The Final Presidential Debate: Americans Are Shocked
As one of the most significant elections approaches in the United States, many Americans have been looking to the Presidential Debates for guidance on which candidate will reflect American values best. The first debate, on Sep. 29, left many Americans fearful of the future for this nation, where the two candidates, former Vice President Biden and President Trump, interrupted one another constantly, engaged in heated arguments, and did not give Americans a proper indication of how each of their goals differ as individuals running for presidency.
People went into the second and final debate with little hope and continued frustration after the first debate, given the circumstances of our politically divided and contentious nation. However, most Americans were surprised by the dramatic change in each of the candidates’ approaches in this debate. Conversation was significantly more respectful since the candidates were muted while the other was speaking. The moderator appeared as neutral as possible, being fair to both sides.
Both Vice President Biden and President Trump divulged their views on pressing topics, such as healthcare, police and judicial reform, systemic racism, Covid-19, and the economy. The candidates reflected differing views on every single topic. Vice President Biden expressed his goal to expand the Affordable Care Act, making universal healthcare a right to Americans, while President Trump explained his goal to abolish the Affordable Care Act. Both individuals also revealed completely opposite views in regards to the Black Lives Matter movement and police reform, where President Trump described his alliance with the police force, while Vice President Biden urged for heavy police reform and reallocation of funds to mental health organizations.
The most discussed topic between the two candidates circulated around Covid-19, including how each President seeks to address the pandemic facing the U.S. currently. Vice President Biden made his anger towards President Trump clear, where Biden expressed his struggle to fathom how the current President was able to downplay the virus and not act accordingly. After being accused of being complacent in handling the pandemic, President Trump claimed that “we are learning to live with it,” causing Vice President Biden to angrily respond that we are not learning to live with it and stated that “we’re dying with it.” The over two-hundred thousand Americans who have lost their lives to Covid-19 were continuously mentioned in the debate, as Vice President Biden critiqued Trump for his disregard of Covid-19 and its heavy impact.
The debate reflected two extremely different pathways to addressing the significant issues within our nation, as both candidates reflected two opposite views on every matter discussed. This election has a lot at stake, regardless of what political party one affiliates with, and this debate further proved that.