Presidential debate (September 29, 2020)
Date: November 3, 2020 |
 Donald Trump Joe Biden Howie Hawkins Jo Jorgensen
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The Commission on Presidential Debates held the first of three presidential debates on September 29, 2020, between President Donald Trump (R) and former Vice President Joe Biden (D).
The debate was 90 minutes without commercial breaks. It was divided into 15-minute segments on the following six topics:[1]
- The Trump and Biden records
- The Supreme Court
- COVID-19
- The economy
- Race and violence in our cities
- The integrity of the election
Fox News' Chris Wallace, the debate's moderator, selected the topics.[2]
Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, co-hosted the debate. The University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, was originally scheduled to host the event but withdrew on July 27, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.[3][4] The debate took place in person at the Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion.[5]
To qualify, a candidate had to meet certain constitutional, ballot access, and polling requirements. Click here to learn more about them.
 Joe Biden (D) |
 Donald Trump (R) |
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Debate overview
Video and transcript
By the numbers
Candidate highlights
This section includes highlights for each presidential candidate with a focus on policy. The following paraphrased statements were compiled from the transcript of the debate. A candidate's opponents are generally not mentioned in his or her summary unless there was a significant exchange between them.
Joe Biden discussed the Supreme Court vacancy, coronavirus pandemic, economy, race and violence, climate change, and election integrity. Biden said the Supreme Court vacancy should be filled after the election to give voters a say. He said the Affordable Care Act and women’s rights were at stake with Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination. On healthcare, Biden said only people who qualified for Medicaid would be automatically enrolled in a public health option. He said Trump had no healthcare plan. Biden said Trump knew how deadly the COVID-19 pandemic was and did not have a plan to address it. He said Trump was irresponsible with his handling of masks. He said schools and businesses were not supported to reopen safely. Biden said billionaires benefited from COVID-19 because Trump focused on the stock market. He said Trump would be the first president to leave office with fewer jobs than when he came in. Biden said his economic plan would create 7 million more jobs than Trump had and $1 trillion in economic growth. He said he would raise the corporate tax rate to 28%. He said the Obama administration inherited the worst economy and fixed it, while Trump blew a booming economy.
He said Trump’s statements about Biden's son’s business dealings had been discredited. He criticized Trump’s response to protests in Charlottesville in 2017 and George Floyd’s death. Biden said there was systemic injustice and called for increased funding for community policing. He said violent crime has increased under the Trump administration. Biden discussed the military service of his son, Beau, and the drug addiction recovery of his other son, Hunter. Biden said his plan would create thousands of green jobs and lead to net-zero carbon emissions by 2035. He said the plan was not the Green New Deal. Biden said Trump was afraid of mail-in voting.
Donald Trump discussed the Supreme Court vacancy, coronavirus pandemic, economy, race and violence, climate change, and election integrity. Trump praised his Supreme Court pick, Amy Coney Barrett. He said Republicans had the right to nominate her because they won the last election. He said Biden supported socialist medicine. Trump said he signed an executive order that would reduce prescription drug prices. Trump said millions would have died from COVID-19 if Biden were president. He said a vaccine could be available sooner but politics was delaying it. He criticized strict shutdowns in Democratic-run states and said Biden would shut down the country. Trump said he paid millions in federal income tax in 2016 and 2017. As a businessman, Trump said he did not want to pay taxes and used tax credits and depreciation. Trump said the Obama administration had the slowest economic recovery since 1929, while he brought back manufacturing and 700,000 jobs. Trump said Biden’s son, Hunter, received $3.5 million from a Russian billionaire.
Trump criticized the effect of Biden’s 1994 crime bill on Black Americans. He said he had support from military leaders and law enforcement groups across the country. Trump said he ended racial sensitivity training because it was racist. Trump said increases in crime across the country were a party issue. When asked if he would condemn white supremacist and militia groups, Trump said sure. He said the Proud Boys should stand back and stand by and that someone should do something about Antifa. Trump said he created the greatest economy and lowest unemployment numbers in history prior to COVID-19. He said that he will have appointed 300 federal judges. Trump attributed West Coast wildfires to poor forest management. He said he rolled back the Obama Clean Power Plan because it drove up energy prices. He said there was no free transition in 2016 because Democrats sought a coup on his campaign. He said unsolicited mail-in ballots would lead to fraud.
Debate format
The debate was 90 minutes long and aired live without commercial interruption. Chris Wallace, an anchor of Fox News Sunday, was the sole moderator. Wallace selected the questions for the debate, dividing the event into six, 15-minute segments organized by topic.[6]
Cleveland Clinic executive Dr. James Merlino said the audience would be limited to 200 people. Attendees were required to follow public health protocols, including sanitizing hands and wearing masks.[7]
Candidate selection criteria
The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) used the following criteria to select candidates to participate in the 2020 general election presidential debates:[8]
- The candidate must satisfy the constitutional eligibility requirements, including being at least 35 years old, a natural born citizen, and a resident of the United States for fourteen years.
