A MUN Political Science Professor says Tuesday night’s Presidential Debate won’t change many minds.

US President Donald Trump and former Vice-President Joe Biden squared-off in their first presidential debate of 2020 leading up to the November election.

The debate may be best remembered for the contentious exchanges and frequent interruptions as the two contenders scrapped over issues gripping America.

Associate Professor Scott Matthews, who researches political parties and elections in the United States and Canada, says one of the weirdest parts of the debate was the segment that was meant to be focused on race. It almost immediately became a discussion of law and order and policing.

Matthews says in an environment where African Americans and other people of colour are feeling they’re in conflict with law enforcement and the way it played out was surprising.

He says the US is a country that has a history of using law and order politics as a “dog whistle” around race, and to have the whole segment be dominated by law and order was shocking and strange.

Election day in the United States is Tuesday, November 3rd.