Students Grade the First Presidential Debate

On Tuesday, September 10, 2024, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris debated for the first time. The debate took place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The SuttonHighNews team watched and reviewed the debate. Afterwards, they took a survey which asked them the following questions:

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8. What did the moderators do well (not all comments are included because many were duplicates)?
   1. Tried to get clear answers from the candidates
   2. Asked relevant questions
   3. Tried to keep them on topic
   4. They fact checked both candidates in real time
   5. They were pretty calm and collected
   6. They did a good job keeping both candidates moving from question to question
9. Where did the moderators not do well (not all comments are included because many were duplicates)?
   1. They didn’t press Harris enough
   2. They did not stop the chaos of the two candidates
   3. There were moments where they were one sided
   4. I feel like even if they asked a question, and Trump or Harris completely avoided the question, they just let them
   5. They interrupted Trump more than Harris which made them seem biased
   6. It looked like they were targeting Trump
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11. What question was the most important asked (not all comments are included because many were duplicates)?
    1. If Trump considered Biden the winner of the 2020 election
    2. When they asked about Harris’s change of opinions
    3. What would you do to fight climate change?
    4. They asked Trump if he supported Ukraine
    5. How do you justify calling for more taxes?
    6. How to address inflation and the economy
    7. How to handle immigration
    8. Their plans for abortion
12. What question should have been asked (not all comments are included because many were duplicates)?
    1. Trump should have been asked more about Project 2025
    2. About voting
    3. How they would handle the national debt
    4. Asked Harris if there was a time where she disagreed with President Biden
    5. They did not ask about mass shootings in schools
    6. There should have been more questions about immigration and border security
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So, the SuttonHighNews staff looked at the debate and these are their thoughts. Please share yours by taking our poll and commenting. As this is a student newspaper, all comments will be looked at for appropriate content.

This poll has ended.

Harris vs. Trump--who won the first debate?

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Kamala Harris

Donald Trump

Neither candidate

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