海角大神

After more than a year of circling each other, Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden met on the debate stage Tuesday night in Ohio.

The president and former vice president are similar in age, and they share a mutual dislike. But they differ starkly in style and substance. All of that was evident from the outset on the Cleveland stage.

Here are key takeaways from the first of three scheduled presidential debates before Election Day on Nov. 3.

And in this corner

Mr. Trump is no stranger to going on offense, but his pugilistic approach on stage left his Democratic opponent fighting to complete a sentence.

Trailing in public and private polling, Trump advisers have pushed him to reframe the election away from a referendum on his presidency to a choice between him and Mr. Biden. Mr. Trump, instead, commandeered the debate, trying to trip up Mr. Biden by interrupting and insulting him. In the process, Mr. Trump made the debate more about himself.

鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing smart about you,鈥� Mr. Trump said of Mr. Biden. 鈥�47 years you鈥檝e done nothing.鈥�

While Mr. Trump played into his reputation as a bully, it may have been effective at breaking up the worst of Mr. Biden鈥檚 attacks 鈥� simply by talking over them.

Trump aides believed before the debate that Mr. Biden would be unable to withstand the withering offensive on style and substance from Mr.聽Trump, but Mr. Biden came with a few retorts of his own, calling Mr. Trump a 鈥渃lown鈥� and mocking Mr. Trump鈥檚 style by asking, 鈥淲ill you shut up, man?鈥�

Mr. Trump鈥檚 supporters may have been cheered by his frontal assault. Whether undecided voters, who watched the debate to try to learn about the two candidates, were impressed is another matter.

Moderator Chris Wallace was none too amused, delivering a pointed reproach to Mr. Trump for his interruptions. 鈥淔rankly, you鈥檝e been doing more interrupting,鈥� Mr. Wallace said, appealing to Mr. Trump to let his opponent speak.

Mr. Trump is fond of superlatives, but in the case of the debate there is little doubt that it was the most acrimonious of since the forums have been televised.

Coronavirus

Mr. Trump has wanted the election to be about anything but the coronavirus pandemic, but he couldn鈥檛 outrun reality on the debate stage.

鈥淚t is what it is because you are who you are,鈥� Mr. Biden told the president, referring to Mr. Trump鈥檚 months of downplaying COVID-19 while he said privately he understood how deadly it is.

But Mr. Trump didn鈥檛 take it quietly. He proceeded to blitz Mr. Biden with a mix of self-defense and counter-offensives. 200,000 dead? Mr. Biden鈥檚 death toll would have been 鈥渕illions,鈥� Mr. Trump said. A rocky economy? Mr. Biden would鈥檝e been worse. Mr. Biden wouldn鈥檛 have manufactured enough masks or ventilators.

The kicker: 鈥淭here will be a vaccine very soon.鈥�

Mr. Biden fell back on his bottom line: 鈥淎 lot of people died, and a lot more are going to unless he gets a lot smarter.鈥�

For voters still undecided about who鈥檇 better handle the pandemic, the exchange may not have offered anything new.

Race and racism

Mr. Trump said Mr. Biden was the politician who helped put millions of Black Americans in prison with the 1994 crime law. Mr. Biden called Mr. Trump 鈥渢he racist鈥� in the Oval Office.

For a nation confronting a summer of racial unrest 鈥� and centuries of injustice 鈥� the debate was the latest cultural flashpoint.

Mr. Biden was quiet as Mr. Trump blitzed him as a tool of the 鈥渞adical left鈥� and a weak figure who opposes 鈥渓aw and order.鈥� He pressed Mr. Biden repeatedly to name any police union that鈥檚 endorsed him. He falsely accused Mr. Biden of wanting to 鈥渄efund the police.鈥�

Mr. Biden didn鈥檛 capitalize when Mr. Trump refused to condemn armed militias and insisted, against the guidance of his own FBI director: 鈥淭his is not a right-wing problem. This is a left-wing problem.鈥�

鈥淧roud Boys, stand back and stand by,鈥� Mr. Trump said when prompted on the far-right group. 鈥淏ut I鈥檒l tell you what, somebody鈥檚 got to do something about antifa and the left.鈥�

The former vice president tried to push back, but not until after Mr. Trump had made his arguments, including the misrepresentations.

