Who Won The First Presidential Debate?

Messy. Bitter. Chaos. Absolutely awful. These are just some of the terms being used to describe last night's debate between President Trump and Joe Biden. NBC's "Meet The Press" host Chuck Todd labeled the contest "a train wreck of the making of one person" while CNN's Jake Tapper called it "a hot mess inside a dumpster fire inside a train wreck". Moderator Chris Wallace struggled to take control of a debate filled with interruptions and personal attacks as both candidates attempted to get their points across on a variety of issues including the pandemic, white supremacists and the economy. Initial polls have already been released looking into who won the debate but the consensus among many commentators is that the American people lost.

A CBS News survey of 1,039 likely voters who reported watching the debate was released immediately after it finished. 83 percent of respondents said its tone was negative while 69 percent reported that the debate made them feel annoyed. So who do respondents feel came out on top? The CBS survey found that 48 percent think Biden won the debate while 41 percent consider the president the winner. 10 percent say that the debate was a tie. Going into last night's event, CBS elections and survey director Anthony Salvanto said on air that the results of the poll are pretty close to the levels of support for both candidates.