From around October 2 to Oct 14, President Trump was infected and battled with COVID-19, which caused the cancellation of the in-person October 15th Presidential Debate — one of, if not the first canceled Presidential Debates in U.S. history.

Immediately following the President’s decision to decline a virtual Debate format, candidate Joe Biden’s team changed courses and switched to a Town Hall on October 15. This decision played well for Biden since his Town Hall was a perfect opportunity for him to demonstrate his potential as President.

Having come into the Town Hall with the mindset that Biden wasn’t the best public speaker, I was left in awe after hearing his first few responses to questions. For the first time this election, I felt satisfaction, pride and optimism for one of the candidates.

Biden was given a different platform in his Town Hall than the wild Presidential Debate on September 26th. This format was better suited to his personality and allowed viewers to see his true prowess since he did not have to balance his speaking with constant interruptions and remarks.

He responded to questions confidently, concisely and with clarity, making sure to answer each to the fullest extent. He backed each response with credible evidence, which not only supported his arguments, but also disproved many of the common fears of his non-supporters.

For instance, when the logic of his tax increases were questioned given the current state of the economy, he cited a Moody analysis — a trusted Wall Street organization — of his tax and economic plans, in which they found that the “GDP will grow by a trillion dollars more than it would under Trump, and [would create] seven million more jobs than under Trump.” 

While Biden was on the offensive during his Town Hall by persuading viewers with his reforms and statistics, Trump was forced to play defense at his own event as the audience called out concerns.

Trump was questioned about his lack of repealing and replacing Obamacare, a promise he has made for four years. The President continued to pretend that a new system will be implemented, saying that “we would like to terminate it, and we would like to replace it with something that’s much less expensive and much better.” Of course, the details of this replacement plan have yet to be published by Trump, and for now he is only using the most vague and obvious descriptions.

The differences between Biden’s and Trump’s responses is reflective of their qualities as leaders. Not only can we see Biden’s triumph in the information he shared, but we can also recognize the effect of the Town Hall platform on his case for election.

In the Town Hall format, Biden was able to demonstrate his best characteristics: taking responsibility, being relatable and caring for the American public. As an example, he agreed with a questioner that “[the 1994 Crime Bill] was [a mistake].” Since Biden was approached by various American citizens, the viewers were able to see him have respectful, open-minded one-on-one discussions, which is his most natural environment.

After each response, Biden considerately asked the questioners if he had fully answered their question and even went as far as continuing to converse with them for more than half an hour afterward on his own time.

These are the type of qualities that the public wants in their leader, especially after having a lack of which over the last four years.

A scientist in the laboratory; a computer on a desk; Biden in his Town Hall, and likely the Oval Office.