The first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump will be remembered more for its interruptions and bickering than anything else, leaving several political commentators stunned and appalled.
“This was the most chaotic presidential debate I’ve ever seen,” CNN’s Wolf Blitzer said immediately after the debate concluded.
“That was a hot mess inside a dumpster fire inside a train wreck,” Jake Tapper said. “The American people lost tonight because that was horrific.”
Dana Bash had a more blunt analysis: “That was a s— show.”
“What happened on that debate stage was unlike anything that has ever happened on a presidential debate stage before,” MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow said. “He treated the debate … with a monstrous cavalcade of wild and obscene lies.”
“Chris Wallace did not act as a moderator. Donald Trump did not act as a debater. Donald Trump was the abuser and Chris Wallace was among the abused,” Nicolle Wallace said.
“This was a joke. This was a mess,” Joy Reid concluded.
But on Fox News, Brit Hume praised Trump for being “like a bucking bronco” and for his “forceful personality,” while Dana Perino thought Trump had some “great lines.”
Tuesday’s debate, moderated by Chris Wallace, touched on topics like the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, the COVID-19 pandemic and the environment.
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