Analysis: Who won the first US presidential debate on a night to regret

Most people would have already decided who to support before watching the first US presidential debate, the differences in the candidates' characters almost as distinct as the variances in their politics.

US president Donald Trump (left) and Democratic presidential candidate former vice-president Joe Biden (right). Picture: AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

Watching Donald Trump and Joe Biden shout at each other in the early hours of this morning will have changed nobody’s mind on who to vote for, but perhaps made them profoundly sadder.

Both men constantly interrupted each other, the President lied repeatedly and Mr Biden allowed himself to be brought down to the level of his opponent.

The former vice-president is ahead in every poll, and as unreliable and upsetting as those have been in the past, this does not feel like last time.

Seeing him tell the president to “shut up, man” may be what we wish to say as viewers, but it’s hardly the action of a man chosen for his ability to seem presidential.

That said, there were moments that made Mr Biden appeal.

Mr Trump once again flaunted his ability to avoid condemning racism, a skill he has perfected over many years.

Asked if he would condemn white supremacists, the President simply told them to “stand back and stand by”.

To most viewers this is a horrifying failure, an inability to speak out on issues where good and evil are not political but self-evident.

For American voters, however, his answer will not sway those who already looked the other way when he demanded the passport of Barack Obama.

The challenger also performed well over coronavirus, a clear weakness for Mr Trump, but of course one he has failed to acknowledge.

The crisis has killed more than 200,000 people in the US, and Mr Biden hurt the incumbent by quoting his own words back at him.

He said: “’It is what it is’, because you are who you are. Maybe you can inject some bleach into your arm, that would take care of it.”

Mr Trump insisted the Democratic candidate would have seen more people die, and continued to interrupt him. Eventually Mr Biden gave up engaging altogether, turning to the camera directly and saying: “This isn’t about his family or my family. It’s about your family”.

The US president continued his false claims about voter fraud, he deliberately misunderstood Mr Biden's reference to his son Beau's military service so that he could attack his other son Hunter, and again refused to say he would accept the result if Mr Biden won.

His behaviour was aggressive, deceitful, and showed little of what he could offer the US if awarded another term.

But again, none of that matters. His spinners told US journalists afterwards he had “dominated” the debate, suggesting the descent into farce was not so much a tactic as the default.

It saw Mr Biden attack the president more for his personality than his politics throughout the night, insisting he was “the worst president that America has ever had”.

He continued: “The fact is that everything he’s saying so far is simply a lie. I’m not here to call out his lies. Everybody knows he a liar.”

That criticism may be true, but it’s hardly going to bring over the softer Republican voters he was chosen ahead of Bernie Sanders to convince.

It’s hard to imagine anyone watching last night and deciding to change who they support.

Frankly, it was hard to watch it full stop.

Mr Biden was dull, uninspiring, and failed to nail down his opponent in the way political debate demands. But when you aren’t debating politics, and certainly aren’t debating a normal politician, perhaps a shouting match is what America needs, if not deserves.