TOLEDO, Ohio — Whew. That was something, wasn't it? As the first presidential debate took place in Cleveland on Tuesday night, many people reached for their mobile devices to weigh in on what they were watching, which some described as a Facebook comment section come to life.
This second-screen experience provided an outlet for thousands as they reacted in joy, anger, disbelief and a host of other emotions as President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden verbally sparred from the jump on the stage at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University.
And even the twitter accounts of @realDonaldTrump and @joebiden were tweeting as the Republican president and Democratic challengers were on stage. About 14 tweets appeared from the president's Twitter account within the first 40 minutes of the debate, while Biden's account posted four in that same time period.
Some people were just fed up, fairly early on. Don't forget, there are two more scheduled presidential debates. It's not certain that Deray is going to make it to the Oct. 15 and Oct. 22 debates, though:
It's also not certain that Ohio Rep. Kyle Koehler of Clark County would make it to the next one, as he lasted about an hour watching:
The Commission on Presidential Debates announced the topics for the Sept. 29 debate, but moderator Chris Wallace seemed determined to stick to them, despite the overlapping chatter and barbs slung by Trump and Biden during the debate:
- The Trump and Biden Records
- The Supreme Court
- Covid-19
- The Economy
- Race and Violence in our Cities
- The Integrity of the Election
With the shouting match, however, viewers were left wondering just what it was either candidate stood for on many of the issues selected and Wallace was left to try to wrangle the pair.
And some sympathized with the position Wallace was in, imagining just what it felt like immediately following the debate:
A lot of Americans had already had their minds up before the debates even happened. Why, then, would someone choose to spend three hours listening to Trump and Biden engage in verbal fisticuffs? Well, there's the bingo board for one:
No matter who you agree with in this presidential race and who you want to see as the ultimate victor as election season endures (and trust: it will not be a single Election Day when you'll see results), at least debate bingo might mean you end up a winner.