Who Won First Presidential Debate? Experts Evaluate Trump, Biden Brawl

By Dana Cruz First Posted: Sep 30, 2020 02:46 AM EDT

Donald Trump And Joe Biden Participate In First Presidential Debate

(Photo : by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden participate in the first presidential debate at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University on September 29, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio.

President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden faced off in a messy first presidential debate and left many Americans with the question, "who won?"

The first presidential debate was a frustrating feat for both moderator Fox News' Chris Wallace and the election experts' panel. But experts still managed to give insights on who won during certain talking points in the debate.

Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak said both candidates "acted like children" during the first presidential debate.

The battle often turned nasty, with shouting matches and interruptions. Even so, Mackowiak said Trump and Biden "landed some shots."

New York Post analyst Liz Benjamin is also no stranger to the rough side of politics. But even as a veteran, she found the debate was a "wash."

"Both candidates accomplished what they had to do by playing to their respective bases and avoiding any disqualifying gaffes," Benjamin said.

Another strategist Leticia Remauro said Trump performed better "by a hair" when compared to Biden. "He was forceful and solidified his base but loses points for interrupting," she said.

Supreme Court

All three analysts said Trump did better at defending his case during the Supreme Court segment.

Trump did appear "hyperbolic and argumentative," as Remauro pointed out. But he said why he had the right to appoint his nominee.

On the other hand, Biden was struggling in this round. He managed to turn the discussion around to the Affordable Care Act but lost points when he didn't answer the "pack the court" question.

Mackowiak said Biden's failure and refusal to answer that question was what failed him the most during this segment.

The Economy

Talking about the economy was also a strong point for Trump, said Remauro and Mackowiak.

Trump stressed that Biden wanted to close off the economy, effectively reminding people of what they could lose with Biden. In addition to this, Biden appeared to have agreed with Trump without defending his case as strongly, Remauro said.

Mackowiak also said Trump was the one who won this round because of his forceful arguments defending his record. His swipes at the economy's recovery during the Obama-Biden years were also on-point.

COVID-19 Handling

Remauro said both Trump and Biden had good points in talking about COVID-19. She believed the round was a draw.

Biden had good talking points and tried to evoke emotions of the viewers by talking about loved ones they lost because of the pandemic. Trump also landed some good punches about Biden's mishandling of H1N1.

But the other two analysts believed Trump lost the round because he was forced to play defense against Biden.

Trump, Biden Records

Both Remauro and Benjamin could agree that talking about records was not the best round for Trump.

The attack on Biden's son was "way too personal," as Remauro said, and made for an error in the president's part.

No one emerged as a clear winner for this round.

Race, Law Enforcement

Trump had leverage during the race round, said Remauro. He focused the debate on law and order and reminded people about the violence that came with protests.

Mackowiak also believed Trump was "fairly effective" for this round, but said there was a missed opportunity to call out white supremacists.

Election Integrity

The three analysts believe there was a very close fight during this portion of the debate. "Neither won and neither lost on this subject," said Mackowiak.

Trump and Biden, including Wallace, all agreed that election results wouldn't be decided on election night.