The Commission on Presidential Debates wisely announced Wednesday that it would “add additional structure” to the next two candidate debates “to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues.”
That was a diplomatic way of saying changes are needed after President Trump acted like a 5-year-old having a gigantic temper tantrum at his debate Tuesday night with former Vice President Joe Biden.
The debate made it crystal clear that Biden is more suited than Trump be president for many reasons, described below. Even many Republicans have acknowledged that Trump’s performance probably hurt him by repelling some voters.
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Trump constantly interrupted Biden and moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News, rarely letting them get out two sentences without shouting, complaining and heckling both Biden and Wallace.
A Fox News analysis found that Trump interrupted Biden 71 times and Wallace 74 times for a total of 145 times. Biden had no choice but to interrupt in order to get a word in edgewise as Trump constantly tried to keep the Democratic presidential nominee from speaking. Biden interrupted Trump 49 times and Wallace 18 times for a total of 67 times, according to the analysis — less than half as many times as Trump interrupted.
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Speculation about possible debate format changes centers on giving the debate moderator the ability to turn off the microphones of candidates speaking out of turn. The commission may come up with other ideas as well, but commissioners can’t rely on Trump or his campaign promising not to repeat Tuesday night’s disastrous performance.
Trump’s campaign had agreed to rules that allowed each candidate to answer questions uninterrupted, but the president showed once again that he believes no rules or laws apply to him and that he is never bound by any promises. Obeying rules and laws is for suckers and losers, he clearly believes.
If anyone needed more proof that Trump is a loudmouth bully and serial liar with little familiarity with public policy issues, Trump gave it to them Tuesday night. His constant interruptions made it impossible for the candidates to discuss any issues in any depth, meaning the American people learned nothing of value from the encounter.
The advantage of this for Trump is that he was able to avoid questions that exposed his ignorance and incompetence. His constant yelling and complaining acted like a shield for him. Maybe that was why he pursued this strategy.
The 98-minute debate was a train wreck and there are many people in both parties who agree with me on this. I couldn’t stand the constant interruptions and I don’t like anyone telling another person to shut up, or engaging in name-calling.
But sadly, after his 2016 primary debates and the debate it’s clear that Trump has debased the format and turned the debate it into a contest of who can yell the loudest and be the most insulting, obnoxious and boorish. Trump is the champion at doing these things — no one else stoops so low.
Congratulations, Mr. President.
However, Trump’s disgusting behavior on the debate stage is not part of the job of being president. In fact, it makes it almost impossible for a president to be effective. This helps explain why U.S. relations with many nations around the world have deteriorated under Trump and why his deeply flawed leadership is responsible for most of the more than 200,000 U.S. deaths in the coronavirus pandemic and for our wrecked economy.
Here are some reasons why it’s clear to me that Biden won the debate:
Biden came off looking more calm, mature and professional than Trump. A focus group of undecided voters agreed that Trump looked like a bully. A CBS News poll found that Biden won the debate by a 7% margin, just a couple of points lower than he is polling against Trump among voters nationally.
Trump foolishly set expectations for Biden ridiculously low. Trump and his campaign frequently intimated that Biden was senile and incapable of speaking coherently or making decisions. In July Trump even told Fox News that “Joe doesn’t know he’s alive,” making it sound like Biden was in a coma. Biden showed clearly that Trump’s claims were absurd lies, enabling Biden to exceed expectations with his performance.
Biden spoke directly into the camera and showed he was genuinely concerned with the welfare of the American people during the tough times we are going through due to the coronavirus pandemic. Trump showed he is concerned only with himself, whining about the supposedly unfair treatment he gets, making absurd charges against Biden, and telling viewers he has handled the pandemic absolutely perfectly. Perfectly? With over 200,000 Americans dead? And with Trump fighting with his own health experts as he continues to hold large rallies without masks and social distancing?
Biden showed he is a regular Joe from Scranton. True, Biden has moved into a high-income bracket in recent years, but he pays his fair share of taxes and releases his tax returns, unlike Trump. Biden came across as understanding the plight of millions of families worried about keeping their jobs, having health insurance, and other common concerns. When Trump cast himself as the defender of the suburbs (a veiled reference to keeping out low-income minorities) Biden shot back with the funniest line of the night: “Trump wouldn’t know the suburbs unless he took a wrong turn.” Biden drove home his slogan that this campaign is really about Scranton vs. Park Avenue.
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Biden won on the issues of race, and law and order. Biden clearly condemned violence and said most police officers do a good job and are dedicated to serving their communities. But he acknowledged that more must be done to combat systemic racism and open the door to equal opportunity for all Americans. Disgracefully, Trump refused to denounce white supremacists, and specifically the racist group Proud Boys, claiming he didn’t know of the group. This divisive talk by the president might work if he were running for sheriff in the South in the 1950s when Black people were prevented from voting, but it will certainly hurt him with voters now.
Biden didn’t attack Trump’s children. Biden could have easily done so, because the only qualifications Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner have for working in the White House are their family ties. And Trump’s two adult sons are clearly trying to take advantage of his position as president to boost Trump businesses. Trump attacked Biden’s son Hunter for his business dealings and expressed no human emotions when Biden talked about his son Beau, who died of brain cancer five years ago after volunteering for the military and serving for a year in Iraq. Biden pointed out that Trump has reportedly referred to those who serve in the military as “losers” and “suckers” — a claim Trump denies.
But the bottom line is not who won the debate; it’s whose minds the debate changed. Polls show most voters have made up their minds on who they will support and some have already voted early.
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I suspect Trump’s bullying and interruptions turned off a significant number of undecided voters, and made many American wonder what four more years under a president who focuses on his grievances and throws temper tantrums would be like.
Four more years of Trump clearly wouldn’t be a walk in the park … not even a park on Park Avenue.
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