Thursday's presidential debate began without a handshake, and it just got worse from there. On one side of the stage was President Biden, who had to convince Americans that the situation at home and abroad was better than they thought. On the other was former President Donald Trump, who was recently convicted and played a key role in the unprecedented attack on the nation's seat of government. While the ever-slick-talking Trump tried valiantly to make the most of a bad record, Biden struggled to speak with dignity about a presidency in which he could claim more credit than he deserves.
Biden's job was tougher given the polls showing how Americans feel — even the best orators would have struggled. At 81, Biden was reportedly battling a cold and was not in the best of shape.
Naturally, in a campaign where the line between incumbency and insurgency is blurred, the conversation has often looked backwards rather than forwards: Who delivered economic improvements during his time in office, who is to blame for inflation, under whose watch more U.S. troops died in combat overseas?
Biden was mostly right on these issues, if we can get past his rhetorical struggles. He inherited an economy still reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one that now has a strong labor market and moderating inflation. Republicans in Congress, at Trump's behest, are blocking necessary border reform. Trump's tax cuts have caused the deficit to explode (though Biden has failed to fix entitlement programs to avoid a national debt crisis). Vladimir Putin is indeed a “war criminal” responsible for the deaths of “thousands and thousands of people” and must be opposed. The president signed the most ambitious climate change package in the nation's history.
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Meanwhile, Trump arrived armed with lies and manipulation. He rolled out the usual bombast – “we had the best economy in history”, tax cuts saved the country from COVID, tariffs would cost Americans nothing – and his trademark hysterical claims about the border. He switched to the topic at every opportunity, denouncing the influx of immigrants “flooding” the country from “mental hospitals” and “psychiatric hospitals”. “We’re living in a rat’s nest right now”, he thundered.
Putin dodged questions about Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the recognition of a Palestinian state, insisting that there would never be a foreign crisis under his command. Putin would never have invaded Ukraine, and Hamas would never have attacked Israel. There would be no need to contemplate difficult choices.
And when confronted with inconvenient facts, Trump brushes them off with ease. His comment about the clashes between white supremacists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, “very fine people on both sides”? Misunderstood. The January 6th riot, which he incited from the White House Ellipse? He had “virtually nothing” to do with it and blamed Nancy Pelosi. “Everything he said was just a smear campaign.” [says] “That's a lie,” Trump said of Biden. “That's misinformation and disinformation.” He was saying the same thing about himself, as he did minutes later when he baselessly accused Biden of being a Chinese-backed “Manchurian candidate.”
But the debate may be remembered not for what was said, but for how it was said. Biden tried to shut down Trump's string of fantasies, but his presentation was weak. He stumbled over his words, appeared to lose track of sentences and, for example, insisted that 15,000 jobs had been created during his time in office, not 15 million.
He had his good moments, like when he forcefully outlined his crucial differences with Trump on reproductive rights: If Republicans pass a nationwide ban on abortion, he would veto it; his opponent would sign it, he said. But Biden's challenge on Thursday was to allay concerns that he was one step too late to govern the country for another term. In the end, he ended up stoking more fears than he dispelled.
Amid the mispronunciations and tweets, both candidates managed to convey who they are. “We are the most respected country in the world. We are the United States of America. There is nothing beyond our capabilities,” Biden said. “We are a failed state,” concluded the relentlessly dismissive Trump, who again was vague about whether he would accept the results of November's election. The question is whether the American people will appreciate content beyond style. Biden didn't make their job any easier on Thursday night.
