Having slept on it, here are my thoughts on the First Presidential Brawl Debate:
- Biden was well prepared with canned responses, but visibly tired as the debate wore on.
- Chris Wallace was a hapless moderator who seemed to think his main role was to protect Biden from Trump.
- Trump’s goal was to constantly be on the attack. Mission accomplished.
- Biden came across weak and defensive.
- Trump came across as Trump. Few converts made but stirred up the base.
- Trump scored on the economy and got Biden to admit that he is opposed to the Green New Deal. That will hurt Biden among already suspicious Leftist voters. Law enforcement was another winner for Trump. Trump drew blood on Hunter Biden, and Biden simply has no defense.
- Biden drew blood on Trump’s taxes.
- Debate reaction is mixed, but quite a few on the Left seem dismayed by Biden’s performance. People see Trump every day. These debates will be the only time the voters see Biden live, and last night they saw a defensive old man being verbally beaten up by Trump.
- The snap poll by Telemundo, see above, is bad news for team Biden. Hispanics like, as a generalization, strong leaders and Biden projected weakness, not strength.
- The Kennedy-Nixon debates, as a contrast to the spectacle last night, six decades ago, shows the degradation that our public culture has undergone in a fairly short period of time.
Thanks Don. Good summary. Hopefully Trump will be more Presidential in the next debate. Fighting is sometimes necessary, thinking is always essential.
My biggest problem with Trump, other than the ‘drunk frat boy at a party’ performance, was the poor tactics. Biden had clearly drilled and drilled to be able to resist Trump and get the conversation where he wanted it. Trump continually fell for that. Had Trump stood back and let Biden talk and crumble, it would have been a disaster for the Dems. Each time Wallace pressed Biden, Biden fumbled since he clearly wasn’t coached on that. But then, just as Biden was floundering, Trump would rush in, interrupt, and give Biden the lifeline he needed. That’s poor thinking on Trump’s part. As if Trump was a one trick pony only capable of thinking one tactic at a time.
This debate was agonizing to watch but I watched it all the way to the end…. personally I thought Trump was a bit too aggressive but Biden didn’t exactly exude strength and confidence. And Biden’s claim that Antifa is “an idea, not an organization” has to be one of the biggest debate howlers since Gerald Ford claimed there was “no Soviet domination” in Eastern Europe in the mid-1970s. (Which I’m actually old enough to remember…)
nd Biden’s claim that Antifa is “an idea, not an organization” has to be one of the biggest debate howlers since Gerald Ford
It’s a howler promoted by Christopher Wray, our useless FBI director. I think Trump appointed him on the recommendation of Rod Rosenstein.
I didn’t watch. Did Biden get the breaks he wanted? How about the ear-check he didn’t want?
Did Biden get the breaks he wanted? How about the ear-check he didn’t want?
No breaks and no ear checks.
Concerning Trump’s aggression towards Biden, I told my husband last night that what needs to kept in mind ( aside from Trump being Trump) is the fact that Biden is part of the cabal that was and is intent upon destroying, on a very personal level, both Trump and his family. Biden us not just a political opponent, but also a fell personal enemy.
Southcoast. My problem with Trump’s aggression wasn’t because Biden was somehow above such things. Remember the 2012 VP debate. My problem was that it was counterproductive to Trump. Clearly Biden had drilled, and drilled, and drilled to respond to Trump’s behavior, and he was generally better off doing so. What he would get flummoxed by was Wallace digging into something. Three times I saw Biden begin to crumble as Wallace pressed him on something – only to be bailed out by Trump jumping in an getting Biden back on the footing Biden was clearly coached for. When your opponent fumbles the ball, don’t rush in and hand it back to him, which is what I saw Trump do more than once.
“I guess I’m debating you, not him, but that’s okay.”
https://grrrgraphics.com/trump-vs-wallace-first-2020-presidential-debate/
Underreported in the MSM is Trump’s assurance that Roe v. Wade is not in danger of being overturned.
“I’m having a little trouble myself.”
https://thefederalist.com/2020/09/30/here-are-the-11-dumbest-most-slanted-questions-asked-by-chris-wallace/
That is not what he said Katherine. He said that there was no case before the Court right now directly challenging Roe, which is correct. That took a bit of the wind out of the sails of Biden’s attempt to float into the White House on the blood of unborn children.
Never has it been more clear that the media is a propaganda and coordination wing of the DNC.
I only watched spottily–too painful. My good lady watched the first hour until we turned to the 10pm local news. It was not such as to change anyone’s mind who is already committed. Perhaps this was a trap by Trump…don’t do well in the first debate, to draw Biden on for the 2nd and 3rd, where he will be calm and let Biden shoot himself in the foot. In any event I’m reminded of Psalm 62:
Orange rage.
Imagine dealing with a Russian collusion hoax that disrupted your presidency for 2-3 years, a General wrongly charged, then a false Ukraine Impeachment to distract from real corruption, then COVID and having to watch an economy you’ve help build up be destroyed.
Attacks on your family, yourself, your people, your nominees, being called every name in the book and especially racist for the last four years.
Then having to debate a huckster more than at the center of it all, with a lackey monitor and fixed 2 minute responses all meant to enable falsehoods to be inserted without rebuttal and to protect feeble minds.
The President let us down, but I can’t fault him.