The first presidential debate got personal right out the gate Tuesday night as Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden called President Trump “the worst president America has ever had” and Trump said there is “nothing smart” about the former vice president.
The first showdown, which took place Tuesday night in Cleveland, Ohio and was moderated by “Fox News Sunday” anchor Chris Wallace, heated up quickly as Trump and the former vice president traded personal barbs as they fielded questions on ObamaCare, the Supreme Court and the coronavirus pandemic.
Leading up to the debate, sources close to the Biden campaign told Fox News that the former vice president wouldn’t engage in personal attacks or respond to any insults leveled against him by Trump.
But Biden, within the first half of the debate, slammed the president as a “liar” and a “clown” and repeatedly called on him to “shut up.”
“Would you shut up, man?” Biden said to Trump, calling him “unpresidential.”
Later, Biden cut Trump off again, saying: “Will he just shush for a minute?”
Meanwhile, the president slammed Biden, saying the former vice president is not “smart.”
“You graduated the lowest in your class,” Trump said to Biden, after he said the president should become “smart” with the coronavirus pandemic.
“Don’t ever use the word smart with me,” Trump said. “Nothing smart about you Joe.”
The president, when asked about his campaign rallies, said that Biden doesn’t hold events because “nobody shows up to his events.”
“People want to hear what I have to say,” Trump said.
The debate shifted to taxes. Biden vowed to repeal the “Trump tax code,” and the president cut him off questioning why he didn’t propose a better tax plan during his “47 years” in Washington.
“Because you weren’t president screwing things up,” Biden said. “You’re the worst president America has ever had.”