 But it would be a stretch to say that that debate was a turning point in the election, that it was some sort of a pivotal moment, a point of inflection. It wasn't. COVID drove the 2020 election, pure and simple. And absent the pandemic, Trump would have won that race going away, I believe. But this debate, like the first televised debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, this debate will never be forgotten. Reaction to the debate two Thursdays ago was swift and hugely negative.