Those who expected the first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump to be a fight between two heavyweights in search of a knockout They couldn’t have been more disappointed. Instead, they found the same old pathological narcissist (Trump) firing a barrage of lies and a veteran politician well into the twilight of his career (Biden). Instead of witnessing a high-stakes fight for the so-called “most powerful office in the world,” they saw a sometimes childish fight between a stammering old man and a convicted criminal incapable of assuming even the slightest responsibility for crimes that include attacks on women, various scams, and an attempted coup. They say debates don’t matter; this one came to change that belief.
From the beginning the show was painful. Not 15 minutes had passed when a Biden, whose voice was almost inaudible and broken, froze, losing the discursive thread when talking about the complementary insurance program (Medicare). They were eternal seconds that were very embarrassing to witness and that predict a very tortuous future for his candidacy. They could even precipitate his abrupt political end if Democrats assume that the responsible thing to do is to ask him to retire. This would undoubtedly be a clear victory for his rival. But it may be the only chance to defeat his aspiration to return to the White House.
Trump, in turn, came out proclaiming one lie after another like a broken record. The first of them is that the United States is a country invaded by criminals and mentally ill people due to Biden’s immigration policies. But no one should be fooled: Trump’s country is the same one he drew when launching his candidacy in 2015 and that he finished outlining in his inaugural speech in 2017: a nation consumed by anarchy and criminal violence, a country taken over by bad men. and which only he can rescue by cleaning it of undesirable immigrants. It’s the same Trump as always: a showmanoverflowing with ego and platitudes, without substance and incapable of going beyond his incendiary exaggerations or his vague and delirious promises of greatness to articulate coherent proposals in line with the complexity of the United States.
In the other corner of the stage, Biden stumbled on almost every answer, making mistakes when pronouncing astronomical figures that ranged from millions to billions and trillions and back again, leaving anyone who heard him confused. But one of the most serious problems of the debate was not the candidates, but the absence of an instant verification that would allow the moderators to draw attention to the multiple lies that Trump spread.
Before the pause in the middle of the debate, the networks were abuzz with memes and messages evaluating first impressions. It was already known that Biden had started off on the wrong foot. The debate continued downhill in the context of new rules that undoubtedly hurt the president more than his arch-enemy.
Knowing what happens outside is understanding what will happen inside, don’t miss anything.
KEEP READING
Even though CNN moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash followed an agenda that ranged from the economic situation and abortion to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, from troop withdrawals from Afghanistan to Trump’s coup attempt and MAGA fans on January 6, 2021, it was 90 minutes of a lackluster exchange.
Biden tried to maintain a speech based on facts and data that would allow him to highlight his achievements and successes. It is true that he had moments of lucidity and peaks of energy. He even allowed himself to directly call Trump a liar and convicted criminal with the morals of a stray cat and told him that he had slept with a porn actress while his wife was expecting a child. But his performance was so ragged and soulless that these blows made little or no dent in his rival.
Trump, in turn, made it clear that his greatest advantage in the race was his total lack of scruples. When asked about the war in Ukraine, his best idea was to say: “Putin would never have invaded Ukraine if I had been the president.”
Trump’s offensive was mainly aimed at showing Biden as a senile and corrupt old man, projecting his own shortcomings onto him. And, in fact, at times he managed to put him on the defensive. Time and again, Trump took advantage of criticism from his rival to exonerate himself from the deluge of charges against him, stating flatly that he has done nothing wrong and that he is a victim of a rigged system. According to a statistic of The New York TimesBiden spent 12 minutes and 52 seconds of the 36 seconds he spoke attacking Trump, while the Republican candidate shot at him for 18 minutes and four seconds of the 41 seconds he spent.
The lowest moment of the debate, however, occurred when the opponents engaged in a comparison of their quality as golf players. It was there when they showed themselves like school boys fighting to prove who had a better handicap.
There is no doubt that this was a historic debate, but for the worst reasons.
Before he finished, it was already evident that Biden had lost in the performanceregardless of whether their answers had more content.
By 10:27, Times columnist Nick Kristof had already posted a message on social media calling on Biden to think things over and drop out of the presidential race. Ian Bremmer, another respected commentator, concluded that the meeting was simply a huge defeat for Biden. From that hour on, calls for him to drop out continued to pour in. Former Democratic Senator from Missouri Claire McCaskill was devastating on the cable channel MSNBC: “He is a very good candidate for Biden.” [Biden] He had to do one thing, make sure that at his age he can handle the job, and he failed tonight.”
That is the complete opposite of what Biden achieved in the union speech on March 7, less than four months ago, when he appeared strong, alert and assertive, even capable of improvising and making jokes in front of a hostile Republican caucus. Biden himself defended himself after the debate by saying that he has the flu and that it is difficult to debate a liar. But the damage was already done.
The reactions of voters frustrated with the field of candidates were also harsh and blunt, but perhaps more balanced. NBC interviewed a panel of voters in Phoenix, Arizona. One of the members was a middle-aged woman who said she was shocked and frustrated by what she had just seen. Referring to the golf match, she complained that they looked not like two presidents but two first-graders.
At the debate headquarters in Atlanta, Trump’s team declared him the winner. On CNN, Chris Wallace, one of the deans of broadcast journalism, called Biden’s performance “a slow-motion car crash,” alluding to all the warnings Democrats had received about Biden’s physical weakness and lack of fitness. And, indeed, that is the most obvious conclusion of the debate: Biden has been overtaken by age and is not fit enough for the enormous demands of physical and mental vigor that running the most powerful nation on the planet requires.
However, another conclusion must be drawn: the debate was a crude example of the ineptitude of both candidates. It is wrong to believe that Biden’s decline makes Trump fitter or better. The felonious former president is the greatest threat that exists today to American democracy and, by extension, democracy in the world. Without panicking about what lies ahead, the Democratic Party must act responsibly and immediately find the best replacement among a generation of talented politicians. There are women like Michigan Governor Gretchen Withmer and men like California Governor Gavin Newsom, perhaps two of the most Googled names on the night of the most painful debate in the political history of the United States. But are not the only ones. Democrats today have the moral obligation to do everything possible to prevent a second presidency of Donald Trump.
