Quick thoughts.
Trump was boorish and overbearing. He barely let Biden speak with his constant interruptions. What is funny is that it reminded me of how Biden debated Ryan in 2012. Well, Biden wasn't rude and overbearing but he constantly interrupted. Trump had a hard time staying on topic but he was dogged about answering Biden's accusations. Though he clearly dominated, it didn't come across well. Seemed almost like bullying.
Biden was rather passive. Where was that Biden who schooled Ryan? Though I thought Ryan won that debate on substance, Biden won it on optics. Here, he was getting steamrolled and waited for Wallace to tame Trump. If Biden can't handle Trump, what is he going to do when facing Putin and Xi?
Wallace was clearly on Biden's side, especially as the debate continued. Trump even asked if he was debating Wallace, which he often was. To an extent, perhaps Wallace was trying to balance the scales since Trump was bulldozing Biden. When it came to climate change, Wallace was debating Trump and Biden was just a bystander. Has this become a hostile interview?
Overall, I'd say it was a draw. Biden exceeded expectations in that he didn't say something truly bizarre (e.g. "dog-faced pony soldier") and managed to remain coherent. Despite his verbosity, Trump lacked focus. Sometimes, he was on point but other times he rambled. Browbeating a senior citizen (I know they are both senior citizens but Joe looks it) is not commendable. Wallace was a failure as a moderator. He couldn't maintain control and let his bias show. He grilled Trump about the recent tax story but then pretended that the ballot harvesting story from Minneapolis (released the same day as the tax story) never happened when they discussed ballot integrity. He demanded Trump denounce white supremacists but didn't make a similar demand for Biden to denounce Antifa/BLM.
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