Update: We’re adding more Presidential Debate video recaps and highlights, and we have already embedded the full video below in case you want to watch the entire debate.
You can already watch the first Presidential Debate 2020 video highlights as well as the full video replay of the debate now that the live stream is over.
It was indeed fiery between incumbent President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. Below are both the Presidential Debate full video replay and highlights to give you a sense of the chaotic question answering (and interrupting) that went on.
The full debate touched on a lot of topics, including Covid-19, healthcare reform, and Trump’s new Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. This debate is the first Presidential Debate of three, so there’ll be two debates before November 3.
Presidential Debate 2020 full video recap
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We’ve embedded the unedited YouTube video of the full 2020 Presidential Debate via C-SPAN, the independent US public affairs cable channel. The video starts at 27:45, as the live stream started well in advance of Chris Wallace introducing the Trump and Biden.
Every major station that carried the debate had the same camera angles via a pool camera system, so you won’t see anything different (except maybe lower-third graphics) between networks.
Presidential Debate video highlights
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President Trump and former Vice President Biden trade barbs over the topic of the Covid-19 pandemic in the first Presidential Debate. This video highlight is a heated five-minute discussion.
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In this eight-minute debate highlight, we see Trump and Biden go back and forth about the the process of ‘repeal and replace Obamacare.’ It got to the point that Biden blurted out “Will you shut up man” as the candidates were talking over each other. That’s sure to appear in a lot of highlight videos being cut right now.
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Continuing with the healthcare topic in the first Presidential Date, this video highlight is short but it’s going to be another widely circulated clip by both campaigns (for different reasons). It has Biden calling Trump “a clown.”
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In this debate video highlight, Trump addresses his taxes from 2016 and 2017, in which he paid $750. He cited taking advantage of deductions, saying that Biden ‘passed the tax bill that gave us all these privileges’.
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In this nine-minute clip, Trump and Biden address climate change and the California wildfires, while Biden explains the benefits of the Green New Deal and what affect that will have on the environment vs how it’ll impact the economy.
Watch the Presidential Debate live next time
Miss the debate while it happened live because you don’t have cable? You can subscribe to one of these services if you’re a fellow cord-cutter in the US.
- SlingTV $30 per month – With SlingTV’s Sling Blue plan for $30 per month, you’ll get access to CNN, Fox News, Fox, MSNBC, NBC (in select markets) and loads of other live TV channels. The service also lets you watch on three screens simultaneously and record content to watch later with its Cloud DVR.
- FuboTV $64.99 per month – FuboTV gives you access to 114 live TV channels including ABC, Fox, Fox News, MSNBC and more but it does not include CNN. The service also includes a 7-day free trial so you can test it out for yourself.
- Hulu with Live TV $54.99 per month – Hulu with Live TV gives you access to all the channels you’ll need to watch the first presidential debate including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. The service also includes its own Hulu Originals and supports a wide variety of streaming devices.
- AT&T TV Now $55 per month – AT&T TV Now’s Plus plan will give you access to over 45 live TV channels including ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, Fox News, MSNBC and NBC. However, if you want even more channels and an HBO Max subscription, you can sign up for the service’s Max plan for $80 per month.
- YouTube TV $65 per month – YouTube’s live streaming service will give you access to all of the channels you’ll need to watch this year’s presidential debates including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. YouTube TV also has flexible contracts and no extra fees for HD or cancellation.
How to watch the Trump-Biden debate online from outside your country
If you’re currently traveling abroad for work or out of the country, watching the first presidential debate will be difficult as many of your viewing options may be geo-blocked.
Thankfully there’s an easy fix that will let you watch the first Presidential Debate online from anywhere. By downloading a VPN, you can watch no matter where you’re currently located. This simple piece of software changes your IP address to one in a different country where the debate is being broadcast, so you can stream it as if you were back home.
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Topics for the first Trump-Biden debate
The first debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden covered six topics:
- Trump and Biden’s records
- The Supreme Court
- The integrity of the election
- Covid-19
- Race and violence in US cities
- The economy
US 2020 Election – Full debate schedule
- First presidential debate – Tuesday, September 29 at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
- Vice presidential debate – Wednesday, October 7 at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah.
- Second presidential debate – Thursday, October 15 at Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida
- Third presidential debate – Thursday, October 22 at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee
Debate topics
President Trump and former VP Biden were asked questions based on a variety of topics including their records, the US Supreme Court, the integrity of the election, Covid-19, race and violence in US cities and the economy.
Presidential Debate moderator
The first Presidential debate moderator was Chris Wallace, who is the anchor of Fox News Sunday and son of the legendary journalist, the late Mike Wallace.
Chris Wallace wanted to be invisible in tonight’s debate, letting the Trump and Biden hash out the topics on stage, but several times, he had to reign in the candidates to abide upon the agreed upon two minutes. Political editor of C-Span Steve Scully will moderate the second debate, while NBC News White House correspondent Kristen Welker will moderate the third debate.
If you’ve watched US presidential debates in past years, there were almost always two or three moderators present to ask a variety of questions (typically based on their speciality as an anchor or reporter). This Presidential Debate series, like a lot of 2020, is different: there will be just one moderator at each Presidential Debate to reduce the number of people in the room.