CSB/SJU reacts to presidential debate

More than 73 million people all around the world tuned in to watch the first presidential debate between incumbent President Donald Trump and former Vice-President Joe Biden. Many people who watched the debate had the opinion that the debate was absolutely terrible and chaotic. The majority of people cite the constant interruptions and failure to illustrate specific plans and policies as reasons why the debate was so bad.

On the whole, many CSB/SJU students shared these same opinions.

Many political debates in the contemporary United States involve personal attacks and drift away from the questions and general themes of the debate. However, one SJU student described both candidates and the general feel of the debate as “immature” and involving far more insults of the other candidate’s personal life.

“It was very immature compared to past primary and presidential debates… there were lots of personal attacks and petty instigations that you don’t want to see from two people that could lead the country,” SJU junior Will Villalvazo said. “I would say overall, I would put Trump more as the instigator, but blame falls on both of them.”

Another key take away among CSB/ SJU students was the lack of specific policies that the candidates provided. Neither candidate shared specific plans for the country moving forward. It was all attacks on the other candidate’s past and family.

“They barely got anything in on their policies, so no one actually knows what they are going to do if Trump gets re-elected or Biden is elected,” CSB sophomore Hazel Curcio said.

CSB/SJU students said that there is blame on both sides for not talking about specific policies, but almost all students claimed that Trump did a worse job in that category.

“There’s fault on both sides. I don’t think that Biden did exceptional but relatively speaking, I think he did better than Trump,” Curcio said.

SJU sophomore Joseph Luedke said that Trump did not come prepared with policies and had the same talking points throughout each section of the debate.

“Trump, if you noticed, from section to section, had the same stuff…he had four or five pre-made attacks,” Luedke said.

Luedke went on to say that the primary goal for Trump was to see when Biden would slip up or make a mistake and then capitalize on that. While the policies of the candidates were not explicitly laid out, one student says that the American people did get something out of the debate.

“Instead of hearing specific policies from the candidates, we gained insight about the demeanor of each candidate and better understand each person’s morals,” SJU senior Michael Sulaiman said.

How each candidate handled themselves on the stage showed their composure in divisive situations.
Many people across the country also criticized moderator Chris Wallace, saying either he was too involved in the conversations or that he failed to remind the candidates of the rules of the debate. Some students at CSB/SJU think that he did the best job he could and that he was, for the most part, unbiased and asked fair questions. One thing is for sure: many Americans are expecting more from the candidates in the debates to come.