Wisconsin Democrats call Trump 'nauseating,' Republicans call him 'assertive' after first debate

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The first presidential debate of the cycle was historically high on confrontation, and low on policy talk.

Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Andrew Hitt said Trump has never been known to be "Midwest nice," and despite him interrupting Biden multiple times, he believes the president's energy during the debate can mobilize the party base.

“The president, he’s always a fighter, he showed last night he’s a fighter," Hitt said. "That energizes our Republican base.”

Hitt also said Biden was the more inappropriate candidate on stage Tuesday night.

“I was really shocked and couldn’t believe that Joe Biden told the president to shut up," Hitt said. "He raised his voice several times, those are things that the president did not do. I think it’s completely inappropriate for the former vice president to tell the president to shut up.”

Wisconsin Democrats said Trump was combative, and you can look at the numbers to see how voters reacted. The Biden campaign claims they had their single best fundraising hour of all time last night, toward the end of the debate.

“It’s pretty clear that Trump came in wanting to fight," Democratic Party Chairman of Wisconsin Ben Wikler said. "He wanted to fight the moderator, he wanted to fight Joe Biden, what he didn’t want to do was explain his disastrous record.”

Wikler said Biden came off as a "human being" as opposed to the president, who he said came off as "nauseating" and a bully.

Marquette Political Science Professor Paul Nolette said the debate was too light on policy debate to shift voter opinion, but it could prompt less people to watch the second debate, or force changes to the format.

“You might also see the commission that runs the debates make some changes, including potentially giving moderators more control over the process, including even potentially shutting off mics of the candidates," Nolette said.

The next presidential debate will operate as a town hall style event, and will air on Oct. 15.