Chaotic first debate for Biden and Trump unlikely to swing undecideds

Snap polling suggested the vast majority found the tone to be negative, only 17 per cent found it informative and most felt annoyed

US President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden participate with Moderator Chris Wallace in the first 2020 presidential election debate. EPA

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wave as they leave the stage. Reuters

US President Donald Trump leaves after the first presidential debate at the Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. AFP

Joe Biden, 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, speaks during the first US presidential debate. Bloomberg

President Donald Trump stands on stage with first lady Melania Trump. AP Photo

President Donald Trump watches as first lady Melania Trump arrives on stage followed by Jill Biden, wife of Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden. AP Photo

Democratic Presidential candidate and former US Vice President Joe Biden and US President Donald Trump take part in the first presidential debate. AFP

US President Donald Trump speaks during the first Presidential Debate at the Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, 29 September 2020. EPA, pool

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden participates in the first 2020 presidential election debate at Samson Pavilion in Cleveland. EPA

Janet Brown, the Executive Director of the Commission on Presidential Debates, addresses the audience at the start of the first 2020 presidential campaign debate between US President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Reuters

UFC fighter Colby Covington awaits the start of Donald Trump's first 2020 presidential campaign debate with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, having been invited as a special guest by Trump. Reuters

Moderator and Fox News anchor Chris Wallace speaks before the first presidential debate. AFP

Eric Trump and Senior Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump arrive for the first presidential debate at the Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio on September 29, 2020. AFP

Debate moderator and Fox News anchor Chris Wallace arrives for the first presidential debate. AFP

Daughter and Senior Advisor to the US President Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, sons of the US President, are seen ahead of the first presidential debate. AFP

Never in the US history of presidential debates has chaos, interruptions and insults been bandied between the candidates as they were at Tuesday’s head to head between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

The US President opted for an aggressive approach but ended up interrupting Mr Biden more than 50 times, smearing his family and failing to condemn white supremacists.

Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, called Mr Trump “a clown”, “a liar”, “racist” and “Putin’s puppy” – and repeatedly asked him to “shut up”.

The 90-minute exchange came low on policy proposals and civil discussion between the candidates. The moderator, prominent news anchor Chris Wallace, lost control of the debate, couldn’t stop Mr Trump’s interruptions and failed to enforce time limits.

Politically, Mr Trump who is behind in the national and key state polls, didn’t deliver a performance likely to change the state of the race. Election analyst Nate Silver tweeted that the chaotic debate is not an effective strategy for the US President.

“I’m not sure why trying to fight the debate to a messy, unwatchable draw is supposed to be a strategy for Trump when he’s seven points behind in the polls,” he wrote.

But Mr Trump’s more damaging, non-stylistic mistake came through his failure to condemn white supremacists.

Mr Wallace asked Mr Trump: “Are you willing to condemn white supremacists and militias and tell them they need to stand down?”

The president said he was willing to do anything, asking Wallace for the name he wanted to be condemned. Both Mr Biden and Mr Wallace chimed in: “Then do it”.

“Proud Boys, stand back and stand by, but I tell you what – someone needs to do something about Antifa,” he said.

The Proud Boys is a prominent far-right neo-fascist organisation and reportedly welcomed the name check with posts online suggesting they were happy to “stand by” to take action.

Jonathan Greenblatt, the executive director of the Anti-Defamation League, said Mr Trump owes the American public an apology for failing to condemn white supremacy.

Mr Biden’s performance was shy at times in the first debate overtaken by Mr Trump’s interruptions.

But the former vice president stood his ground in defending his son, Hunter, when Mr Trump smeared him. “Hunter got thrown out of the military. He was thrown out, dishonourably discharged for cocaine use. And he didn’t have a job until you became vice president,” Mr Trump said, in an unusual attack on a contender’s family.

“That’s not true,” Mr Biden said. “None of that is true.”

“He made a fortune in Ukraine and China,” Mr Trump interjected.

“My son, like a lot of people, like a lot of people we know at home, had a drug problem. He’s overtaken it, he’s fixed it. He’s worked on it. And I’m proud of him,” an emotional Mr Biden said.

The debate repeated the candidates’ disagreements on the handling of coronavirus and a vaccine, climate change, taxes, race relations, Supreme Court nominations and healthcare. At one point when Mr Trump promised to release taxes, Mr Biden used the Arabic word “Inshallah” in its colloquial meaning “never going to happen”.

But for Mr Trump, who has thrown many attack lines at Mr Biden and none has stuck, this was no different. The president’s overly aggressive behaviour, inability to address the undecided voters and the chaotic state of the debate is likely to make the encounter inconsequential in swaying the election.

CBS News’ battleground tracker poll said that 69 per cent of debate watchers felt “annoyed” and only 17 per cent found it “informative”. The poll also said 83 per cent of viewers said the tone of the debate was “negative”.

Vice President Mike Pence will debate the first black woman vice presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, on October 7.