The media universally panned President Donald Trump’s debate performance against Democratic nominee Joe Biden after the president repeatedly interrupted and heckled his opponent and moderator Chris Wallace.
Wallace did not stand a chance as he repeatedly pleaded for Trump to stop interrupting to no avail.
Trump incessantly heckled Biden with claims that he supports a Green New Deal, Medicare for All, and defunding the police -- all of which Biden just spent an entire Democratic primary campaigning against.
The coronavirus pandemic and Trump’s taxes barely registered as the president plowed ahead with prepared attack lines, including an attack over Biden’s son Hunter’s recovery from a cocaine problem while Biden was in the middle of an impassioned tribute to his late son Beau.
Trump criticized for confusing comments about Proud Boys:
During one of the most bizarre moments in the debate, Trump deflected when asked to condemn white supremacists and militia groups.
"Almost everything I see is from the left-wing — not from the right-wing,” Trump insisted.
Wallace pressed Trump again to condemn white supremacists and after asking for a name of a specific name of an organization, said:
"Proud Boys: Stand back, and stand by," Trump said. "But I'll tell you what, somebody's got to do something about antifa and the left, because this is not a right-wing problem. This is a left-wing problem."
CNN commentator Rick Santorum expressed dismay over Trump’s response, noting that the president doesn’t like to “say something bad about people who support him.”
"Donald Trump blew the biggest layup in the history of debates by not condemning white supremacists," "Fox & Friends" host Brian Kilmeade said. "I don't know if he didn't hear it, but he's got to clarify that right away. That's like, 'Are you against evil?'"
"We were the big losers last night, meaning the American people,” he added.
The exchange ended with both Trump and Biden arguing over whether Antifa should be considered a terrorist group.
What a “shitshow”:
“That was a shit show,” said CNN commentator Dana Bash. “It’s the only phrase that I can think of to really describe it.”
“That was a hot mess inside a dumpster fire inside a train wreck," said CNN host Jake Tapper. "That was the worst debate I have ever seen, in fact it wasn't even a debate. It was a disgrace."
"We can talk about who won the debate and who lost the debate, but I can tell you one thing for sure: The American people lost," he added.
"It raises a lot of questions about the future of a presidential debate between these two candidates,” said CNN host Wolf Blitzer. “I wouldn't be surprised, by the way, if this is the last presidential debate."
