Many who watched the first presidential debate on Sept. 29 were left with more doubts than reassurances as the day the American people waited for has finally arrived and passed. It felt like watching an SNL skit rather than a debate. Here’s what went down.

1. Trump’s federal income tax returns

Moderator Chris Wallace asked President Trump whether the New York Times article about him paying $750 in federal income taxes was true or not. Trump immediately answered by saying that he paid “millions of dollars in taxes.” Again, not providing a more clear answer as per usual. He went on to claim that there was a news article claiming that he had paid $38 million one year and $27 million another year. Although it is true that Trump paid $38 million in federal income taxes, that was back in 2005 and on a $150 million income. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden interrupted Trump repeatedly asking Trump to “show us your tax returns.” Trump continued to say that they are under revision and cannot release them at the moment. Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Biden released their tax returns hours before the debate. Harris paid over a million dollars in taxes and Biden paid almost $300,000.

1. Nomination of a new Supreme Court justice 

As the first topic of discussion in the presidential debate, the ability to nominate a Supreme Court justice was brought into question whether a president can do so in their last year of presidency. Or in the last couple of weeks in Trump’s case. Trump made the argument that his Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, is “a phenomenal candidate” and that she has “liberal endorsers.” He went on to say that as his duty as president of the United States, he must pick a new justice to fulfill his job – regardless of the time frame. It’s hypocritical of him to say that when his fellow Republicans blocked President Barack Obama’s nomination a year away from the election. On the other hand, Biden went on to say that it is the American people that have the right to vote on a new Supreme Court justice. They do so by electing a new president into the White House. 

1. Trump’s refusal of a peaceful transition of power

It has been heard from the president himself that he will not commit to a peaceful transfer of power if Biden wins the election. This statement alone goes against the very principles of democracy that our founding fathers fought to protect. Wallace asked, “How confident are you that this will be a fair election?” and Biden began by reassuring the American people. He said that as long as the American people vote that there wouldn’t be anything to fear and if Trump loses, he will leave. This reassurance was a major necessity for the American people as they now feel fear for what Trump is capable of doing if he were to lose the election. Contrary to this, Trump went on to question the legitimacy of mail-in ballots just like he has for the past couple of months. He mentioned a case of fraudulent mail-ballots in Virginia but that case turned out to be a false claim. Trump has to give up his power if he were not elected and he will do so under the orders of the new president.

1. The constant insults and interruptions of both sides

Without a doubt, this presidential debate was one of the worst anyone has seen in recent history. The constant interruptions from Trump and the insults from both candidates made the American people more confused than ever. The purpose of these presidential debates is to aid swing voters into making a choice between who’s the better candidate for the presidency and this debate did not do its job. Biden’s constant “clown” name calling at Trump and Trump’s non stop interruptions of Biden’s discussion time was just a battle between toddlers. Although it was entertaining to watch, it certainly brought to light that neither candidate is the best one suited for the job. We are talking about who’s best suited to be in the highest office of the land and name calling is child’s play. Our commander-in-chief should not resort to child-like behavior during discussion of sensitive topics.

1. Trump declining to condemn white supremacy

Wallace asked Trump if he was willing to condemn white supremacists and Trump replied with a “sure.” Waiting for a response, Trump redirected the discussion to the claim that the violence seen in the streets have been by left wing extremists and not the right wing. Trump called on Biden to condemn the anti-fascist protest movement, Antifa, and other left wing extremists but Biden was not having it. Like Biden said, Antifa is not an organization but rather the belief of being anti-fascist. In the end, Trump did not condemn white supremacy and went on to say that the Proud Boys should “stand back and stand by.” This was not a condemning statement but rather an order to wait for further instructions. It only fueled the Proud Boys to listen to whatever the president orders them to do. Trump completely ignored the white supremacists.