Can we get a new moderator? Please…

Gerard Borne

More stories from Gerard Borne

Gerard+Borne

Gerard Borne

On Sept. 29, everyone tuned in to watch the first presidential debate of the 2020 election cycle.

Many watched in hopes of seeing one candidate slip up or do something wrong, or many like myself watched to see what topics would be discussed and what both candidates had to offer.

I thought to myself, “I hope both candidates do a good job, and I hope this is an informative debate”. Never would I have thought that I would grow a deep hatred for the moderator of the debate.

Chris Wallace did an absolutely terrible job “moderating” this debate. He was very loud and arrogant throughout the whole night.

To me, a moderator is supposed to be invisible and there to make sure everyone is following the rules and guidelines of the debate, but not in this case.

Wallace made sure his presence was felt throughout the night, oftentimes screaming over both candidates. I understand rules were set in stone for the debate, allowing both candidates to only have two minutes per topic, but if a candidate goes over by a little, let them finish their thoughts, please.

As a first-time voter, I would have liked to hear both candidates’ thoughts and ideas in full, but Wallace nullified that by loudly interrupting both candidates. I would be lying if I were to say I do not know who I am voting for, but I would still like to hear both candidates’ sides of an issue. I am glad to know that Wallace will not be the moderator for the second debate.

Now, to address both candidates. President Donald J. Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden both did rather well in my opinion, but they also had flaws in some areas.

Trump’s biggest flaw was getting very loud and speaking out of turn often, but Biden also would occasionally speak out of turn. Trump did a good job answering questions about the coronavirus and did an even better job explaining how the country rebounded from the virus in a short period of time. Another thing Trump did well, in my opinion, was answering the questions about his rumored tax returns, which conveniently came out right before the debate.

Now to Biden. I think the former vice president did a good job trying to connect with the American people by pointing at the cameras and saying “You the American people.” This has proven to work in the past, and Biden did just that. I also have to give props to Biden for jabbing back at Trump with more low blows.

One of the areas that Biden struggled in was, of course, making sense with some of his responses. Social media has always trolled the poor old man for not making any sense and on Sept. 29, they had a field day. Biden tends to start off great and make sense in the beginning, but towards the end of his explanations and answers, he tends to completely brain fry everyone and just confuse the audience.

For the second presidential debate on Oct. 15, I would tell both candidates to relax and try to respect one another’s allotted times and to continue to both bring that same fiery energy from the last debate.

Another note I would add is: please do not let Chris Wallace anywhere near the debate, as his voice irks me.