# 2020 POTUS Debate 1 (29 September) follow-along and discussion thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 30, 2020, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854 "2020-09-30T00:30:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854/341 "2020-09-30T03:58:12Z")
Harris basically confirmed that the other debates will go forward, at least from Biden’s side of things. I’m doubling down on my opinion that the only strategy Trump knows is doubling down. We can expect more of the same from Trump in the next debates. The question is will Biden and his team come up with some better responses to the Trump shitshow. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854/342 "2020-09-30T03:58:43Z")
Sorry to say this, but I think Trump ganed votes. In the little bit of open-field oratory, Trump was more articulate. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854/343 "2020-09-30T03:58:51Z")
> [@solost](#): > > For the people criticizing Chris Wallace for his moderating, how could he have handled that trainwreck any better? Agreed. The rules don’t allow anyone’s mic to be cut so what can he do when Trump goes on a rant? Same for those who have deluded themselves into believing their preferred D nominee would have done better. I say bullshit. None of the Dems running would have been able to do any better when they had a crazy buffoon on stage shouting over anything they try to say. Not Bernie, not Buttigieg, not Yang, Williamson or Booker. When there is no enforcement of the rules and one person won’t shut up there is very little you can do about it. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854/344 "2020-09-30T04:01:36Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > …Trump was more articulate. That is a word I would never apply to anything Trump says…ever. I can go with “bombastic” though. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854/345 "2020-09-30T04:03:11Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Agreed. The rules don’t allow anyone’s mic to be cut so what can he do when Trump goes on a rant? The moderator should shout into his mic, “LA LA LA LA LA CAN’T HEAR YOU LA LA LA LA” until the offending candidate shuts up. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854/346 "2020-09-30T04:03:23Z")
> [@tripthicket](#): > > I could not make it to the end of the first 15 minutes. This is no debate. Trump has turned it into a nonstop steamroll, and nobody can stop him. This is just plain trash, and there’s every indication that, if they actually happen, the other 2 will be just like this. This. What a fucking travesty. This made the average Jerry Springer episode look dignified. There is absolutely no chance I’ll watch the other two debates, assuming they still come off. Someone on MSNBC said this wasn’t a debate between two political viewpoints, it was Trump debating the process. Perhaps the MAGAts may be lapping up the alpha-maleness of Trump’s performance, but I simply cannot imagine anyone else viewing such a repulsive, tiresome spectacle and saying “Yeah, that red-faced shouty guy with the weird hair, that’s my man”. I was nevertheless disappointed with Biden, mainly from the standpoint that it seemed like there were ample opportunities for zingers and he didn’t (or wasn’t swift enough on the uptake to) take advantage. And reading that last, I think it mainly just shows that I’m being suckered by Trump’s turning the whole affair into Studio Wrestling. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854/347 "2020-09-30T04:03:40Z")
Good news everyone. Trump’s [message](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EjIWE-3XYAEJItC?format=png&name=small) has already landed with the proud boys. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854/348 "2020-09-30T04:05:42Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > …I simply cannot imagine anyone else viewing such a repulsive, tiresome spectacle and saying “Yeah, that red-faced shouty guy with the weird hair, that’s my man”. It worked for him in 2016 so clearly it reaches a lot of people. Hopefully this time enough have become wise to it or tired of it but make no mistake that it finds a home in plenty of people. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854/349 "2020-09-30T04:05:56Z")
Another tweet in the same thread: > Really can’t stress this enough: Biden smoked Trump with people on the fence tonight based on this group. And there aren’t many of those voters left. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854/350 "2020-09-30T04:08:41Z")
For those who read Spanish: [Does this mean this channel’s viewers thought Trump won?](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EjIad4WWAAYFZNK?format=jpg&name=large) ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854/351 "2020-09-30T04:08:49Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > You fucking owe me. When this balloon goes up, you better let me in. Sounds reasonable. You can doss on the couch on my patio … assuming DFAT doesn’t put the USofA on a travel ban. You do realise that you can’t bring the “American Way of Life” with you? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854/352 "2020-09-30T04:09:28Z")
I think this is, by far, Biden’s biggest win tonight (in a night lacking big wins). Trump got the Proud Boys but then he already had them so no biggie there. Trump almost certainly lost in an electoral sense with this. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854/353 "2020-09-30T04:10:01Z")
Perhaps next time, when Trump interrupts Biden, Joe should just stand there and stare at him silently and wait him out. And then: “Are you done?” ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854/354 "2020-09-30T04:11:08Z")
Trump would almost certainly say, “Now that you ask, no I am not.” and then see that as an invitation to ramble more. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854/355 "2020-09-30T04:12:50Z")
No? You’re sure Biden performed poorly, and I didn’t see that at all. I saw a candidate who was mindful of his audience, trying to stay presidential in the face of a raving loon and deliver his messages, not someone who “totally laid down,” or was “Pathetic. And utterly predictable.” I guess we’ll soon find out who’s got it right. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854/356 "2020-09-30T04:19:55Z")
There was nothing memorable or interesting in Biden’s delivery. There were no policies he described that I remember that he would like to implement. There was no vision for the country that I got from him beyond “if we all work together” everything will be great in some some incredibly naïve kumbaya zeal. Trump didn’t do this either. It was a shit show. This is supposed to be a job interview and instead we got this…whatever this was. I have no clue what either of them has planned for us based on this debate. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854/357 "2020-09-30T04:22:42Z")
Multiple times, Trump argued with Chris Wallace… who is arguably the most Trump-friendly debate moderator there will be in the planned debates. That doesn’t bode well for future Trump appearances at these things. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854/358 "2020-09-30T04:24:17Z")
All those Trumpian interruptions! My modest proposal, made early this cycle, was that both campaigns be required to post a, say, $2 million bond, held in escrow by the Commission on Presidential Debates. For every second a candidate spends interrupting his opponent, $100,000 will be donated to the other candidate’s campaign fund. If $2 million isn’t enough to get their attention or change their behavior, double the amount for the next debate. In the alternative, for every second you interrupt, five extra seconds are awarded to the other candidate for his closing remarks and deducted from your own time. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854/359 "2020-09-30T04:27:26Z")
The alternative is pretty useless when a party doesn’t care about the very concept of given time. Go with the money; that’s a lot more likely to be effective. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854/360 "2020-09-30T04:27:37Z")
I checked out the Fox News website (so you don’t have to! You’re welcome) Great headline there: ## [Trump campaign, RNC declare Trump the winner of first presidential debate](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-campaign-rnc-declare-trump-the-winner-of-first-presidential-debate) No Kidding. Really? I am shocked, SHOCKED that the Trump campaign has declared Trump the winner of the debate. I did not see this one coming. With a headline like that, I can only assume that Fox News was struggling to find any, ANY poll of actual human beings that said Trump won tonight. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-potus-debate-1-29-september-follow-along-and-discussion-thread/921854.md?page=19)