- The candidate must appear on enough state ballots to be eligible to secure at least 270 electoral votes—a majority in the Electoral College—or more.
- The candidate must receive, on average, at least 15% support nationally in the most recent polls from five public opinion polling organizations. The CPD will use the following polls:
- ABC/Washington Post Poll
- CNN Poll
- Fox News Poll
- NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll
- NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll
Previous presidential candidate interviews with Wallace
Wallace previously interviewed both Biden and Trump during the 2020 presidential election cycle. Click on the following interviews to watch these exchanges.
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General election debates
- See also: Presidential debates, 2020
The following table provides an overview of the date, location, and host in each scheduled 2020 general election debate.
| 2020 general election debates | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debate | Date | Standort | Host | |
| First presidential debate | September 29, 2020 | Cleveland, Ohio | Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic | |
| Vice presidential debate | October 7, 2020 | Salt Lake City, Utah | University of Utah | |
| Second presidential debate | Canceled |
Miami, Florida | Adrienne Arsht Center | |
| Third presidential debate | October 22, 2020 | Nashville, Tennessee | Belmont University | |
Commission on Presidential Debates
- See also: Commission on Presidential Debates
The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) is a 501(c)(3) organization that sponsors, organizes, and establishes guidelines for general election presidential and vice presidential debates. Founded in 1987, the CPD sponsored every general presidential and vice presidential debate from 1988 to 2020. In 2024, Joe Biden (D) and Donald Trump (R) announced they would not participate in CPD-sponsored debates.[9]
The CPD is controlled by an independent board. As of January 2024, Frank Fahrenkopf Jr. and Antonia Hernandez were serving as co-chairs of the commission and Janet Brown served as executive director of the board.[10]
The CPD's funding primarily comes from the communities that host the debates and corporate, foundation, and private donors. It does not receive funding from the government or any political party.[11]
Democratic presidential primary debates, 2019-2020
- See also: Democratic presidential nomination, 2020
The following table provides an overview of the date, location, host, and number of participants in each scheduled 2020 Democratic presidential primary debate.
2016 presidential debates
- See also: Presidential debates (2015-2016)
More than two dozen primary and general election debates took place during the 2016 presidential election cycle. The first general election presidential debate took place on September 26, 2016, in New York. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump debated and Lester Holt of NBC News moderated. An estimated 84 million people tuned in to the first debate, a record in the history of presidential debates. The previous record was held by Ronald Reagan (R) and Jimmy Carter (D), who attracted 80.6 million viewers in 1980.[12]
Two more general election debates were held on October 9, 2016, at Washington University and on October 19, 2016, at the University of Nevada. Vice presidential candidates Tim Kaine (D) and Mike Pence (R) also debate on October 4, 2016, at Longwood University.
History of televised presidential debates
Although the 1960 general election debate between John F. Kennedy (D) and Richard Nixon (R) is frequently cited as the first televised presidential debate, two came before it.
The first televised presidential debate took place on May 21, 1956, when an ABC affiliate in Miami broadcast a Democratic primary debate between Adlai Stevenson and Estes Kefauver.[13] In the general election that year, Stevenson and incumbent President Dwight Eisenhower (R) used surrogates in a televised debate on November 4, 1956. They were represented by former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (D) and Sen. Margaret Chase Smith (R), respectively.[14]
The Kennedy-Nixon debates that took place four years later showed the importance of television as a visual medium, "Nixon, pale and underweight from a recent hospitalization, appeared sickly and sweaty, while Kennedy appeared calm and confident. As the story goes, those who listened to the debate on the radio thought Nixon had won. But those listeners were in the minority. ... Those that watched the debate on TV thought Kennedy was the clear winner. Many say Kennedy won the election that night," TIME reported on the 50th anniversary of the event.[15]
While a handful of presidential primary debates were held between 1964 and 1972, the televised presidential debate did not become a staple of American politics until 1976.[16]
Übersicht
The following chart shows the number of presidential and vice presidential debates that took place in each election cycle between 1960 and 2024.
