Chaos and Contempt: The First Presidential Debate

<p><em>This episode contains strong language.</em></p><p>Both presidential candidates had clear goals for their first debate on Tuesday.</p><p>For Joseph R. Biden Jr., the contest was an opportunity to consolidate his lead in polls before Election Day. President Trump’s task was, politically, a taller order — to change the course of a race that he seems to be losing. His tactics for doing that emerged quickly: interrupt and destabilize.</p><p>The result was a chaotic 90-minute back-and-forth, an often ugly melee in which the two major party nominees expressed levels of acrid contempt for each other.</p><p>We speak to our correspondent Alexander Burns about the mood and themes of the debate and whether any of it moved the dial for the election.</p><p><br /></p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/alexander-burns" target="_blank">Alexander Burns</a>, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.</p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">nytimes.com/thedaily </a></p><p><br /></p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>With cross talk, lies and mockery, President Trump<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/us/politics/trump-biden-debate.html" target="_blank"> made little attempt to reassure swing voters</a> about his leadership. Mr. Biden hit back: “This is so unpresidential.”</li><li>In his second time moderating a presidential debate, Chris Wallace of Fox News<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/us/politics/chris-wallace-debate.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article" target="_blank"> struggled to rein in the president’s behavior</a>.</li><li>Here are<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/30/us/politics/presidential-debate-recap.html" target="_blank"> six takeaways from the debate</a>.</li></ul>