Sunday’s presidential debate in St. Louis was harsh and shocking, with both candidates firmly attacking each other. The debate was full of finger-pointing and name-calling, with Donald Trump referring to Hillary Clinton as a “devil” and a “liar.” Creating a battleground in a debate space makes debates much more ineffective. Instead of showing voters why they should vote for one candidate, voters are instead told why they should not vote for a certain candidate. These arguments are broad and often without a warrant.

Debates are crucial to the election. People of all ages, whether or not they’re eligible to vote, need to pay close attention to debates and other parts of the election process. These debates are key factors in guiding people to choose a candidate to support, because they reveal information about candidates that general interviews cannot. Even for those under 18, who can’t vote, paying attention to debates and choosing a candidate to support is crucial. Whoever wins this election will affect teens’ futures, and teens can support and spread support for a candidate of their choice even if they can’t vote for that candidate. This may even be even more effective than voting: it gives a candidate many votes instead of just one.

Clinton used Friday’s Washington Post expose on Trump’s rude comments about women to brand Trump as a terrible person, while Trump simply blew off the comments, calling them “locker room talk” and saying that the comments were “just words.” However, Clinton too had many weaknesses due to her many controversial ideas and issues, and although Trump did call into question Clinton’s lack of candor, he failed to exploit her weaknesses. Though Clinton has had many controversies, the only thing Trump really brought up was her email scandal. For example, the Affordable Care Act (commonly known as Obamacare) proved to be a key issue during this debate, but Bill Clinton’s comment about Obamacare being the “craziest thing in the world” was introduced not by Trump, but instead by a moderator. Trump did call Clinton “two-faced” and a “liar,” and Clinton answered by saying that Abraham Lincoln altered his arguments when talking to different lawmakers. This was easily Trump’s biggest blow to Clinton all night, although he did make a number of attacks toward Bill Clinton and his actions.

Trump was not careful in his words during the debate, and risked offending many people. When asked a question about the “inner-city,” Trump implied that it is the only place where African-Americans live. With comments like this, Trump likely failed to gain voters outside of his base, and it is likely that the debate didn’t help a lot of undecided voters decide. Throughout the debate, Trump continuously brought up Clinton’s email scandal, and Clinton counter-attacked by calling into question Trump’s recently leaked tax records. Throughout, both candidates made broad attacks to each other, but failed to explain their attacks or why the other candidate would be bad in office. In a parallel with the first presidential debate, Trump’s arguments were riddled with false and inaccurate statements, not to mention that he contradicted his previously made statements on many occasions.

The moderators pointed out instances where Trump disagreed with his running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana. When asked about Syria during the vice presidential debate, Pence remarked that the United States should consider striking Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, who is a key ally of Russia. However, when Trump was asked about this on Sunday, he said he would be open to working with Russia in Syria. When the moderator pointed out this discrepancy, Trump simply stated, “[Pence] and I haven’t spoken and I disagree.” After Pence said he was unable to defend Trump about his lewd comments Friday, tension had already been created between Trump and Pence, and this just made matters worse. The fact that a presidential candidate and his running mate could not have a common platform on key issues could prove itself to be worrying for voters. If Trump and Pence cannot create unity between themselves, how can a country plagued with controversy reach unity with them in power?

Not only did Sunday’s debate show the lack of consistency between Trump and Pence, but it also showed Trump’s need for Pence, especially if he is elected. Trump has had no experience in politics, and that was made clear during Sunday’s debate. Trump constantly remarked that Clinton failed to take action during her time as a U.S. senator, attacking her on the basis of her previously held political positions. Clinton can’t do the same for Trump, because he’s never held any political position.

As a teen, I find that it would extremely detrimental to this country and its future (also the future of America’s 42 million teens) to have a pair like Trump and Pence in power. Trump needing his vice president to guide him through politics is one thing, but Trump and Pence not even being able to reach consensus on key issues makes matters much worse.

Sunday’s presidential debate started out on a rough note, with Clinton and Trump refusing to shake hands. The first question for the two candidates was whether or not they were acting as models of positive behavior for young people, and both candidates obviously said yes. As a young person, I have to disagree. The negativity and hostility that filled the debate space, reinforced by attacks and name-calling is a terrible example. The candidates’ behavior is essentially giving a message to young people that says, “If you disagree with someone, the only way to prove yourself right is to attack and bash the other person.” This hostility transitioned into the debate with both candidates arguing and bashing each other. The debate came to close with a question from the audience that was probably the hardest question for the candidates to answer throughout the night: “What do each of you respect about the other?” This allowed the candidates, moderators and viewers to leave the tension of the debate behind and come to a much calmer close. The debate ended with the two finally shaking hands, and finally some peace … until the next debate.