In all honesty, I struggled to call it that. My favorite line was by one of the TV commentators immediately following the “debate.” What was it? “A hot mess… inside of a dumpster fire… inside of a train wreck.”
Observers were at a loss for words following the nationally televised debacle (better word). I was all set to discuss the issues, and how each of the candidates responded to them. But all of that becomes irrelevant. Another commentator kept asking, quite accurately I might add… “Is anyone surprised?”
My personal Facebook page, and an Internet forum I belong to, were eerily quiet after the debate debacle. Serious question: Is there anything Trump fans can be happy about? One has to wonder what Trump fans really think. Not what they’ll blurt out in knee-jerk reactive defense… but what they really think.
All this before even getting into the substance of the debate debacle, during which the fact-checking machine practically blew a fuse as Trump was delivering his closing comments. (Cause: Lie Overload). I kept hearing and reading how moderator Chris Wallace should have exerted better control over the debate debacle.
Really? What was Wallace supposed to do… walk up to Trump and punch him in the face? Throw rocks at him to get him to abide by the rules? This is the (cough, gag) President of the United States. Is it too much to ask to expect him to conduct himself in a manner befitting the office?
Joe Biden gets criticized for letting Trump “unsettle him” at times… or getting under his skin. Again… was this a Presidential debate? Or UFC Fight Night? Maybe the event should have been held inside a boxing ring, and Wallace perform as referee, instead of moderator. Is part of being President being able to talk over and through someone else?
Whatever last night was, it was catching. This afternoon I had the misfortune of watching some of CNN’s Brianna Keilar’s attempted interview of T.W. Shannon, co-chair of Black Voices for Trump. It was Trump vs. Biden all over again, except with no moderator. Is this the new normal?
But enough of the disastrous embarrassment of a debate debacle. What about the issues discussed?
It was almost unfair to ask Trump about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, as this is undeniably his worst topic. In fact, given the “WWE atmosphere” of the event, I was surprised Biden didn’t “body slam” Trump even harder on his handling of the pandemic. Sure, he had Trump against the ropes with some of his comments… but he didn’t land the knockout punch.
On the topic of racial tensions, I have the same question I’m sure lots of other people have. Why is it so difficult for Trump to just come out and say it out loud? “I condemn White Supremacy!” Why does he beat around the bush… deflecting the question, dragging other groups into the argument, hemming and hawing? Why??
On matters of law enforcement and about the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Trump kept trying to link Biden with “the radical left.” I truly think Trump is consistently missing the boat here. He purposely continues to promote a lie, when Biden has clearly stated his more moderate position on both topics. But repeat a lie long enough, and you’ll get some people to believe it.
On the upcoming electoral process, Trump all but told everyone he already views the process as fraudulent, and will not abide by the results should he lose. His call to arms for his supporters to closely monitor the proceedings is just short of promoting civil unrest, which may very well happen in polling places.
Two weeks ago, the first debate between candidates for governor of Puerto Rico was held. People were quick to criticize, mostly along predictable party lines. Yet for all the criticism it received, it was head and shoulders above the horrific sham of a debate debacle held by the two candidates for the position of President of the United States of America.
Rey. ¿Como vez la posibilidad de que Trump pueda querer obviar los votos por correo y llevar un caso hasta el TS donde obviamente ahora tendrá mayoría?
Debacle is certainly a much more accurate term to describe what we witnessed last night. It was cringe inducing to watch two septuagenarians hurl insults at each other like schoolchildren, complete with Chris Wallace as the frazzled teacher that’s lost control over the class.
You’re right in pointing out that there wasn’t much else that he could’ve done aside from what he did: attempting to rein in the president every 2 minutes (Joe Biden’s two minutes). President…now that’s a word that should make us pause. What we saw last night was a man whose ego is so inflated yet at the same time so fragile that at the first hint of criticism he goes into a bullying rampage. That’s not a president. That’s more akin to a WWE wrestler, and even they are only acting the part of an insolent jerk.
Our president IS an insolent jerk. If that was ever in doubt last night should have cemented that truth into everyone’s mind as he repeatedly went after Joe Biden’s son Hunter and later when Biden mentioned his veteran son Beau (who’s dead) the president instead of graciously acknowledging his service chose to say “I don’t know him.”
Biden held his own as best as he could, but even he had to resort to name calling as the president didn’t give him much choice. Clown is a much nicer word than the ones I had running through my head.
And there is is. Forget the candidates’ platforms. Forget conservative or liberal. Focus on character. What we all saw last night from Mr. Trump is behavior not befitting the president of a lemonade stand let alone the president of a country. How anyone can possibly vote for him at this point is beyond me.
We feel the same way. The sad part is that a man of Trump’s character (or lack thereof) to this day retains such a considerable following. A following, I would add, that only becomes more entrenched with each passing day, each passing faux pas, each catastrophic blunder, and so on. It is mystifying, and not in a good way. Trump was on full display last night… and yet his defenders still have it in them to defend him and come up with excuses for everything he does and say.
In fact, my very next article deals with Trump’s “apologists”, although the word is improperly used here. They don’t apologize for Trump as much as they defend everything about him. It must be a tough job to constantly have to reach deep into the bag of excuses to find yet another one to use. Yes… Biden called Trump a “clown.” Like you, I’m sure millions of Americans thought of plenty of other words that could have been used, but would have probably brought censorship upon Biden’s words.
It is a sad state of affairs in the country when Trump’s bullying, bluster, blatant lying, low personal attacks, and nonexistent moral compass is cheered on by his totally enthralled fans. Nobody wants to hear this, but Trump as President has made the U.S. a laughing stock on the global stage for almost four years now.
Thank you for your comments, Angela.
Saludos Miguel, y gracias por tu pregunta. La respuesta es que yo creo a Trump capaz de cualquier cosa para permanecer en el poder. Ya anoche hizo un llamado a “su gente” para que monitoreen el proceso de la votación, creando así la posibilidad de choques peligrosos en los sitios de votación. Si Trump llegase a tener la más mínima indicación de que los votos por correo no le van a favorecer, totalmente llevaría el caso al Tribunal Supremo, donde ya se ha encargado de llenarlo con jueces con puntos de vista políticos favorables a él.