Candidates discuss the supreme court seat, healthcare, COVID-19, the economy, race and climate change during the first Presidential Debate of three.
The first presidential debate of election season took place Tuesday Sept. 29, at the Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.
Chris Wallace moderated the debate and chose all topics and questions. This debate focused on healthcare, COVID-19, the economy, the issue of race, climate change and mail-in ballots.
Each candidate had a two-minute uninterrupted response followed by open discussion.
Filling the Supreme Court seat
President Trump stated because his administration won the election, his administration has the privilege of filling the Supreme Court seat. Trump recently nominated Amy Coney Barrett to the vacant seat, a position he was forced to defend at the debate. Trump stood firm in his belief that a Democratic administration would do the same in his position.
Former Vice President Biden believes that the American people have a right to say who the Supreme Court nominee is and claims they can’t get that chance in the middle of the election. He thinks we should wait and see what the outcome is before moving forward with filling the seat.
Healthcare
Biden continued to explain the Supreme Court seat is more than just a seat, but also about the 100 million people with preexisting conditions who are on the ballot this election. Biden thinks we should expand Obamacare while also allowing private insurance.
Trump’s plan for healthcare is to continue the work of his administration by working towards cheaper prescription drug prices and specifically noted that the price of insulin has decreased so much that it is “like water.”
According to Nicholas Florko at Stat News, this claim is incorrect for most people who use insulin, as it has remained at around $300 a vial.
Trump is also working at reforming a new system in place of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, that will keep the private sector of health care intact.
Biden cited 20 million people currently benefiting from Obamacare and stated he would like to keep a private sector of health insurance for those who can afford it while also expanding on the current system for underprivileged Americans to receive free healthcare.
Covid-19
Trump firmly believes his decision to close down America early on saved thousands of lives from the coronavirus. He also defended his handling of the pandemic through his administration obtaining plenty of gowns, masks, ventilators and other equipment to protect against the virus.
Trump is confident that a vaccine is weeks away from completion.
Biden believes that Trump did not do enough at the beginning of the year to combat the coronavirus in terms of providing proper protective gear and aiding small businesses.
Biden disagrees with Trump on the timeline of the vaccine, believing at best it will be finished by the end of the year and distributed at the beginning or middle of next year.
Economy
In terms of reopening the nation’s economy, Trump wants to keep moving forward in order to keep the economy stimulated. He said he shut down America at the beginning of the year because he wasn’t familiar with the virus, but is now reopening and claiming 10 million people are back in business.
Now that more research has been done, he is confident to continue with reopening and believes Democratic governors keeping their states in lockdown is politically motivated.
Trump emphasized the importance of reopening not only for the economy, but also for America’s mental health, pointing towards divorce rates and increased alcoholism. Trump claims people know to wash their hands, social distance and wear a mask. Therefore, lockdown is keeping people unnecessarily isolated, noting that, “People want their places open, they want their lives.”
Biden is more reluctant to open the economy because he believes businesses and schools need adequate funds, a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and proper equipment to combat the virus in order to successfully reopen.
Biden claims that the richest in America are thriving in recovery as opposed to the working and middle classes.
He is against schools opening because he believes there isn’t a way for them to do it safely and accused Trump of not opening safely in general.
Race
On matters of race and racial injustice, Trump focused heavily on law and order, claiming he has support of law enforcement in Florida, Texas and Portland. He also claimed that his administration prioritizes and enforces law and order and said the Democratic Party doesn’t want to enforce law and order.
Biden is unconvinced of Trump’s conviction for racial issues and claims he entered the race after the incident in Charlottesville, Va. in 2017.
Biden also touched on law and order. He is not in favor of defunding the police, but believes that the system needs to be reimagined.
Biden said that Trump does not want the violence surrounding race and rioting to calm down, citing the 100 days of rioting that took place in Portland without any intervention, as opposed to having the police use tear gas on those protesting because of what happened to George Floyd.
Climate change
Trump pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Accord because he thought the goals were unrealistic. His main emphasis is on clean air and clean water, claiming many trees are being planted to help achieve this.
Trump also addressed the wildfires in California by saying the country needs better forest management. He loosely addressed his beliefs on the damage of greenhouse gases, believing to some extent their negative effects, but overall he did not focus on this issue. He believes there must be an appropriate balance between economic and environmental agendas.
Biden claimed that if he were president, he would rejoin the Paris Climate Accord. He believes in the importance of accountability, citing Brazil and its poor care of the Amazon rainforest as an example of a country lacking this.
He discussed his plan for creating jobs while also improving America’s environmental impact. One of his ideas included weatherizing four million buildings so that they emit less gas and oil, claiming this will create millions of high paying jobs.
Closing Message
Trump remains confident in the strong economy America had before COVID-19, some of the country’s lowest unemployment rates and the rebuilding of the military his administration achieved over the past four years.
Biden closes by telling America they will be weaker, sicker, poorer, more divided and more violent if a change doesn’t take place, and reminds Americans, “You have it in you control to determine what this country will look like for the next four years.”
There are two more debates scheduled to take place on October 15 and 22.