Twitter Distills the Chaos That Is the First Presidential Debate Between Biden and Trump

Chelsey Sanchez
·4 min read
Photo credit: OLIVIER DOULIERY - Getty Images
Photo credit: OLIVIER DOULIERY - Getty Images

From Harper's BAZAAR

Unsurprisingly, the first presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic contender Joe Biden was about 90 minutes of pure chaos.

The two faced off–and not yet for the last time–on Tuesday night in Cleveland, Ohio during a debate moderated by Chris Wallace (who was probably not paid enough), the anchor of Fox News Sunday. And, although the Commission on Presidential Debates dictates that the debate should be split into six 15-minute segments, in which the moderator opens with a question that the candidates then have two minutes each to respond to, Trump and Biden pretty much talked over and around both each other and Wallace the entire time.

As moderator, Wallace selected six subjects to discuss for the night: the Trump and Biden records, the Supreme Court, the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy, the issue of race and violence in cities, and the integrity of the election. Despite the clearly demarcated lines of the debate, the two veered from personal insults to even familial issues.

"Will you shut up, man?" Biden told Trump at one contentious moment. At another point, Trump shoots, "You were a disaster."

Even Wallace reached a boiling point. "We've already been through this," he said at one particularly intolerable instance of crosstalk. "I think the American people would rather hear about more substantial subjects."

Of course, Twitter documented the wild ride of a night in its typical, jaded fashion: calling for a coup, comparisons to Adam Sandler's Uncut Gems, and nostalgia for better days.

Below, a roundup of the best Twitter reactions to the worst presidential debate in U.S. history.

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