The day after the Presidential Debate on September 29, 2020, we asked students of all grades what they thought about the debate and the candidates. Below are all of the responses that we received. We encourage any and all students to express their views regarding the Presidential Election; our “Opinion” section of this newspaper site is dedicated to sharing your opinions.

Responses:

Boy, was that a show last night. 2020’s first Presidential Debate, should it even be called a debate? Many questions were left unanswered. Both of the candidates’ only attempts were to make the other candidate look worse. They pointed out the wrong both of them have done for this country, if you could even hear over all the interruptions. The candidates, in my opinion, did not answer the questions properly. There was a lot of beating around the bush.  I feel like President Trump’s performance was worse, with all of his interruptions and not following the rules, but Joe Biden could have done a lot better as well. Let’s just hope that there is more accomplished in the next presidential debate.

Donald Trump handled this debate with anger and rage. What he argued was not effective, and he could not convince me of anything at all. On the other hand, Joe Biden remained calm, and he got his points across in a successful way. Despite the tension of the debate, I learned a lot about the candidates and what they stand for. 

Trump just wouldn’t let Biden talk. Aside from just hurling insults at Biden, Trump didn’t make any good points, instead avoiding questions. Trump’s points were simply wrong. He said he has done the most for the black people of America? Are you kidding? He doesn’t even support the BLM movement.

That was the worst debate I have ever seen. Somehow, the 2-person debate had more interruptions than the 12-person Democratic Debate. Both candidates had their gaffes but it was such a mess that I doubt many Americans changed their minds. Chris Wallace was unable to effectively moderate the debate and at points, took Biden’s job and debated Trump himself. The debate was an utter embarrassment.

The debate was not as effective as it could be due to the fact that each candidate was trying to talk over the other. Each candidate had very different opinions on topics such as racial issues and taxes. Donald Trump believes the racial issue is much better for him, but Joe Biden says he will do a better job.

I felt as though I was watching a humorous elementary school argument. It was a mess of a debate and neither candidate got to say anything to convince people to vote for them.

I guess I’m just appalled that a man who is currently our president’s only tactics of asserting dominance is not through facts but through depicting, insulting, and taking low blows against his opponent. This debate made it more and more clear who the right candidate is. The man on that stage tonight (Trump) is the man we’ve seen for four years, and I only hope others watching that supported him can have a change in perception after seeing the atrociousness that just took place.

I only watched part of it. I found it pretty funny, Trump kept interrupting the moderator. Some responses to topics seemed to be avoided or not thoroughly explained. Personally, I felt like I was losing brain cells.

Donald Trump has taken a wrecking ball to truth and decency. This man is not normal, and he is bad for America.

I think that one of the candidates weren’t answering the question straight forward. It was unprofessional how they interrupted each other.

I thought the debate was very uncontrolled and funny. I think one of the candidates addressed the issues that mattered most to me.

The debate was very hard to watch. Trump was talking over Biden and Biden could barely get his views across without getting interrupted. Very disappointing that this is the way it is in 2020.

In blunt terms, I think it was terrifying, seeing the reaction of our “president” is scary. How people can relate to and support racist and insane actions. Trump’s words are always small, he is a horrible speaker, he scares people into support, he only finds ways to benefit himself by using those around him that think he supports their views. All he ever does in the debate is interrupt and challenge everyone, never taking blame on himself.

The interesting part that I saw was regarding the mail in ballots. This will be important as many more mail-in ballots will be counted due to some people being concerned with COVID 19. Seemed as if both of them had the different ideas of what happened. That presidential debate was an interesting one for certain.

I believe last night’s debate was as though I was watching a humorous elementary school banter. Trump and Biden were a mess and neither of them really answered any of the questions asked by the moderator because they were too busy talking over one another. However, it was quite amusing and Biden had some great lines.

I think they addressed a lot of the issues that have people’s attention right now but definitely
need to widen their topics in the coming debates.

The debate was a mess. Trump kept interrupting Biden and the moderator. The moderator should have the ability to turn off the mic for whoever is not talking. It is hard to learn anything when they talk over each other. Also, I hated when Trump refused to denounce white supremacy. The president of the United States should condemn white supremacy. Another thing that made me mad was when Trump brought up Biden’s son. It is very disrespectful to insult someone’s family members. I also did not understand why Trump mocked Biden for wearing a mask. Biden is staying safe. He is protecting himself and others, but for some reason Trump mocks Biden for wearing a mask.

I think the debate could’ve been more civil because there was a lot of interruption and inappropriate responses to comments.

I thought it was very chaotic, and it reminded me of a kindergarten argument.

The memes from this debate have been top tier. While the debate was god awful, it was funny to watch. (The laughter distracts me from how crappy politics are in this great nation.)

Trump came off as unpresidential and petulant. In contrast, Biden came off as having strong convictions but wasn’t having any of Trump’s antics. The part that stuck out to me the most was when Biden told Trump to shut up.

I’m so sick of Trump at this point. His constant lies, bullying, and chaos he brings is just unbearable.

It was honestly the funniest, but worst debate I’ve ever seen. I had higher expectations, but the debate itself was interesting too. Both candidates did however address the issues that mattered most to me, but I was still disappointed with how immaturely the two candidates dealt with the discussion of the topics as well as some of the comments Trump and Biden made. Biden telling Trump to shut up and calling him a clown gave my friends and I a good laugh though.

I don’t get all the talk of the “undecided voter.” I really don’t. How can anyone not make a choice between these two at this point? One candidate lies constantly, divides people, seeks constant attention. He breaks the law and encourages his followers to do so as well. He’s a racist. The other candidate does none of those things, and he is not a racist. If you can figure out who is who, then how can you be “undecided” about anything?