On September 29th, President Trump and former Vice President Biden took the debate stage in Cleveland Ohio to discuss a wide variety of topics including COVID-19, the Supreme Court, the economy, civil unrest, policing, healthcare, and each other’s records. The debate, to many people, did not seem positive in any way. 83% of viewers said the debate had a negative tone and 69% of viewers said they felt annoyed during the debate. Many political analysts believe this debate did not sway people to either side and do much for either campaign.

Senior Carter Spawn has been following the debates and the election. Carter says he likes Trump because he is “an anti-establishment politician who left a millionaire’s life to serve the American people, and he’s done it well. He’s destroyed unemployment and has pulled thousands off of welfare and out of poverty. He’s made huge strides towards peace in the Middle East and N. Korea. Biden, in 47 years, hasn’t done anything like that.”

Senior Bella Santos has also been following the debates and the election. She has a different take, saying she likes Biden because “he is altogether more inclusive than Donald Trump. Although Joe Biden has his history of deceit, it’s even more difficult to figure out when Donald Trump is telling the truth because of Trump’s extreme ego complex. Joe Biden has a plan about how to combat climate without it being as costly as the green new deal. Joe Biden overall cares much, much more about the American people and can sympathize with the struggle of everyday Americans.”

Fox News anchor Chris Wallace was the moderator of the first debate and he had a hard time due to Trump and Biden cutting each other off the whole time. As the second debate came closer, Trump got Covid-19 and had to be transported to the Walter Reed Medical Center to get treatments for the disease. 

Soon after that, the Vice Presidential debate occurred in Salt Lake City between Senator Harris and Vice President Pence. The debate was moderated well and both candidates got about equal speaking time. One of the most popular parts of the debate had nothing to do with the debate at all. A fly landed on Vice President Pence’s head while he was talking and it stayed there for a few minutes. Social media saw this as the most important part of the debate.  

Trump’s positive Covid-19 test got the second debate canceled and replaced with two Town Halls. One Town Hall was with Biden and the other was with Trump. The Town Halls allowed both candidates to speak more than they did in the first debate and they allowed voters to ask questions. 

The final debate between President Trump and former Vice President Biden was held on October 22nd in Nashville Tennessee. The debate was a bit different from the first one. The moderator Kristen Welker handled the candidates very well and the debate commission decided to mute the microphones of the candidates that were not supposed to be speaking. These rule changes allowed for a more pleasant debate. Many political analysts think that this debate did not move the needle for any candidates.

In all, the debates and the stories behind their production was a rollercoaster. Both candidates got to discuss their ideas to help voters decide who is better for this country. Early Voting has already started in Virginia, so if you can vote please vote. Many experts believe that this will be a close election similar to 2016 so your voice does matter! Vote!