The more I think about it, the more I think it was an ugly win for Trump. He dominated the whole debate. He attacked and everyone else reacted. He's the one who landed all the punches.

For me, the image of the night was when Biden tried to bring up "Russian Influence" and Trump replied by asking why Biden's son got $3.5 million from the Moscow mayor's wife. Biden's head was down, his eyes were clenched shut and his lips were in a tight scowl.

If Biden had really won, all the Dems would be howling for more debates.

We learned that Trump is, indeed, the guy we voted for, and we learned why he won. We might not particularly like what that tells us about the culture at the moment, but if he’d been polite and let Wallace put him in a cage, he’d have lost the voters who voted for him, and who will vote for him again.

How else was he supposed to act? He knew real quick that it was a set-up. He had to throw them off their game. It worked. I don’t know what drugs Joe was on, but the gentle, nice guy moderate facade faltered enough for us to see who he is.

“Everybody knows Trump’s a liar.”
“I’m not going to answer that.”
“Would you shut up.”
“It’s hard to get a word in with this clown.”
“You’re the worst president America’s ever had.”

And they accused Trump of being undignified.

But Joe wasn’t all personal attacks. He made a stab at policy issues too.

“COVID is what it is because you are who you are.”
“I’m going to eliminate the Trump tax cuts.”
“We handed him a booming economy and he blew it.”

When Trump threw topics at him that he’d heretofore been protected from, like Hunter’s escapades and crimes, all Joe could do is say “That’s not true. That’s been debunked,” about things that’s everyone knows are true. He refused to answer the question about packing the court by pointing out, “If I answer that, that’ll become the issue,” seeming not to realize that by dodging the question, he both answered it and made it the issue.

He got taken to the cleaners by a guy who refused to follow any rules and who set every pundit’s hair on fire. The next morning they were all saying, “Don’t debate him any more, Joe. He’s not worth it.”

Well, if they thought he’d done well, they’d be spoiling for the next installment, don’t you think?

Meanwhile, Trump was off to the next rally, saying, “It was two to one, but I still had fun.”

I learned all I needed to know.

Exactly what is the validity of a "debate" in which the moderator is member of one side of the debate.

Such a show can only be for one purpose: to shill for the side of the moderator and Biden. I will not support such a farce.

I just watched the first part of the debate again to refresh my memory, and here is what I think started things moving in the wrong direction. After the President spoke for two minutes, flowed by Biden speaking for two minutes, the President then had his next opportunity so speak in response, and he was interrupted by Biden three times while trying to give it -- yes, it was Biden that started the interrupting. Wallace saw no need to say anything about these interruptions, however, and then went on himself to interrupt the President a couple of times while he was in the middle of sentences, offering Biden more of a chance to speak. He wasn't doing this to Biden at this point, only to the President. He then asked a "question" of the President that was preceded by a couple of accusations (it may as well have been Jim Acosta asking them in the White House press room), which the President tried to respond to in real time by interrupting Wallace. He apparently expected a question, but instead he heard allegations, and he didn't want to let them go by. I can't say that I blame him. It was in this exchange the the President said to Wallace, "I guess I'm debating you, not him." Wallace was combative toward him from the start, just as if he were one of those typical press corps reporters rather than a debate moderator. It was after this that President Trump seemed to start being very aggressive by interrupting and talking over both the moderator and Biden. He clearly felt he had been ambushed by Wallace and was in an unfair two-against-one debate, and he clearly felt that, if Wallace was not going to follow any sense of rules or decorum as the supposed moderator, he would just take the gloves off and go at both of them. This is how it looked to me when I went back and watched things escalate. But that pompous, hypocritical jerk, Wallace, was today blaming it on the President.

Aside from both men having the capability to act childish, can't say I learned much from that debate. It was more of a verbal playground argument than a debate, hope the next one actually turns out to be a debate as opposed to just an argument with namecalling. Wallace was a poor moderator, although there should be an option to cut the mics if one keeps interrupting the other. The Harris versus Pence debate should be interesting...

Idiocracy. My biggest issue with the debate format is the poor pacing and tiny amount of time. I want to hear Trump and Biden actually hash out a question back and forth, no interruptions from the mod.

As far as the interrupting each other goes, at times I actually wanted to hear where the conversation would go. Like this example of the packing the courts question. (I seriously hope Biden stops looking directly at the camera like that. It's pretty off putting.) Instead it was "not enough time" or "next topic". There is no organic flow of conversation.

Biden would also interrupt with a question or statement, Trump would begin to answer, and then once again Wallace was cutting them off and moving on.

These types of "good for sound bite only" snippets of back and forth come off "safe" to me. I want to see the two of them actually get into it. I want to see them talk to each other. Not put on a show.

It felt like a stitch up, a messy 2 v 1 stitch up.

To me this defined the left and right. The left is unable to produce anything accept lies and innuendo, the right is right on.
Now let’s see how many moderators and candidates Trump will need to fight in round 2.

The moderator should be impartial and not help one side debate.
The moderator should not be debating one of the parties.
The parties should not have wireless devices to have "help" piped in, as Biden was wearing.
The next debate is being "moderated" by a former intern of Biden.
Steve Scully - moderator 2nd Presidential Debate
[smpa.gwu.edu]
"While attending college, he served as an intern in the office of Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden, …."

I can’t believe that so many Slugers could not see what was really going on.
This was another attempt to hijack and rig the next election.
Wallace is a fucking scum bag. I saw the man last night and I never would have believed his brazen, bold face attempt to push, pull or drag the senile old fool Biden. Wallace was propping up a corps.
Given what happened last election I am seriously beginning to doubt this election can be run honestly. Trump has every reason to suspect malfeasance.
This essentially raises the notion that once again they are attempting to rig the process.

