Political scientists share their thoughts on the performances from the former and current presidents
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – The first presidential debate of the 2024 election year captured the internet by storm. Many comments about President Joe Biden’s health, Former President Donald Trump’s golf skills and the banter held between the two were main topics on social media.
Whether watchers were tuning in for entertainment purposes or to stay up with the news, political scientists say the debate will affect the performance of both candidates in November.
“It’s definitely going to affect the way people view President Biden and Former President Trump,” said Rock Valley College Political Science professor Maureen Lowry. “We’ve had the benefit of seeing them both in office so I think Americans already have a handle on how they can perform in capacity as presidents.”
Americans and watchers across the world were in shock from the performance of Biden and Trump. Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt said on X, that the debate was, “Fairly disastrous. That’s the only way to sum it up.”
Rockford University political science professor Bob Evans shared that the debate made him feel as if there was no one worth voting for in this election.
“Nobody inspired me,” he said. “Nobody made me feel like ‘that’s the person I’m going to ring doorbells for and knock on doors and vote for.’ It was a turnoff.”
New sources such as CBS, AP News and PolitiFact fact-checked claims and statistics said by both Trump and Biden. Both suffered remorse for making false and misleading comments that put their legal stances at risk. Lowry suggests in addition to the news rules that were set in place for this debate, a real-time fact-checker should be present to hold candidates accountable for their statements.
“The public absolutely gets misled. You know, have a fact check in real-time, it absolutely can be done. There are real-time transcripts rolling and real-time reporters that say no, the accurate information is actually this and provides links to the evidence and the data and that’s a critical importance.”
Other websites that fact-checked the debate are CNN, The Guardian, BBC, ABC News and many other sources.
Lowry and Evans share they hope both candidates will be more prepared for the next presidential debate. They anticipate Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be more viewed as a candidate after the debate on Thursday.
Both professors suggest potential voters remain up to date with current politics and stay informed on their candidate of choosing.
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https://www.wifr.com/2024/06/29/political-experts-weigh-first-presidential-debate/