Local politicos weigh in on Tuesday's presidential debate

Four politically active Cape Girardeau County residents, two Republican and two Democrat, were asked their immediate impressions to the first general-election debate of 2020 between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.

Peter Kinder

Former Missouri Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder called Tuesday’s Trump-Biden debate a “donnybrook, a fist fight, a tumultuous, no-holds-barred 96 minutes.”

Kinder liked what he saw from the incumbent.

“The president was on offense and he had to be,” he said, “(and) he did what he had to do and won (the debate) on points.”

Linda Sanders

Cape Girardeau County Democratic vice chairwoman Linda Sanders said she had a hard time watching.

“I almost turned it off,” Sanders said.

“I was disappointed in the tenor of the debate (and) the president was so rude, butting in over and over, and was like a child wanting his way,” she added.

Sanders said she was pleased Biden defended the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), gave his support for infrastructure improvements and especially his advocacy of raising the corporate tax rate.

Matt Henson

Cape Girardeau County Republican Central Committee chairman Matt Henson was critical of the way the evening was arranged.

“It was not a huge fan of the format,” he said, “and I don’t think the debate changed anyone’s opinion.”

Henson said he hoped the next two scheduled Trump-Biden debates will give more information, noting “Biden said some things that were blatantly false.”

Henson said he was “very strong” for the president going into the Cleveland debate and he remains a solid supporter.

Liz Lockhart

A member of the Cape County Democratic Central Committee, Lockhart said the faceoff was “an appalling display of everything (Trump is),” opining the president behaved as a “bully,” who would not obey the debate’s rules.

“I was a high school debater and most debate judges would have stopped (the encounter),” adding the experience of watching “was an assault on all of us.”

Biden, Lockhart said, was at his best when he spoke directly to the camera, encouraging Americans to vote, touting his plans and defending his sons.

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The next presidential debates are set for Oct. 15 and 22. The vice presidential debate, between Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris, is scheduled Oct. 7.