Sergey Podlesnykh/Staff Writer
The first presidential debate on Tuesday was anything but presidential. What is the main takeaway from ninety-five minutes of mutual insults, interruptions and utter frustration? Arguably, Joe Biden didn’t perform strong enough to clinch the victory, but he honestly didn’t have to. President Trump’s poor performance paved the way for Biden and marked a thick L for the incumbent.
The debate started with a discussion of the Supreme court nomination. Disregarding the arguments about letting the people speak (which were utilized by the Republicans in 2016), President Trump basically said the nomination will be pushed through in the terms of “tough luck, deal with it.” Biden’s concerns with the implications of a biased nominee who already voiced her stance on abortion rights fell on deaf ears.
Hinting on the discord within Democratic party, Trump attempted to disrupt Biden, but instead encouraged him to solidify the dominance in the blue camp. Biden countered with the assertive “I am the Democratic party now.” Such words don’t come from “sleepy” people, but from hungry contenders ready to get in the fight.
Shortly after an initial set of expected mutual interruptions, Trump took it up a notch, interrupting moderator Chris Wallace. On a side note, we must commend Wallace for his continuous efforts to keep that uncontrolled train on track. Still, at times it sounded like a kindergarten fight of “you’re another.” As Wallace tried to finalize the segment, stopping both candidates talking simultaneously, the best intermediate conclusion came from Biden: “Well that was really productive, wasn’t it?”
We also didn’t have to wait long for another jaw-dropping statement from the President. According to Trump, prescription medications today are “cheap as water.” Who knows, maybe he meant a monthly water bill for one of his hotels? Either way, it sounded like a mocking statement that exposed how distant the President is from the sad realities of hardworking American families.
Trump’s claim of a COVID-19 vaccine that is “weeks away” was effectively countered by Biden. He reminded people about other President’s vain promises of the virus “going away by Easter” and “disappearing with warm weather.” Trump’s ineffective speculations on possible poor response to the virus, if Biden was the President, have little value. We live in the world of Trump’s consequences and must deal with the existing reality, not abstract hypothesizing.
The economy segment probably held the most potential for Trump, but he failed to adequately capitalize on it. Instead of persisting on his own accomplishments and convincing Americans to vote for continuity, Trump switched to blaming Biden during his tenure as the vice-president. That was a mistake. Bringing up those times only rolled the carpet out for an effective response from Biden, who greatly contributed to Obama’s economic success.
The segment on racial issues was a clean win for Biden. How hard it is to say that white supremacists are bad? It was for Trump. When cornered by Wallace to openly denounce the white supremacists, the President said they should “stand back and stand by.” Does it mean they need to take a short break and let him get reelected? In my book, a person that has trouble denouncing white supremacists is not fit to run a country torn by racial division.
Draft-dodger Trump talked about the broad support from the military. His record proves otherwise. The President didn’t agree with former Secretary of Defense Mattis, and General Milley even tried to distance himself from the President. If two most respected men in the military disapprove of Trump, it speaks volumes. I can even provide examples from my own experience in the military, when leaders of different ranks, including commanding officers, openly told soldiers: “Don’t get discouraged by this crazy President, do it for the country”.
Trump stuck to his guns, insisting that climate change is not real, and a better forest management is the only credible solution for the growing number of wildfires. I wonder if we should follow his logic and implement better ocean management to stop the rising sea level here in Miami-Dade. At times it was hard to keep up with chaotic and incoherent Trump’s arguments, towards the end of the debate Biden noted he wasn’t even sure how to respond. Wallace coined in with a perfect, “I’m having trouble myself.”
On the topic of election day and mail-in ballots, Biden ensured he would accept the results, regardless of the outcome and encouraged Americans to vote. Trump called the ballots a “disaster” and a “fraud,” implying that we shouldn’t expect a peaceful transitionnor that he would accept unfavorable results.
Additionally, he called the crowds to show up at polling stations and ensure there’s no meddling. Is there a chance it can cause chaos or deter people from showing up in fears of large crowds and COVID exposure? If the sitting President doesn’t trust our election system and questions the very democratic process, it raises multiple red flags.
Truthfully, we didn’t hear enough about either candidate’s plans for the next four years. However, Biden at least tried to stay on track and talk to Americans about his proposed policies. Trump didn’t seem to care about the people or the country: he made this debate personal, focusing on accusing and insulting Biden.
On Tuesday night, Biden proved wrong those who questioned his mental fitness and thought he wouldn’t last the lengthy debate. Instead of concentrating on low jabs at the opponent, he tried to go high and address the Americans directly. Disregarding many unpresidential and utterly childish insults from Trump, Biden looked straight into the camera and talked to the People. Instead of dividing the society, he promised to be a president “for all, Republicans and Democrats”.
Perhaps Joe Biden didn’t give us all the answers we seek from the next President, but he left me longing for another conversation. Donald Trump, in turn, left no doubts that he is not up to the job for another four years.
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Featured image by Jernej Furman on Flickr.
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