It's about equity and equality. It's about decency. It's about the Constitution." He elaborated that although we, as a country, have never been able to achieve equity for everyone, we've never walked away from it "like he has done."
Biden referenced a worrying statistic: "One in one thousand African Americans have been killed by the virus." He concluded that "what [Trump] did has been disastrous for the African-American community."
In response, Trump condemned Biden's influential support of the 1994 crime bill that has been criticized by Democrats for contributing to the mass incarceration of African Americans for nonviolent crimes.
"You called them 'super-predators,'" said Trump. "You have treated the black community about as bad as anybody in this country."
Trump accused Biden of being unable to even say the words "law and order" because of his "radical leftist" supporters, Biden responded by claiming he supports "law and order with justice where people get treated fairly."
"The vast majority of police officers are decent, honorable men and women," Biden said, at odds with Trump's narrative. "Violence is never appropriate. Peaceful protest is."
Trump responded by casting doubt on Biden's definition of peaceful protests, "What is peaceful protest? When they run through the middle of the town and burn down your stores and kill people all over the place?"
Trump additionally condemned racial bias training as "racist," "radical" and "sick." He claimed that teachers were required to instruct students to "hate our country."
After the devastating Hurricane Laura, DBDR teams have prepared to help with more than 80,000 meals, and relief teams began to shift into response mode.
The U.S SBDR volunteers provided more than 477,000 meals for the people who were financially broken in the wake of the hurricane. There were many recoveries following Alabama and Florida. Sam Porter, national director of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) stated as a team, they will try their best to see good results. "That's just ben the kind of year that we've had." SBDR continues to proceed with volunteering due to the widespread damage of hurricane Laura as it affected many portions of the state.
"People don't know what to say when we tell them this is a ministry provided by Southern Baptist churches and that is free."
"We are very grateful for our Southern baptist family and for the prayers and financial support and for being here and being the hands and feet of Jesus when people need to have such a witness."
"I am energized every day seeing how God has been providing for our needs with supplies arriving at just the right time. We have about a month left in hurricane season, and Southern Baptists, through SBDR and Send Relief, are together in this as we continue to meet needs."
SBC announced on Facebook with many photos of the volunteers: "In the wake of Hurricane Sally, we have crews working tirelessly throughout Alabama and Florida. From feeding to chainsaw jobs, volunteers are bringing hope and healing to the region. Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief, pictured below, is hard at work as they help local communities recover from the storm."
