“It was a train wreck.”

That’s how students described Tuesday’s presidential debate Republican incumbent Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

“Overall the debate was kind of boring,” senior Ty Schaeferkoeter said. “They just kept talking over each other.”

In the heat of the debate, the candidates argued over healthcare, the coronavirus vaccine, mail-in ballots, California fires and the protests that took place over the summer. Though there was a moderator present, Trump and Biden both talked over each other and spoke outside their allotted times. 

After the death of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a strong advocate for women’s rights who served on the court for nearly three decades, the president nominated Amy Coney Barrett to fill the open spot. Joe Biden argued that the job should not be filled until after the election is finalized.

In regards to the coronavirus, the candidates began to get more personal. Biden attacked Trump for withholding necessary information about the severity of the virus, and Trump defended this statement by saying he had to make the decision to close the “greatest economy in America’s history” as a result of the “China plague”. While Trump said “people want their places open,” Biden said “people want to be safe.”

Opinions of the debate differ around campus, and some who watched the debate were pleased about some of the points made.

“I think Joe Biden did a good job talking about unity and bringing the country together and spoke on the behalf of people who are poor, and I think he spoke selflessly,” said sophomore Jayden Garcia. 

Next week, on Oct. 7 in Salt Lake City, current Vice President Mike Pence and democratic nominee Kamala Harris will debate for the first time as well. 

Tuesday night’s debate was only the beginning, and more will come for the American people to decide their votes before November 3.