Former Vice President Joe Biden and Donald Trump went head-to-head last night in the first 2020 presidential debate, and let’s just say it was a messy one. Trump refused to condemn white supremacy, Biden laid down the facts about Trump neglecting Americans amid the #coronavirus, and as for Chris Wallace, well, people want him replaced as moderator.
Last night was a beastly yet eye-opening show. We already knew Trump was a racist, but it was confirmed for all of America to see when he was asked to condemn #whitesupremacy and violence last night. “Are you willing tonight, to condemn white supremacist militia groups and to say that they need to stand down and not add to the violence in a number of these cities that we saw in Kenosha and as we’ve seen in Portland,” asked Wallace.
“Sure, I’m willing to (tell them to stand down), but I would say almost everything I see is from the left-wing, not from the right-wing. I’m willing to do anything. I want to see peace,” responded Trump, who then said he feels that everything violent he sees is from the left. Biden and Wallace then tell him to condemn them. “Who would you like me to condemn?” Trump asked Wallace. Wallace responds, “White supremacists and right-wing militia.” Trump then says, “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.”
Immediately after Trump’s statement, the #ProudBoys, a right-wing, fascist group, celebrated Trump’s apparent call-to-arms by reposting Trump’s “Stand back and stand by” quote. Proud Boys organizer #JoeBiggs also posted on social media following Trump’s remarks, saying Trump “basically said to go f— them up.” He went on to say, “President Trump told the proud boys to stand by because someone needs to deal with ANTIFA… well sir! we’re ready!!”
Proud Boys is a self-described “Western chauvinist” organization, and the Anti-Defamation League, a nonprofit organization that tracks extremist groups, categorized the group as a violent, nationalistic, Islamophobic, transphobic, and misogynistic hate group, according to CNN. The Proud Boys have also marched at the Unite the Right rallies and planned attacks on the #BlackLivesMatter protestors.
Other key moments from the debate include Trump not really addressing how he only paid $750 in income taxes. His response, “I don’t want to pay tax.” After that, Trump claimed that he’d paid millions in taxes in 2016 and 2017, going against the New York Time’s report, which indicated that he only paid a few hundreds of dollars. Biden also brought up Trump’s mishandling of COVID-19: “The President has no plan. He hasn’t laid out anything.” Trump then claimed that his administration plans to distribute a coronavirus vaccine, but Biden asked Americans why we would believe Trump after he’s already lied so much. “This is the same man who told you by Easter this would be gone away. By the warm weather, it’d be gone — like a miracle. And by the way, maybe you could inject some bleach into your arm,” Biden said.
Trump then claimed he didn’t know Biden’s late, war hero son #BeauBiden and attacked Biden’s other son, Hunter, over his former drug addiction. Gracefully, Biden said he’s proud of Hunter’s achievement. “My son had a drug problem, but he’s overcome it, and I’m proud of him,” Biden responded.
On race issues, Trump brought up how Biden defended the 1994 Crime Bill, a law that led to the mass incarceration of Black and Brown people, which mostly affected Black men. Trump claimed that Biden used the term “super predators” to refer to Black and Brown people, but that was actually #HillaryClinton, who said that during a 1996 speech in New Hampshire. However, Biden did say during a 1993 speech that there are “predators on our streets” who were “beyond the pale” in support of the crime bill. In 1997, Biden said that most youths in the justice system were not violent and that most youths were not “super predators.”
“In 1994, there were about 1.5 million juvenile delinquency cases,” Biden said then. “Less than 10% of those cases involved violent crimes. So when we talk about the juvenile justice system, we have to remember that most of the youth involved in the system are not the so-called ‘super-predators.'”
Overall, Biden held his composure amid Trump’s constant interruptions. Despite Wallace failing to control Trump, Biden was able to keep his focus on America, calling for them to get out and vote. Six out of 10 debate watchers say Biden to home the W. The next presidential debate is set for Thursday, Oct. 15. #KamalaHarris and #MikePence are scheduled for their first debate on Oct. 7.
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