Post-Debate Polling: East outlook on the election after the first presidential debate

An increase in uncertainty amongst East students arose regarding the political stability of the nation after the presidential debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, held on Sept. 29.

The two candidates were asked questions surrounding six topics relevant to current voter issues, including COVID-19 and racial inequality. 

The debate featured a number of interruptions and personal attacks from both sides, sparking tension both in the media and between the candidates. CNN reporter Jake Tapper summarized the 90-minute event as “a hot mess, inside a dumpster fire, inside a train wreck…it wasn’t even a debate. It was a disgrace.”

However, to potentially soothe the distress caused by the first debate, Trump and Biden will reunite for a final debate on Oct. 22.

According to the New York Times, national polls averaged Biden to have a seven-point lead over Trump before the debate. However, as of Oct. 7, Biden moved up to a nine-point lead. But how do those numbers stack up for East? 

In an Instagram poll of 323 responses, only 11% of East students said the debate affected their outlook on the election. When sophomore Bradley Walton described his reaction to the debate, one word came to mind: overwhelmed.

“It didn’t feel like a debate that I’m used to watching,” Walton said. “It didn’t feel like it was two people giving their stances and discussing why they believed the other was wrong. It just felt like a very angry argument, and I just felt exhausted from watching all of that.”

Regardless of political stance, the debate was eye-opening to Walton in terms of how aggressive the election is. Walton believes that this debate reflects how politics have changed since the 2012 debates — more centered around attacking each other, rather than discussing policies.

Senior Jack Haulmark assumed there’d be tension between Trump and Biden in the debate, but the degree to which they quarreled surprised him. Haulmark found it difficult to absorb any tactical information that would influence one’s opinion about the election.

“I’d hoped that we’d learn more about what both candidates would do, get more specifics and that they’d get a bit more down into it,” Haulmark said.

Having a dad who served as a representative in the U.S. House of Representatives, Haulmark has had his fair share of political debates during family dinners. To him, this debate lacked in terms of concrete information about each candidate’s policies and plans.

In concurrence, 79% of East students found the debate to be uninformative, according to an Instagram poll of 314 votes. With so many insults being thrown around, it was hard to catch the bits of truth, junior Maggie Nottberg said. 

“I was kind of amused by it, then I got anxious about it and then I just became disappointed that this was the first debate and this is how it started and ended,” Nottberg said. “There was no up and down point, there wasn’t a point where you got information, it was all just a steady line of chaos.”

In a New York Times article that fact-checked 35 of Trump’s claims in the debate and 12 of Biden’s, 33 of Trump’s claims and four of Biden’s were said to be misleading, exaggerated or false.

“It’s baffling to me,” sophomore Libby McShane said. “These people are going to represent the United States no matter who wins. Both of these people are full-grown men who are in politics — who have been in politics for a while — yet they’re acting like children.”

McShane has never considered herself politically involved — since she’s 16, she figured there wasn’t much use in investing her time until she could vote. She watched the debate in case it came up in debate class the next day, but her takeaway was more impactful than acquiring a few discussion points.

“Our generation needs to learn about politics,” McShane said. “Since I’m not able to vote yet I think I need to speak out and influence people who can vote.”

The debate pushed McShane to open up about her political beliefs on social media by finding the truth in various political claims. She’s now using the time before she’s 18 to inform others about what’s going on in the political world — fact and fiction.

After watching the first debate, Haulmark is ready for the election to be over and to move on to the next stage of politics. He compares the anticipation of Nov. 3 to that of a splinter.

“I remember when I was younger, when I had a splinter — I hated splinters — I just wanted it over with,” Haulmark said. “It’s kind of like that.”