Campaign 2020: Unified disappointment following first debate
(Milledgeville, Ga) -- While the first presidential debate showcased a divide in American politics, the reaction from both sides has been unified.
“Both Biden and Trump could’ve performed better,” said WGUR Republican analyst Carlie Franzman. “They could’ve stuck to the facts instead of indulging their partisan issues with each other.”
In her view, politics goes wrong when it focuses on “tearing people down” rather than what the individual candidate wants to achieve for the American people.
WGUR Democratic analyst James Robertson shares in the disappointment, “I’m not surprised, but I still hate it.”
He pushes back on the idea that the debate was a “departure from the norms.” Robertson said, “there’s always been theater in politics, we don’t vote for policies we vote for individuals.”
As for President Trump’s now-famous “stand back and stand by” response when asked to condemn white supremacist groups, Franzman wishes Trump had forcefully denounced them. She added, “I don’t think that was him inciting white supremacists or inciting violence.”
For those who say the President ‘misspoke,’ Robertson says, “he’s the President of the United States if he doesn’t mean what he says, he shouldn’t say it.”
Listen to the full report below: