Ann Arbor Times

The first presidential debate leading up to the Nov. 3 election has drawn every criticism from both sides of the political fence, but some critics found faults in the performance of both President Donald Trump and his challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden.

U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, a Republican from Michigan, recently appeared on WJR’s "The Paul W. Smith Show" to discuss ways both candidates could have performed better.

“I didn’t expect it quite like it was,” Walberg admitted to temporary host Kevin Dietz on his reaction to the debate.

Vice President Joe Biden | stock photo

For anyone who is not partisan, the debate has to be a disappointment, Walberg said.

“It really devolved into a brawl,” he told Dietz.

Ultimately, no one in the country is served well by that kind of breakdown on the debate stage, Walberg said. While a few cogent points may have slipped in between the gut punches, the debate really provided voters no useful information by which to help them decide on a candidate or cause them to potentially change their minds about their vote.

“The independents who are out there, those that were undecided -- which is a small number, I think -- went away saying, ‘That didn’t settle it for me,’” Walberg told Dietz.

Those areas of policy that were discussed were very good subjects for the candidates to speak on, Walberg said. 

“On the other issues, I think there were some things you could glean from it, after you got away from the overpowering punches that were coming,” Walberg told Dietz.

Trump should have focused on key issues, such as presiding over the lowest unemployment rate in the history of the country and criminal justice reforms that assist convicts in reintegrating into society, Walberg suggested. Trump has no problem nailing those points at rallies, but he failed to highlight them during the debate.