Getty Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton both debated Trump.
Now that the first presidential debate is ending, two people have faced off against President Donald Trump in general one-on-one presidential debates. In 2016, Hillary Clinton and Trump faced off three times. Now, former Vice President Joe Biden has faced Trump in his first debate. Did he do as well as Clinton? Let us know who you think fared better against Trump in the poll at the end of this story.
Hillary Clinton & Donald Trump Faced Off on September 26, 2016
Hillary Clinton first faced off against Trump on September 26, 2016 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Back then, the moderator was Lester Holt.
Chris Wallace, who moderated tonight’s debate, also moderated the third debate between Clinton and Trump, which aired on October 19, 2016. That debate was held at the University of Nevada in Paradise, Nevada. Between the two debates was a town hall style debate moderated by Martha Raddatz and Anderson Cooper on October 9, 2016.
The first 2016 debate had some similarities to the first 2020 debate in that the venue was changed for both of them. The 2020 debate’s venue was changed because of COVID-19 concerns. In 2016, the debate was supposed to be at Wright State University, but that location was changed because of security and financial concerns.
The Clinton vs Trump debates were a big draw. Five Thirty Eight reported that after the first debate, most polls suggested Clinton performed better than Trump. A CNN poll showed 62% believed Clinton won, and a Public Policy Polling survey found the number was closer with 51% believing Clinton won. A Reuters poll indicated that 56% of people thought Clinton did better.
While Wallace is typically known as an even-handed journalist and was praised for his moderation of the third 2016 debate, reactions to Holt’s moderation of the first 2016 debate was mixed. Some thought he challenged both candidates but couldn’t really control the debate well or get them to follow time restrictions.
That first 2016 debate had 84 million viewers across 13 channels, surpassing the viewership of the Carter vs Reagan debate of 1980, and not including people who watched online.
If you need a refresher, here’s a video of the first Trump vs Clinton debate.
Ultimately, the Trump-Clinton debates went viral, even inspiring a “Hillary Shimmy” song that went viral on its own.
The Shimmy song was written by Jonathan Mann, who later wrote the theme song for the popular Sleep with Me podcast.
Did Joe Biden or Clinton Do Better Against Trump?
Now Biden has had his first debate against Trump. You can watch the full debate below if you didn’t see the whole thing live.
The 2020 debate was co-hosted by Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic. It was held at the Health Education Campus at Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio, at the Health Education Campus’s Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion.
Like the 2016 debate, the 2020 debate had six topics divided into 15-minute segments. Candidates would have two minutes to respond to questions and then can respond to each other too.
Which candidate did a better job against Trump? Vote in the Twitter poll below. You can see the results after you’ve voted.
Who did a better job debating Trump: Hillary Clinton in 2016 or Joe Biden tonight? #Debates2020
READ NEXT: The latest COVID-19 deaths, cases, and updates