Debates and Debacles: The election approaches

By: Dana Bahng

September 29, 2020: A night we will never forget.

Americans sat down in front of their screens — whether TV, computer monitor, or even phone — and watched the first presidential debate of the 2020 election as it streamed live all across the country.

Over 73 million viewers witnessed this event on television. Considering how many millenials and zoomers prefer online sources over television on a day-to-day basis, it’s fair to say that the actual audience was much, much larger. (True to form, my friends and I have been faithfully watching each debate through C-SPAN’s Youtube livestream.)

With the nation and the world at large watching with bated breaths, the first segment began.

What followed for the next 90 minutes was deemed by many “the worst presidential debate in history”. From constant interruptions to completely fabricated information, and ultimately, literal arguments with the moderator, audiences were left speechless.

With constant childish insults being thrown back and forth, this debate truly ran off the rails. I know for a fact any given member on my varsity team could have done miles better. Even we, teenagers, refrain from being rude to our opponents during heated moments. Both candidates have 60 years on us, give or take… Come on.

Regardless of which candidate or party you support, it’s hard to argue that this debate was anything other than a jarring lack of the etiquette, decorum, and structure usually associated with the presidency. Donald Trump’s constant snide remarks and interruptions were reminiscent of a petty 5th grader. Joe Biden’s exasperated jabs (which I admit I sympathized with quite more) certainly didn’t help the matter.

These weren’t two seasoned, intellectual candidates stepping up to present their plans for America’s future with duty and maturity. These weren’t two compassionate leaders addressing how much people have lost over these past few months with the solemn tone it deserves.

It was an hour and a half of two people spitting pent-up anger at each other, although one candidate clearly had no qualms about hitting below the belt. For one example out of a painful many, Trump attacked Biden’s son, Hunter, after misunderstanding Biden’s referenced claims of Trump insulting soldiers who had died in military service. Biden was referring to his late son Beau, who fought in Iraq and received a Bronze Star Medal for his service. Even after clarifying this, Trump went on to ignore Biden’s point and talk about how Hunter was “thrown out of the military,” dishonorably discharged for drug use, when in truth, Hunter Biden was was given an administrative discharge; this holds an entirely different connotation.

Much of the debate consisted of extended jabs like these, where Trump implies a falsehood based on incomplete pieces of information or outright fabrication. Biden defends, then finally hits back with an exasperated insult after several minutes of patience. Chris Wallace tries to calm everyone down and move through to the next segment, but is unable to control the flow due to constant interruptions from Trump. Rinse, repeat.

(Additional post-debate fact-check summaries for both candidates can be found here, here, or here.)

The conduct was childish. There isn’t much more to say about it.

In whole, this debate had no winner. It either highlighted Donald Trump’s supernatural ability to generate misleading statements and deflect accountability, or frustrated viewers with Biden’s slowness to aggression when being bombarded with falsehoods. The juxtaposition of its chaotic, immature tone with the literal future of America left us reeling.

One huge bombshell came in the later half of the debate: When asked directly by both Biden and Wallace to condemn white supremacists (and more specifically, the Proud Boys), Trump fidgeted for a second, then ended up telling the group to “Stand back and stand by”.

Proud Boys is a far right-wing organization that actively promotes political violence against the left. The group subscribes to white nationalism and anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, and misogynistic values, and their base is known for spreading racist ideologies and conspiracy. Videos of them attacking journalists and reporters at their rallies who they deem “Antifa Press” can be found readily on the internet. U.S. intelligence organizations and law enforcement classify them as a “dangerous white supremacist organization”, extremists, or even a gang.

Yet our president was seemingly physically unable to condemn them. Shortly afterward, Proud Boys members posted messages of thanks and pledged allegiance to him for legitimizing and bolstering their group. His failure to speak out against something as straightforward as a violent hate group was the icing on this terrifying cake.

The only good criterion for success here is public reception — and this, fittingly, was overwhelmingly disgust, shame, or fear.

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Watching what’s been happening for the past few months as November looms has been some kind of psychedelic experience. 2020 still feels like a dream. Trump aggravating U.S.-Iran tensions and the threat of a literal World War III? That time when Australia was literally on fire? The “novel coronavirus” going from a regional infection to the notorious, full-blown COVID-19 pandemic in under a month? The introduction of quarantine as a long-term lifestyle? Murder hornets in May? BLM protests sweeping through the nation as public outrage reopened much-needed conversations on racism, police brutality, POC allies and more? And of course, the return to school this fall has created challenges with hybrid programs, Zoom classes, and every other inconvenience you could think of.

It all feels like some kind of sick A to Z Mysteries parody. Except we don’t have Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose to get right on the case, and the entire world is in flames (metaphorically now, literally earlier).

The numbers rise, the graphs climb. It all feels so numb now, so distant. But we need to remember that this is in no way a distant matter.

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The weight of America’s heart and people rests on these next few weeks. With the way the Trump administration has handled COVID-19 for nearly a year now, and with cases on the rise as winter sets in, we MUST proceed with care. Lives are at stake, and I emphasize, lives that we can take steps RIGHT NOW to protect. We need clear-cut action, something our current administration is and has been unwilling to provide.

We need a leader with a plan to beat COVID-19. One of these candidates has one. The other has had the whole of 2020 to implement one, and still has not. One candidate has pledged to listen to science and seek the advice of professionals in the field. The other has literally said on camera that he “doesn’t think science knows”.

In the face of a crisis of this magnitude, we must combat facts with facts — science with science. We need a president who will encourage the distribution of information that will help the public rather than one who believes that information should be withheld so everyone “stays calm”. We need someone who will communicate with us to workshop their plans, not spout misinformation at every given opportunity with no care for the consequences.

This isn’t just any other election. This goes beyond party power plays and strategy; it’s simply necessity.