For anyone hoping the first round of the 2020 Presidential Debates would remain civil and orderly, you simply had to tune in for the first few minutes of tonight’s event to know that’s just not going to happen when President Trump is at the podium.
Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace was given the difficult job of reigning both men in — Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden — as they traded barbs on stage in Cleveland in front of a limited live audience. Wallace — who really should have a mute button at the ready as Trump continuously interrupted the former Vice President — struggled to manage the two candidates during their first topic of discussion: the impending Supreme Court nomination.
Wallace gave the floor to Biden to answer the question of whether Senate Democrats would filibuster the Republican nominee Amy Coney Barret should she go through and if Biden would support that political tactic. Biden refused to directly answer Wallace, saying he didn’t want his answer to be the focus of the debate, instead reaffirming his belief that the American people deserve to have a say in who sits on the Supreme Court. It’s an argument Democrats have been making since the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, saying that because we’re already in the midst of a presidential election, the nomination should be made until after a new president is elected.
Obviously, Trump took that as an opening to goad Biden, belligerently interrupting his time and forcing Biden to finally say what everyone watching this circus was probably thinking: “Would you just shut up, man?”
“Will you shut up, man?”
Maybe the most incredible moment in presidential debate history. pic.twitter.com/u89YnukPH9
— Alexander Nazaryan (@alexnazaryan) September 30, 2020
Biden had some fairly good digs at Trump before and after this moment but this was a standout to many because, as presidential as this bickering might be, it felt incredibly cathartic to see Biden stand up to Trump’s bullying tactics.
