A Presidential Debate For Masochists

I saw the debate so you wouldn’t have to, and trust me, be glad you didn’t.

(Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Because I’m a masochist, I watch and comment on all of the Presidential Debates so sane, happy people who want to enjoy their evenings can relax and do what sane, happy people do instead. As far as television watching experiences go, that one was particularly painful. To sum it up: it won’t move the needle with committed Dem and GOP voters, but it didn’t do any favors for Biden with swing or disaffected voters. 

His performance reinforces the damaging story that he’s too old to run. Mind you, Trump is 78 years old and also didn’t come off looking great, but at least he was coherent during his absurd, ugly rants. (More on that later.) Unfortunately, this is TV: Trump’s medium. It’s about the performance. It’s the theater that draws the eyeballs more than the substance, which Biden had in spades. Unfortunately, Biden had a cold and came in with a hoarse voice and low energy. For the first 45 minutes, it was rough sledding for the President, who stumbled on answers and said outloud, “we finally beat Medicare.”

Oof! 

Also, Biden’s perpetual weak spot is talking about abortion and women’s rights. This was one of the two slam dunks for Biden and Democrats. The other was January 6th and Trump’s criminality and threats to democracy. In the early part of the debate, Biden again gave a rambling answer about trimesters and was unable to deliver easy, effective punches against Trump and the GOP who have overturned Roe, gone after IVF, and refused to protect the right to birth control. But, Biden, for whatever reason, can never deliver that robust defense of Roe and abortion rights, which I believe can be the single issue that can overcome the deficit and guide him and Dems to victory. 

Around the 45 minute mark, Biden regained his legs when the conversation turned to January 6th and Trump’s violent insurrectionists. He finally unleashed “convicted felon” against Trump. It took time but it finally got there. After listing a litany of Trump’s crimes and sexual escapades, Biden said he had the “morals of an alley cat.” Another strong comment was when he admonished Trump for promoting the election lie, turning to him and saying, “Yet you continue to provoke the lie. You can’t stand the loss. Something snapped in you when you lost last time.” Punches like this visibly got under Trump’s skin and he provided no acceptable responses to his role on January 6th or whether or not he’d accept the results of the 2024 election. Trump kept dodging and only said he would accept it if it was “fair and legal.” (He will not accept it, folks.)

Speaking of Trump, if I lived in a healthy, rational country, Donald Trump would either be in jail right now or retired at Mar-a-Lago. He’s a twice-impeached vulgarian who is now a convicted felon and still has to face three criminal cases. He has been held liable for rape, defamation, and fraud. He owes more than $400 million to the state of New York. He’s a racist, misogynist, and a serial liar. And yet he’s currently beating President Biden in the polls.

This is a just sad, honest reflection of our broken country and flawed information ecosystem that platforms hate and misinformation for sake of profit and ratings. Case in point: Thursday night’s Presidential Debate hosted by CNN and “moderated” by anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash who refused to moderate. For the next debate, A.I. should simply ask questions and play the timekeeper. That’s what these two journalists did. Trump overwhelmed them with an avalanche of bullshit, lies and absurd statements but he was never once fact checked. There was never any pushback. A few times the moderators asked him to answer the question after he went on some rant or attack, but that’s about it. How does this type of “moderation” help inform Americans ahead of a Presidential election? What does this do except just help Trump mainstream lies? This man stood on the stage and said Democrats are executing babies after birth, and no moderator checked him.

Trump, unsurprisingly, delivered the ugliest and most racist moment of the debate by using “Palestinian” as a pejorative to mock Biden. He went a step further and compared the President to a “weak Palestinian.” In his closing statement, he said protesting Palestinians were worse than the white supremacists, Nazis and KKK marching in Charlottesville, whom he referred to as “very fine people.” This is the cost of dehumanization. And, it went unchecked without any pushback. Disgusting.

Sadly, there is one more debate left. I don’t know if this will move the needle five months ahead of the election. There’s too much time. But, I can only hope a majority of Americans realize that an elderly man who doesn’t speak too well is more suited to be President than a convicted criminal who’s only running to avoid accountability and potential jail time. That being said, America has always been a self-destructive country, so it remains to be seen.