President Donald Trump and Former Vice President Joe Biden faced off on Tuesday night in what students are describing as a “quarrel” during their first debate as presidential nominees. The first presidential debate between President Trump and Biden was recognized by many major news outlets as chaotic and disorderly.

Allan Farfan Canales ’23 was left stunned by how the presidential candidates conducted themselves. “It’s frustrating to see two grown men who are vying for the nation’s most important office abandon decorum and objectivity,” said Farfan Canales. 

When asked if he would condem white supremacist and militia groups that, according to the Associated Press, have been present at some protests, President Trump said “Proud Boys: Stand back and stand by. Almost everything I see is from the left wing, not from the right wing.”

“It was ironic that Trump was downplaying the virus this entire time and mocking Biden for wearing a mask, and the next day we hear that he gets diagnosed with COVID-19. I am not surprised at all,” said Muhammad Burhan ‘21. “Throughout Trump’s speech, he enforced toxic masculinity that somehow he is in more power over Biden, just because he is not wearing the mask all the time. I cannot imagine how much Trump’s lack of respect for social distancing and wearing a mask would trigger the families of those over 200,000 Americans who have lost their lives.”

Pablo Ralda ’24 echoed Farfan Canales. “I think calling the debate from last night a mess would be an understatement. Last night made millions of people including myself worried about our country’s future,” he said.

“It was just as contentious as I thought it would be considering Trump’s general rhetoric during his campaign,” said Julienne McClure ‘21. “Still, it was uncomfortable to watch because the interruptive dialogues weren’t at all productive.”

On Wednesday, Sept. 29 the Commission on Presidential Debate said it would add “additional structure … to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues” for the forthcoming debates.

Charmi Patel ‘24 shared this sentiment of a disorderly debate. “Never would I have thought that people that are supposed to be leaders of the free world would get into a quarrel that resembled one closest to elementary school children,” said Patel. “I can say now is that anything is possible after seeing what took place yesterday.”