Mr. Biden regained some footing mocking the president鈥檚 warnings about suburbs, saying, 鈥淗e wouldn鈥檛 know a suburb unless he took a wrong turn.鈥� And perhaps revealing the thinking about allowing Mr. Trump the rhetorical upper hand, Mr. Biden said, 鈥淎ll these dog whistles and racism doesn鈥檛 work anymore.鈥�

Supreme Court and health care

Mr. Trump defended his decision to nominate Amy Barrett to the Supreme Court just weeks before Election Day, saying 鈥渆lections have consequences.鈥�

Mr. Biden said he was 鈥渘ot opposed to the justice,鈥� but said the 鈥淎merican people have a right to have a say in who the Supreme Court nominee is.鈥�

But rather than litigate Republicans鈥� 2016 blocking of Merrick Garland to the high court, Mr. Biden quickly pivoted to the issues that will potentially come before the court: health care and abortion. It鈥檚 an effort by the Democrat to refocus the all-but-certain confirmation fight for Mr. Trump鈥檚 third justice to the Supreme Court into an assault on Mr. Trump and his record.

Mr. Biden said Ms. Barrett, who would be the sixth justice on the nine-member court to be appointed by a Republican, would endanger the Affordable Care Act and tens of millions of Americans with preexisting conditions, and would imperil legalized abortion. It was a reframing of the political debate to terms far more favorable to the Democrat, and one Mr. Trump played into. Mr. Trump said of the conservative Ms. Barrett, 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 know her view on Roe vs. Wade鈥� and he defended his efforts to try to chip away at the popular Obama-era health law.

Mr. Biden has tried to press Democrats to use the court confirmation fight as a rallying cry against Mr. Trump, and the debate discussion largely played out on his turf.

The not-so-invisible Mr. Wallace

Mr. Wallace, of Fox News, tried mightily to hold his ground Tuesday as debate moderator after saying beforehand that it was not his job to fact-check the candidates, especially Mr. Trump, in real time.

But Mr. Wallace struggled to stop Mr. Trump from interrupting and at times seemed to lose control of the debate.

鈥淢r. President, as the moderator, we are going to talk about COVID in the next segment,鈥� Mr. Wallace said.

Soon after: 鈥淚鈥檓 the moderator, and I鈥檇 like you to let me ask my question.鈥�

Minutes later: 鈥淚 have to give you roughly equal time. Please let the vice president talk.鈥�

And when Mr. Wallace noted that Mr. Trump hasn鈥檛 come up with his health care plan after nearly four years in office, Mr. Trump turned the question back on Mr. Wallace.

鈥淔irst of all, I鈥檓 debating you and not him. That鈥檚 okay. I鈥檓 not surprised.鈥�

Mr. Wallace said before the debate he wanted to be 鈥渋nvisible鈥� as moderator.

Well, that was impossible.

Family business

As expected, Mr. Trump found a way to bring up Hunter Biden, the former vice president鈥檚 son, and recycle allegations about the son's international business practices. Mr. Biden called Mr. Trump鈥檚 litany 鈥渄iscredited鈥� and fired back, 鈥淚 mean, his family we can talk about all night.鈥�

But Mr. Biden sidestepped any of the specifics of Mr. Trump鈥檚 international business dealings and instead turned straight to the camera.

鈥淭his is not about my family or his family,鈥� Mr. Biden said as Mr. Trump tried to talk over him. 鈥淭his is about your family.鈥�

In a later exchange, Mr. Trump interrupted Mr. Biden when he was talking about his late son, Beau Biden, who died of cancer in 2015 after having served in Iraq.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know Beau, I know Hunter,鈥� Mr. Trump said.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.

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