I live outside the USA in some other country and as a non-citizen don't participate in elections, so to me this debate is not very important. What I care for is how the debate was received by citizens who will vote. From all the comments I read and hear, I understand that Trump is the clear winner. I don't think this result comes from his merits but from the total lack of merits on the side of Biden. It is beyond believe that the Democratic Party can't field a proper contestant. They'll lose because of their own weakness and incompetence. Also i.m.o. Trump is a principled man with high moral standing, which is hard to see through his rudeness. I thank God for Trump bc. he never started a war. With Amy Barrett he even slaps in the face of the Jews. He's a man of courage.

The debate confirmed:
-Trump has two opponents: the media and Covid
-Biden, if elected, will be a ceremonial president, a placeholder for the left

Trump was repeatedly accused of being an “out of control” “bully” who brought nothing to the table but “chaos”. The media completely ignored Biden’s antics: telling the President to “shut up”, calling him a liar, a racist, a clown and a fool, making false accusations about Clorox injections, disrespect for the military, and raising the “good people on both sides” hoax. (Trump should have responded that Biden himself was famously labelled a racist — by his own VP candidate.)

Trump has to focus on his record, and keep the focus there. He’s a street fighter, so he needs to show more empathy and reassurance to a struggling public, especially during a national crisis. He needs to stop giving critics more ammunition.

The media’s pearl clutching in reaction to the debate, over a lack of substantive policy discussion, is ridiculous. Modern Presidential debates have never been about policy. They are about setting up a “gotcha!” television moment. They are the political version of the network reality show, regardless of the smug self-importance of the moderators.

Felt like two men who were desperate for a first-round knockout. I learned nothing new about the two candidates. Biden is a really lousy candidate, and Trump is Trump. I don't think Trump lost the debate by any means, but I'm disappointed that he missed an opportunity to look really good against a much weaker opponent.

That wasn't a debate - it was theatre.

This is what a debate looks like:

The only surprise was the fact it happened at all.

A bigger separation of the candidates and mute button controlled by the moderator might help the home audience discern what's being said. Trumps constant interruptions had Wallace trying to do his job, moderate. I suspect it will be more of the same as Trump has a limited vocabulary that fits his limited game plan. We've seen all he has to offer. There will be more constant interruptions, more outlandish claims, peppered with what Trump is most famous for, lying.
Bumbling Biden was easily throw off course by the interruptions and had nothing of substance the American people could take comfort in. He looked overwhelmed and out of his depth at times. Maybe it's time to inject some youth into American politics as both candidates looked old and tired, both physically and ideologically.
If these are the best two candidates that American politics has to offer, American democracy is in so much trouble right now. Trump is still not clear on the transition of power situation and it can be seen as nothing other than a call to arms for his supporters. This speaks volumes to his attitude towards American democracy. He would rather see America burn than lose. That's disturbing.
Hopefully, Pence and Harris should be more amicable.

People want to complain that “Trump acted like such a child!!” when they all three did. I feel like Trump actually answered the questions posed to him, hardballed as they were. Wallace was a sorry excuse for a moderator. Biden spoke a lot, but answered very little. When you resort to, “Come on man, shut up.” You’ve lost the debate.

We need a raucous crowd to give it the energy of a sports event.
Let each side bring a crowd of partisans and encourage them to make sound. Hear
Republicans laugh when Biden gaffs.

We want a superbowl, a debate between the mightiest members of each conference.
We want Newt Gingrich vs... can anyone think of a worthy Democrat?
Your argument is only as strong as the strongest Devil's advocate that you have defeated
in fair debate.

American politics used to be more civilized. The Lincoln-Douglas debates didn't
have a moderator, and both candidates rode the same train.

The Lincoln-Douglas debates featured proper rebuttal. Each side got 1.5 hours
to speak and each side got rebuttal time. Plus there were 9 debates, and
if you fib, the other candidate has plenty of chances to zap you for it.

The newspapers printed what each candidate said. Partisan newspapers tended to
polish the grammar of their candidate and leave the other candidate's words
raw, but they would still print the other candidate's words. Today, Democrat
media censors Republicans. That should be called out as a weakness.
On Fox, they show the opposition's statements and they rebut them.

Terrible "debate".
Turn the mike of someone off when they are not talking. Take turns.
The moderation was terrible.
Add to the discussion a candidate who is on the ballot in all 50 states and represents a party with actual values. Some sanity on the stage would show how corrupt these old fools are.

Vote for freedom and prosperity. That way your vote counts.

I'm an Englishman in England but know what happens in America will in the end affect the UK, I watched the debate and while I think Trump did win it, It wasn't the kind of debate I wanted, most of the time it was just name calling and finger pointing.
It is polices and the candidates proposed solutions to problems I would think that most wanted to hear but alas just as here in the UK politics seems to be more about fouling the person than it is finding answers to problems.

I learned that Trump wins the debate by a 2 to 3 rate when you translate it into Spanish. In English, I thought he did terrible. The Hispanic and black attraction certainly suggests the reason for the current fake white supremacy narrative.

Hi there. Your hair smells like fear.

It makes feel ashamed that this is the only choice we have.

This imo always had dumpster fire written all over it where nothing would be learned other than which candidate had the best gift of the gab and who could think on their feet. So didn't watch it and think I made the right call.

Vote third party.

Jo Jorgensen