First presidential debate devolves into name-calling, calls to ‘shut up’

President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden faced off in a debate Tuesday that will likely be remembered not for policy issues from the two candidates, but for 90 minutes of interruptions, name-calling and general chaos on stage in Cleveland, Ohio.

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Trump continually interrupted Biden as he tried to answer questions and it didn’t take long for Biden to grow tired of Trump talking over him.

“Will you shut up, man?” an exasperated Biden said just over 30 minutes into the debate. “It’s hard to get any word in with this clown.”

Early on, moderator Chris Wallace, anchor of “Fox News Sunday,” seemed to lose any control over the debate as the two men went at each other, ignoring both Wallace’s questions and his attempts to drag them back on topic.

On numerous occasions, Wallace pleaded with Trump to follow the rule his campaign agreed to and allow Biden to finish is answers.

“I hate to raise my voice,” Wallace said, “But why should I be different than you?”

The debate covered issues ranging from the COVID-19 virus to race relations in the United States.

At one point, Biden asked Trump to denounce right-wing groups he said caused the death of a woman during a protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.

Trump sidestepped Biden’s request and an additional request from Wallace to do the same.

In turn, Trump reminded Biden of a crime bill he signed in the 1990s.

“You called them superpredators and you’ve called them worse than that,” Trump said of Blacks in America.

Below is a livestream of the debate and live updates from the first debate.

Livestream:

Live Updates

Cox Media Group