Fact-Checking The First 2020 Presidential Debate
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Early television ratings show a steep drop from 2016 in the number of people who watched the first 2020 Presidential debate.
That might be because viewers thought it was out-of-control, with more insults and information.
How bad was it?
President Trump interrupted Joe Biden at least 73 times during the debate, violating specific rules both campaigns agreed to: two minutes each to answer.
"Wait a minute. Mr. President," said Moderator Chris Wallace from FOX News, who struggled to maintain control, "your campaign agreed to both sides would get two-minute answers, uninterrupted. Well, you're a side agreed to it and why don't you observe what your campaign agreed to as a ground rule. Okay, sir?"
The street fighting feel of the night drowned many false or misleading claims from both candidates, by far the most from President Trump.
Despite the President's claims, he has not proposed a comprehensive health care plan to replace Obamacare. There is no evidence of "massive" voter fraud, and for the umpteenth time, Trump did NOT call in troops to stop violence in Minneapolis.
"If you look at any place you want to look, Seattle, they heard we were coming in the following day and they put up their hands and we got back Seattle," the President falsely claimed. "Minneapolis, we got it back, Joe, because we believe in law and order, but you don't. "
Biden said Trump "caused" the devastating recession. That's not true: the pandemic did.
Biden said he opposes the Green New Deal, but his website promotes it, and Herbert Hoover, not Trump, was the first President to leave office with fewer jobs than when he entered.
The debate went so far off the rails, the Presidential Debate Commission is making immediate changes before the next event, including the possibility of a microphone cutoff switch.
Meanwhile: post-debate polls found that most debate viewers thought Biden bested Trump.
But a CBS News Poll found 69% simply found it all "ANNOYING".
That's Reality Check.
