President Biden from the start of Thursday\u2019s debate spoke with a voice that was thin and raspy \u2014 at times, even when delivering lines meant to be forceful, speaking barely above a whisper \u2014 and about 10 minutes into the debate he appeared to lose his focus, unable to complete a train of thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really don\u2019t know what he said at the end of that sentence,\u201d presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump interjected at one point. \u201cI don\u2019t think he knows what he said, either.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two presidents, one current in a blue tie and one former in a red one, stood at podiums placed just eight feet from each other. Their disdain for one another was clear from the start when they did not shake hands, did not make eye contact during a commercial break and exchanged no moments of levity.<\/p>\n
The debate included a felon (Trump) and the oldest pairing in history, with an 81-year-old Biden facing off against a 78-year-old Trump. In many ways it was, in the bluntest terms, a debate in which Biden was attempting to seem less old and Trump trying to appear more controlled.<\/p>\n
But arguably neither were entirely successful during the course of 90 minutes, and both seemed to play into the stereotypes that existed before the debate.<\/p>\n
Biden in particular seemed to struggle, especially early on. His mouth was often agape as he stood listening to Trump speak, and some of his answers appeared to meander off-topic. He took a question about abortion, one of his strengths, and began talking about immigration, one of his weaknesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone saw the same thing and is saying we\u2019re going to lose if we don\u2019t do something,\u201d said a senior Democrat in a Southern state.<\/p>\n
Biden began answering another question by talking about the national debt, then turned to the tax system, eventually vowed to strengthen health care \u2014 and then apparently was uncertain where to go next.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaking sure that we\u2019re able to make every single solitary person eligible for what I\u2019ve been able to do with the, with the covid,\u201d he said. \u201cExcuse me, dealing with everything we have to do with \u2026 Look \u2026 if \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
After a few silent seconds, he offered, \u201cWe finally beat Medicare.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was unclear what he was referring to when CNN\u2019s Jake Tapper, one of the moderators, interjected, \u201cThank you, President Biden.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biden also sought to get under Trump\u2019s skin, repeatedly calling him a \u201cwhiner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump, while speaking with confidence and in an authoritative tone, often spread falsehoods and meandered into baseless conspiracies in remarks that at times were hard to follow.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never heard so much malarkey in my whole life,\u201d Biden remarked.<\/p>\n
Trump echoed many of the talking points he has made on the campaign trail, insulting Biden and making several false statements, including on abortion and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The former president falsely stated that every legal scholar \u201cin the world\u201d supported the overturn of Roe v. Wade.<\/p>\n
He lapsed into long interludes of hard-to-follow disquisitions that are part of the right-wing ecosystems in which he normally resides, including making unexplained references to Hunter Biden\u2019s laptop.<\/p>\n
During a question to the candidates about helping Americans with addiction, Trump accused Biden of being a \u201cManchurian candidate\u201d and baselessly claiming, \u201cHe gets money from China.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s the worst president,\u201d Trump repeated. \u201cYou\u2019re destroying our country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump, who has been convicted of 34 felony crimes, said, \u201cI did nothing wrong\u201d and vowed to attempt to prosecute Biden for unspecified crimes, saying, \u201cJoe could be a convicted felon as soon as he gets out. He\u2019s done horrible things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biden shot back, \u201cThe idea that I did anything wrong is outrageous.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many billions of dollars do you owe in civil penalties for molesting a woman in public? For doing a whole range of things, having sex with a porn star \u2026 while your wife is pregnant?\u201d the president said. \u201cYou have the morals of an alley cat.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not have sex with a porn star,\u201d Trump replied.<\/p>\n
The CNN moderators chose not to challenge Trump\u2019s assertions, even those that were plainly false. And in some ways, Trump was sometimes restrained by the standards of his typical campaign rallies.<\/p>\n
He sought to dial down his previous statements that he would unleash a punishing \u201cretribution\u201d against his opponents, saying instead, \u201cMy retribution is going to be success.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also sought to deflect a question about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, answering by saying that the country was in better condition on that date than it is now. He also falsely claimed that former speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had admitted responsibility for the assault.<\/p>\n
With two candidates so well known to the country, Thursday\u2019s event was not so much an introduction as an update \u2014 on how each has changed, and aged, since they last met last met on the debate stage in October 2020. One is now a felon, the other now the country\u2019s oldest president.<\/p>\n
The country has changed a lot since then as well, experiencing the attack on the Capitol, largely moving beyond the pandemic and witnessing the fall of Roe v. Wade.<\/p>\n
Biden had previously debated as a U.S. senator, a vice president and a presidential candidate, but in those events his physical presentation had not been under such intense scrutiny. As president, his staff has built accommodations \u2014 using a shorter stairway for Air Force One, limiting questions from reporters, using a teleprompter even for small gatherings \u2014 but on Thursday, none of those were available.<\/p>\n
The third debate between these two men, and the first in four years, showcased the differing demeanors of two presidents, both fighting for a second four-year term.<\/p>\n
It is often not the practiced lines and the policy positions that become the most memorable moments of a presidential debate. Usually, it is the way the candidates come across, the seeming ease or apparent discomfort, that creates more lasting impressions.<\/p>\n
Four years ago, Trump barreled ahead during the debate, paying no attention to the rules and often interrupting his opponent to the point where an exasperated Biden, with a can-you-believe-this-guy look on his face, called out \u201cDonald, would you just be quiet for a minute?\u201d Then, \u201cFolks, do you have any idea what this clown\u2019s doing?\u201d And eventually, \u201cWill you shut up, man?\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump and his supporters spent months before the debate inadvertently lowering expectations for Biden\u2019s performance, repeatedly posting misleading clips appearing to show Biden physically frozen, aimlessly meandering or unable to string a sentence together. Trump has also baselessly suggested that Biden would use performance enhancing drugs to remain alert during the debate, posting on social media this week: \u201cDRUG TEST FOR CROOKED JOE BIDEN??? I WOULD, ALSO, IMMEDIATELY AGREE TO ONE!!!\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about such claims, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters traveling to the debate on Air Force One, \u201cI don\u2019t think that I should dignify that with an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Trump and his allies suggested that the CNN moderators would not be fair, Trump refrained from attacking them during the debate. The moderators also did not interject during Trump and Biden\u2019s answers. Yet the debate frequently descended into childish insults, with Trump and Biden seeking to one-up each other up until the end.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis guy\u2019s three years younger and a lot less competent,\u201d Biden remarked.<\/p>\n
Toward the end of the debate, it devolved into the two oldest presidents in history squabbling with each other over who had the better golf game.<\/p>\n
Trump bragged about winning a golf championship \u2014 \u201ctwo club championships, not even senior, two regular club championships\u201d \u2014 which caused Biden to challenge him to a faceoff on the green.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, I\u2019d be happy to have a driving contest with him,\u201d Biden said. \u201cI got my handicap when I was vice president down to a six.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said Trump would have to carry his own bag.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the biggest lie that he was a six handicap,\u201d Trump admonished.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was an eight handicap,\u201d Biden said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen his swing. I know your swing,\u201d Trump responded.<\/p>\n
Then he admonished, \u201cLet\u2019s not act like children, Joe. Let\u2019s not act like children.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are a child,\u201d Biden responded.<\/p>\n
President Biden from the start of Thursday\u2019s debate spoke with a voice that was thin and raspy \u2014 at times, even when delivering lines meant to be forceful, speaking barely above a whisper \u2014 and about 10 minutes into the debate he appeared to lose his focus, unable to complete a train of thought. \u201cI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5612,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5611\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}