Presidential Debate: Biden vs Trump in Wisconsin

The presidential debate in Wisconsin highlighted a stark contrast in visions, lacking substantive policy discussions and focusing on criticism.

### Biden vs. Trump: Highlights from the First Presidential Debate of 2024
* 🎙 The first presidential debate of 2024 featured President Biden and former President Trump clashing on various issues, including the **economy, immigration, abortion, and world crises**.
* 📊 According to the latest Marquette poll, the economy was the most important issue for Wisconsin voters, with **19%** and **15%** citing **immigration** and **abortion**, respectively.
* 🌐 Trump claimed he left a **perfect economy with no inflation**, while Biden argued that Trump caused inflation by **"destroying" the economy**.
* ⚖ They also disagreed on abortion, with Trump praising the **reversal of Roe v. Wade** and Biden criticizing it.
* 😕 Voter enthusiasm for the election in Wisconsin was lower compared to 2020, with **46% saying they were very enthusiastic**.
* 📺 The debate was characterized as a "**tale of two presidents**" and a "**tale of two Americas**," with Trump being **stronger in presentation** and Biden focusing more on **policy details**.
* 🗣 Both candidates engaged in a lot of bickering and negativity, often criticizing each other rather than **outlining their vision for the next four years**.
* ❓ The moderators were praised for asking questions fairly, using neutral language, and giving the candidates the **opportunity to express their views**.

the first time in four years. That is our big story. Tonight at nine, it was billed as must-see TV, and it lived up to its name. The candidates for president make their pitch to voters and trade plenty of jabs in the process. Tonight we have fair and balanced team coverage here in studio. We're going to break down the debate with our political expert, Mordecai Lee. But let's start things off with our political reporter Jason Calvi. Well, Biden versus Trump. The rematch with both candidates attacking the others. You just heard they fought over abortion, immigration, world crises and much more. Now, the most important issue for Wisconsin voters in the new Marquette poll is the economy. Here's what the two candidates said about that issue. And black Americans. He caused this inflation. I gave him a country with no essentially no inflation. It was perfect. It was so good. All he had to do was leave it alone. He

destroyed it with his green new scam, and all of the other. All this money that's being thrown out the window. There was no inflation when I became president. You know why? The economy was flat on its back. 15% unemployment. He decimated the economy, absolutely decimated the economy. That's why there was no inflation at the time. There were no jobs in the candidates also fought over abortion and immigration in Wisconsin. 19% in the latest Marquette poll said immigration was their most important issue. 15% in the recent Marquette poll said abortion was that number one issue for them. The two sparred over the reversal of Roe v Wade. What happened is we brought it back to the states, and the country is now coming together on this issue. It's been a great thing. Thank you, President Biden. It's been a terrible thing. Voters in Wisconsin say they're not as enthusiastic about this

election. 46% said they're very enthusiastic. Flashback to the same time back in 2020. It was higher, with more than 59% saying they were very enthusiastic. So with this debate, much earlier than normal, will be on the lookout to see if more people get interested in this race here in battleground Wisconsin. 12% in the Marquette poll said they were still undecided. Those are the folks who will be watching very closely. Ben, Steph, Jason, thank you for that. Joining us now to break all of this down is political expert Mordecai Lee. You know, it's a big political night. If this man is sitting at the desk. All right, Mordecai, your biggest takeaway. My biggest takeaway is it was a tale of two presidents, which means it was a tale of two Americas. It's unbelievable that somebody could have watched and said, I agree.

with both of them, or I disagree with both of them. In other words, you either agreed with how Trump saw the world, or you agreed with how Biden saw the world. It was there was no sort of connecting point. Now, there's no doubt that in terms of presentation, Trump was stronger. He's a better candidate. He's a better orator. He's a better showman. Biden was better on the details of policy. Now, Biden was not. His voice seemed a little off, and he seemed to mumble a bit. I think that might be because he sort of stutters a little bit all his life; he stuttered. But as a policy wonk, I heard more details about policy from President Biden than I heard from Trump. I think what a lot of voters were hoping to see tonight is somebody to paint a picture of what their vision of America should be. And it seemed, at least from our vantage point, that there was

just a lot of bickering between two old men. There's no doubt you've really nailed it, because it was very negative even towards the end. When they had their summary statements, there were really sort of criticizing the other person, as opposed to saying a lot about their vision for the next four years. They got it in a little bit, but it really wasn't enough. And Steph, to your point, even when the subject changed, they would go back to the previous subject because they just wanted to get another shot in. And this was supposed to be the substance debate. I mean, they set this thing up. No people in the audience, they were not allowed to interrupt each other. They're going to cut their microphones off. Did we get any substance of what their four years, their next four years could look like? As president, we didn't get a lot of substance. I think what we have to do is we have to look

at how they criticized each other as an indication of what they would not do in the next four years. You know, the way, for example, Trump would describe the border, or he would describe Putin. Then Biden would describe the border, and he would describe Putin. And they were criticizing each other as if to say, and that's not what I'm going to do, do you think? Last question here. Do you think the questions by the moderators were asked fairly, because sometimes we've watched debates in the past, whether presidential or otherwise, where the questions seem a little tilted one way or the other. I think they did a very good job because they used words that were as neutral as possible, and they tried to give the person a chance to say it. You've got 90 more seconds. What do you want to say about this subject? So I

Post-presidential debate FOX6 News analysis | FOX6 News Milwaukee

FOX6 News Milwaukee

The presidential candidates clashed on various issues, with a focus on the economy, immigration, and abortion.

Wisconsin voters expressed concern over immigration and abortion, which were hot topics in the debate.

Both candidates also sparred over the reversal of Roe v Wade, eliciting different reactions from the audience.

The 2022 Election Debate: A Tale of Two Presidents

The level of enthusiasm for the 2022 election is lower than in 2020, especially in battleground Wisconsin.

12% of people in the Marquette poll are still undecided, making them a crucial group in the race.

The debate presented a clear contrast between Trump's strong presentation and Biden's focus on policy details, leaving voters looking for a compelling vision of America's future.

Lack of Substance in the Presidential Debate

The debate was dominated by negative bickering and criticism, with little focus on the candidates' vision for the next four years.

Despite the set-up to provide substance, the debate lacked any meaningful insight into what the candidates' next presidential term could entail.

The constant interruption and return to previous subjects further derailed the opportunity for a substantive discussion.

The Tone of Criticism in the Presidential Debates

The presidential candidates criticized each other's policies on border control and foreign relations.

The moderators were perceived to have asked the questions fairly, using neutral language and giving each candidate a chance to respond.