Twitter Reacts To Last Presidential Debate

October 23, 2020

If you missed last night’s debate, don’t worry, we’ve got your back! We have compiled some of the best tweets and reactions to the last presidential debate right here for your convenience.

Kristen Welker

A lot of people went online to praise moderator Kristen Welker’s performance, calling her the “winner” of last night’s debate. Even Donald Trump, who had previously called her “terrible and unfair” took time off the debate to congratulate her: “By the way, so far I respect very much the way you’re handling this,” the President said.  And for once the internet agreed with Mr.Trump. Kristen Walker controlled the debate effectively and kept candidates on time, which is more than we can say for Chris Wallace, who moderated the first presidential debate.

Some commented that Welker was the most memorable part of the debate, others called it a career defining moment.  News anchor Harris Faulkner said that the moderator “gave the American people a real debate”.

.@kwelkernbc is the most memorable part of this debate…for all the right reasons. She never made it about herself, she controlled the conversation, and she followed up. Bravo, my friend!

— Bianna Golodryga (@biannagolodryga) October 23, 2020

Another twitter user commented on the significance of Kristen Welker moderating the debate, by pointing out that she is the second black woman to ever host a general election presidential debate in the US.:

#Reminder: Only two black women have ever hosted a general election presidential debate.

Carol Simpson (1992) and Kristen Welker (2020). Wild to believe that there's a whole generation of voters (millennial and Gen-Z) who weren't alive during the 92' town hall. #debates #Debate pic.twitter.com/bzFiIqyOy6

— Beatrice Peterson (@missbeae on all platforms) (@MissBeaE) October 23, 2020

And Chris Wallace, who moderated the first Presidential debate and was heavily criticized for not keeping the candidates in line, apparently told Fox News he was jealous of Welker:

Chris Wallace: "First of all, I'm jealous. I would've liked to have been able to moderate that debate and get a real exchange of views instead of hundreds of interruptions."

— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) October 23, 2020

Coyotes!

Twitter also had something to say about some of the candidates’ responses. For example, President Trump’s statement that the children in immigration camps were “brought over by coyotes” elicited some of the best best memes since the Fly on Pence’s head. Paul Feig,  Sarah Paulson, and other famous people got in on the joke.  

This is who responsible for all those displaced kids. Who knew? pic.twitter.com/IN8e5J4WtF

— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) October 23, 2020

Coyotes

— Sarah Paulson (@MsSarahPaulson) October 23, 2020

Also on the subject of the immigration camps and displaced children, Trump’s comment that the children were “very well taken care off” and staying in clean shelters, elicited some great responses online.

One twitter user sarcastically commented :

"they're CLEAN kid jails, okay?"

— Nicole Chung | @nicolechung on Bluesky (@nicolesjchung) October 23, 2020

Ghost Town New York City

Another comment that received a lot of response on Twitter was President Trump’s claim that New York City was “a ghost town.”  Celebrities like  Patton Oswalt, Andy Cohen and Alyssa Milano all tweeted to fact-check the President. 

Hey New Yorkers in my time line — is New York a ghost town? I'm betting it's not. And one of the reasons is that New Yorkers were happy to shut down so people didn't die and fill the fucking city with GHOSTS. #Debates2020

— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) October 23, 2020

Currently in NYC. Not ghost town. hi.

— Andy Cohen (@Andy) October 23, 2020

New York is not a ghost town but Trump's failures are going to haunt our country forever. #TrumpMeltdown #TrumpIsNotAmerica #TrumpLied220KDied

— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) October 23, 2020

A lot of New Yorkers also took issue with the President calling New York City “his city.” Billy Eichner and other celebrities responded by asking the President to stay away, and some claimed the city was “much better since Trump went to Florida”. 

New York isn't a ghost town, you clown

And it's not your city

— Padma Lakshmi (@PadmaLakshmi) October 23, 2020

fact check from NY — not a ghost town, much better since trump went to florida

— Philip Gourevitch (@PGourevitch) October 23, 2020

Biden’s best performance by far. Trump, please go away forever and stay the fuck away from NYC.

— billy eichner (@billyeichner) October 23, 2020

On COVID-19 And Basements

And of course, when the two candidates were talking about the pandemic, somehow the topic of basements got brought up. Trump accused Biden of hiding in a basement, and went on about how we can’t do that, and how he’d love to lock himself up in a basement, and of course people had something to say about that:

Wish he would go live in a basement tbh

— Bethany Cosentino (@BethanyCoast) October 23, 2020

Trump:

I’d love to go hide in a basement for a year.

America Screaming at the TV:

PLEASE DO!#Debate2020

— Mike Kelton (@mikekelton) October 23, 2020

Malarkey

And someone started a drinking game for whenever Biden said “Malarkey.” 

Malarkey is a go!

— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) October 23, 2020

I Take Full Responsibility/Not My Fault

Others commented on President Trump’s paradoxical statement,  “I take full responsibility. It wasn’t my fault.” 

 https://t.co/71ROSEwLy9

— Chad Hodge (@chad_hodge) October 23, 2020

"I take full responsibility. It's not my fault." is perhaps the most @realDonaldTrump statement ever.

— Max Steele (@maxasteele) October 23, 2020

"I take full responsibility." I don't think those words mean what Donald Trump thinks they mean.

— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) October 23, 2020

The Fly

And comedian Ashley Hesseltine mentioned she missed “the fly,” in reference to the iconic fly that made its’s home on Pence’s head at the VP Debate.

I miss the fly

— Ashley Hesseltine (@AshHess) October 23, 2020

Thankfully, the last presidential debate wasn’t nearly as chaotic as the first one (thank you mute button!) and we still got some great lines (and jokes) out of it! What was your favorite moment from the debate last night?