List of presidential debates, 1960-2024
The following table shows the date, location, and moderators for each presidential debate between 1960 and 2024.[17]
| Presidential debates, 1960-2024 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Standort | Moderator |
| September 26, 1960 | Chicago, IL | Howard K. Smith, CBS News |
| October 7, 1960 | Washington, D.C. | Frank McGee, NBC |
| October 13, 1960 | Los Angeles, CA / New York, NY | Bill Shadel, ABC |
| October 21, 1960 | New York, NY | Quincy Howe, ABC News |
| September 23, 1976 | Philadelphia, PA | Edwin Newman, NBC News |
| October 6, 1976 | San Francisco, CA | Pauline Frederick, NPR |
| October 22, 1976 | Williamsburg, VA | Barbara Walters, ABC News |
| September 21, 1980 | Baltimore, MD | Bill Moyers, PBS |
| October 28, 1980 | Cleveland, OH | Howard K. Smith, ABC News |
| October 7, 1984 | Louisville, KY | Barbara Walters, ABC News |
| October 21, 1984 | Kansas City, MO | Edwin Newman, formerly NBC News |
| September 25, 1988 | Winson-Salem, N.C. | Jim Lehrer, PBS |
| October 13, 1988 | Los Angeles, CA | Bernard Shaw, CNN |
| October 11, 1992 | St. Louis, MO | Jim Lehrer, PBS |
| October 15, 1992 | Richmond, VA | Carole Simpson, ABC |
| October 19, 1992 | East Lansing, MI | Jim Lehrer, PBS |
| October 6, 1996 | Hartford, CT | Jim Lehrer, PBS |
| October 16, 1996 | San Diego, CA | Jim Lehrer, PBS |
| October 3, 2000 | Boston, MA | Jim Lehrer, PBS |
| October 11, 2000 | Winson-Salem, N.C. | Jim Lehrer, PBS |
| October 17, 2000 | St. Louis, MO | Jim Lehrer, PBS |
| September 30, 2004 | Coral Gables, FL | Jim Lehrer, PBS |
| October 8, 2004 | St. Louis, MO | Charles Gibson, ABC |
| October 13, 2004 | Tempe, AZ | Bob Schieffer, CBS |
| September 26, 2008 | Oxford, MS | Jim Lehrer, PBS |
| October 7, 2008 | Nashville, TN | Tom Brokaw, NBC |
| October 15, 2008 | Hempstead, NY | Bob Schieffer, CBS |
| October 3, 2012 | Denver, CO | Jim Lehrer, PBS |
| October 16, 2012 | Hempstead, NY | Candy Crowley, CNN |
| October 22, 2012 | Boca Raton, FL | Bob Schieffer, CBS |
| September 26, 2016 | Hempstead, NY | Lester Holt, NBC |
| October 9, 2016 | St. Louis, MO | Martha Raddatz, ABC Anderson Cooper, CNN |
| October 19, 2016 | Las Vegas, NV | Chris Wallace, FOX |
| September 29, 2020 | Cleveland, OH | Chris Wallace, FOX |
| October 22, 2020 | Nashville, TN | Kristen Welker, NBC |
| June 27, 2024 | Atlanta, GA | Dana Bash and Jake Tapper, CNN |
| September 10, 2024 | Philadelphia, PA | David Muir and Linsey Davis, ABC |
See also
- Presidential debates, 2020
- Presidential candidates, 2020
- Democratic presidential nomination, 2020
- Republican presidential nomination, 2020
- Presidential debates (2015-2016)
Footnotes
- ↑ Commission on Presidential Debates, "Moderator Announces Topics for First Presidential Debate," September 22, 2020
- ↑ Washington Post, "What to know about the 2020 presidential debates," August 14, 2020
- ↑ Commission on Presidential Debates, "CPD Statement," December 16, 2019
- ↑ Commission on Presidential Debates, "Statement: First Presidential Debate," July 27, 2020
- ↑ Cleveland Clinic, "Case Western Reserve and Cleveland Clinic to Host First Presidential Debate Tuesday, Sept. 29, in Health Education Campus’ Samson Pavilion," August 27, 2020
- ↑ The Washington Post, "What to know about the 2020 presidential debates," September 11, 2020
- ↑ Vox, "When is the first presidential debate? September 29," September 29, 2020
- ↑ Commission on Presidential Debates, "Commission on Presidential Debates Announces Polls to be used in 2020 Candidate Selection Criteria," August 28, 2020
- ↑ Associated Press, "Biden and Trump agree on presidential debates on June 27 and in September," May 15, 2024
- ↑ Commission on Presidential Debates, "Commission Leadership," accessed February 2, 2022
- ↑ Commission on Presidential Debates, "Overview," accessed September 23, 2019
- ↑ Commission on Presidential Debates, "1980 Debates," accessed October 10, 2016
- ↑ Illinois Channel, "From 1956, the First Televised Presidential Debate," June 15, 2016
- ↑ United States Senate, "The First Televised Presidential Debate," accessed June 12, 2019
- ↑ TIME, "How the Nixon-Kennedy Debate Changed the World," September 23, 2010
- ↑ Center for Politics, "Eight Decades of Debate," July 30, 2015
- ↑ Commission on Presidential Debates, "Debate History," accessed September 28, 2020
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