Presidential debate viewed as ‘train wreck’

Hot mess, dumpster fire, train wreck: the reviews of the presidential debate are in, and they’re not good. And those are just the familyfriendly ones.

So universally condemned was Tuesday’s televised clash between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, some political observers are urging the U.S. Commission on Presidential Debates to call a halt to the remaining two.

President Donald Trump spent most of the night needling, badgering and talking over both Democratic challenger Joe Biden and moderator Chris Wallace, fuelling a cacophony of interruptions and insults that offered little help to American voters. “Just Cancel the Last Two Debates,” an online Time magazine headline blared Wednesday. “America has Suffered Enough.”

“The modern presidential debate was invented in 1960,” James Fallows wrote in the Atlantic in the hours that followed. “We may have seen the end of its useful life this evening.”

The commission acknowledged the controversy in a statement Wednesday as it promised “additional structure” for the next debates “to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues.”

“The CPD will be carefully considering the changes that it will adopt and will announce those measures shortly.”

Americans and Canadians alike are no strangers to the political din.

The first meeting of the 2019 Democratic primaries featured no fewer than 20 candidates, debating 10 at a time over two nights. And in Canada, federal leaders’ debates now routinely feature four or five candidates and no shortage of crosstalk. But Tuesday’s debacle has breathed new life into the debate about debates.

Political experts on both sides of the Canada-U. S. border stopped short of calling for a halt to the 60-year-old tradition. But they agreed that more needs to be done to ensure that the value debates can bring isn’t lost in the clamour.