The reviews are in: The first presidential debate was a disaster

A broadcast of the first presidential debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden on September 29. | Mario Tama/Getty Images

“What a dark event we have just witnessed.”

The reviews are in for the first presidential debate of the 2020 general election, and there seems to be a consensus: that was a complete disaster.

From ABC News to CNN to Fox News, TV hosts and other commentators agreed that the first debate devolved into an incoherent mess — largely because President Donald Trump wouldn’t allow former Vice President Joe Biden to speak, repeatedly flaunting the rules on time limits by interrupting his Democratic opponent.

Immediately after the debate, ABC News host George Stephanopoulos called out what he described as the worst debate he had seen in his life.

“I have to speak personally here,” he said. “As somebody who’s watched presidential debates for 40 years, as somebody who’s moderated presidential debates, as somebody who’s prepared candidates for presidential debates, as somebody who’s covered presidential debates, that was the worst presidential debate I have ever seen in my life.”

CNN anchor Jake Tapper echoed the sentiment.

“That was a hot mess inside a dumpster fire inside a train wreck,” Tapper said. “That was the worst debate I have ever seen. In fact, it wasn’t even in a debate. It was a disgrace. And it’s primarily because of President Trump. … We’ll talk about who won the debate, who lost the debate, but I can tell you one thing for sure: The American people lost tonight, because that was horrific.”

CNN correspondent Dana Bash agreed with Tapper. “That was a shitshow,” she said. “We’re on cable, we can say that. Apologies for being maybe a little bit crude, but that was really the phrase that I’m getting from people on both sides of the aisle on text, and it’s the only phrase that I can think of to really describe it.”

On NBC News, Savannah Guthrie kicked off the discussion this way: “We need to just pause for a moment, and say, ‘That was crazy.’ What was that?”

“It was a train wreck,” NBC News anchor Chuck Todd responded. “But it was a train wreck of the making of one person. I mean, we know who did it. President Trump did this.”

MSNBC anchor Brian Williams agreed: “What a dark event we have just witnessed.”

CBS News political analyst John Dickerson said, “When the stakes were that high, the debate couldn’t have been lower. It was not an equal opportunity experience. The president of the United States … was by far responsible for a greater share of the jaggedness at a time when America does not need jagged.”

Even Fox News anchor Sean Hannity, a consistent ally of the president, conceded the debate didn’t go how a lot of people would have liked, although he spun his criticism so as not to solely impugn Trump: “I grew up. I played hockey. We dropped the gloves every day. Some people probably think it’s too hot, but it was both sides.”

Later, on Fox & Friends First in the morning, political analyst Ron Meyer echoed the sentiment that emerged elsewhere: “Honestly, there wasn’t much great about this debate. In my opinion, it could be one of the worst debates in televised American history.”

Flipping through news channels last night and this morning, it’s the overwhelming takeaway from the debate: Regardless of which candidate you prefer, it was a debacle.

---

Will you help keep Vox free for all?

The United States is in the middle of one of the most consequential presidential elections of our lifetimes. It’s essential that all Americans are able to access clear, concise information on what the outcome of the election could mean for their lives, and the lives of their families and communities. That is our mission at Vox. But our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources. Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers, your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work. If you have already contributed, thank you. If you haven’t, please consider helping everyone understand this presidential election: Contribute today from as little as $3.