In an unusually early debate, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump were given freedom to speak without the constraints of real-time fact-checking but were held to strict time limits.
Political Analyst and CEO of Grassroots Midwest, Adrian Hemond offered immediate insight into Thursday's proceedings, pointing out Biden's apparent fatigue during the night, Trump starting off calm and collected but losing some control through the debate, and that neither candidate spoke to what the next 4 years would be like if they were President.
"I don't think was a super strong look for either man," Hemond stated. "There wasn't really much there to inspire Americans with confidence that either one of them should have the keys to the country."
"It was probably the most one-sided debate that I've seen in all of my years in politics," said Michigan GOP Chair, Pete Hoekstra told FOX 17 during a live interview.
Hemond said the winner of this debate came by virtue of the other candidate's performance.
"I think in terms of who benefited the most from that debate, you have to say it was Donald Trump," Hemond explained after we played a clip of Biden recounting an interaction in which Trump, claiming he called military members 'a bunch of losers and suckers'.
"My son was not a loser. He's not a sucker. You're the sucker. You're the loser." Biden had said, reacting to that moment.
"Interactions like that I don't think are super helpful to President Biden," Hemond stated. "That's sort of playing on former President Trump's turf, right, the sort of schoolyard insults and 'I'm not a loser, you're a loser'."
Hemond also pointed out Trump lost some of his restrain as the discussion continued.
"He did better at the beginning of this debate than he did towards the end" Hemond noted. "He started to get a little looser towards the end in a way that wasn't really beneficial for him."
"I'm not focused on the demeanor or the performance of either candidate physically," Hoekstra told FOX 17. "It really is an issue about the policies."
One change from the typical debate Americans should take note of was changes in the format.
While a traditional debate happens much closer to the election date, this one was over 130 days beforehand— even before the actual nominee to run against the incumbent have been selected.
This debate also lacked the real-time fact-checking done in order to inform viewers of when what a candidate says isn't truthful and to what degree. Hemond pointed out that, often, the practice can seem biased to one party or the other.
But that didn't mean facts wouldn't be checked. Overnight, analysts and reporters across the country have been pouring over what was said for accuracy.
"I'm glad there's fact-checkers out there," Hoekstra said, pointing out Biden's claims in the hope that information coming out through those checks would change the perceptions of voters who haven't decided which candidate to vote for.
"[People in Michigan] are concerned about inflation. They're concerned about the economy. They're concerned about the border and, you know, comparing the answers of both candidates." Hoekstra said.
But the real change Americans might enjoy seeing in future debates was the mute button.
"So they were actually policing the candidates to time, the moderators tried to interrupt when they went over time. And if they wouldn't stop talking, they hit the mute button on him," said Hemond. "I think that was a real service. And I think you will see that again, in future presidential debates."
The next presidential debate is scheduled for September.
