This wasn’t a debate. It wasn’t a contest of ideas on how be the leader of the free world.
The first US presidential clash between Republican President Donald Trump and Democrat contender Joe Biden was better suited to the colosseum of ancient Rome or a cage fight in Vegas.
The brawl was ugly, unedifying and shocking. It begs the question of whether US politics is broken, rather than just going through a bad patch.
On the stage in Cleveland, Ohio, Biden did better than Trump for the simple reason that he held his ground against a hostile and surly President who often came across as a bully.
Both men repeatedly spoke over each other — Trump more so — making it difficult to hear any coherent argument on the candidates’ plans for America.
The most consequential outcome of the debate was that Biden did not commit a major gaffe, undermining Trump’s portrayal of the 77-year-old as barely able to string a sentence together.
We did not learn much new about Trump or Biden.
Yet the Democrat stood up to Trump in a way many did not expect, telling him to “shut up” and describing him as a “clown” and “the worst president America has ever had”.
Trump, a more natural attack dog, hit out at Biden’s intelligence, his political record and the business dealings of his son Hunter in Ukraine and China.
Trump needed a strong performance to shake up the race and catch Biden in the polls, but this debate did not provide that moment.
Trump appeared angry and defensive for much of the night especially on his management of the coronavirus.
Unlike Biden, the President rarely smiled and was at times so aggressive that moderator Chris Wallace, of Fox News, had to rein him in.
Trump was better on the economy and on the Supreme Court, but overall he lacked the showman’s touch he can bring to such an occasion.
The President’s advisers are likely to suggest that he presents a less aggressive and more likeable persona in the second debate in Miami in two weeks.
For Biden, this was a competent, rather than a powerful performance.
He does not have the agile mind that can deliver an impromptu killer line like a Ronald Reagan or a Bill Clinton.
But Biden was far more disciplined than Trump. who appeared to get more surly as the debate went on.
By the end of this fight, as body parts were being removed from the stage, Biden looked more intact than Trump.
With barely five weeks until the election, the pressure is on for Trump to transform this race and reduce the 6.1-point national lead that Biden has.
With two debates to come, Trump still has time to change the course of this campaign. But this was a poor start from the President.
It takes Biden a small step closer to the White House.
Cameron Stewart is also US contributor for Sky News Australia
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