Trump v Biden

Debate veers from ‘How you doing?’ to ‘Will you shut up?’

CLEVELAND — It started out civil enough, with President Donald Trump striding deliberately to his lectern, and Democrat Joe Biden nodding to his opponent and offering, “How you doing, man?”

Within 15 minutes, the interruptions and talking over one another at Tuesday’s presidential debate had deteriorated to the point that Mr Biden blurted out, “Will you shut up, man?”

There were no handshakes to start the first presidential debate of the 2020 general election. The traditional nicety was one of several formalities abandoned because of the ongoing pandemic.

The 90-minute face off played out in a makeshift debate hall with a crowd of under 100 people because of coronavirus safety restrictions, in an atrium that previously was set up for use as a hospital for COVID-19 patients.

Mr Trump kept up his badgering of Mr Biden, drawing a string of rejoinders from the Democrat, including a plea to “just shush for a minute” at the half-hour mark.

At other points, the two candidates dialled down their rhetoric, but then the interruptions would spring up again. When Mr Trump was fielding a question about reports he paid just $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017, Mr Biden was the one interjecting: “Show us your taxes. Show us your taxes.”

The reaction from the mask-wearing crowd was inaudible on television as Mr Trump frequently talked over Mr Biden. There was no discernible response when the former vice president called the sitting president a “clown” and frustratedly told him to “keep yapping.”

In the first head-to-head debate, the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic could not be missed. Crowds and pageantry were out. COVID-19 tests and masks were in.

Mr Trump came out of the gate looking to challenge Mr Biden at every turn — and the former vice president’s patience was soon spent.

“Will you shut up, man!”, Mr Biden snapped, drawing laughs loud enough that they could be heard through the masks from the atypically small debate crowd.

Roughly 50 minutes into the debate, Fox News moderator Chris Wallace’s frustration came to a boil, as he tried to remain evenkeeled and stop the rivals from talking over each other.

“Gentlemen, I hate to raise my voice, but why should I be any different than the two of you?,” Wallace said.