Policy on abortion and other insights from the Biden-Trump debate

Millions of people watched President Joe Biden and Republican opponent Donald Trump debate on Thursday, and it appears that more questions than answers were raised by what they witnessed.

These are five things to remember from the matchup in Atlanta.

Democrats, there’s a problem –

According to his team, Biden had a cold, yet he looked his 81 years old on stage, speaking in a slow, scratchy voice and losing important chances to respond to Trump in a cogent and effective manner.

The seasoned Democrat seemed bland most of the time, yet he had flashes of brilliance. The post-debate critique was damning and arrived swiftly.

“It was an unmitigated disaster,” University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato told AFP.

“This debate is a problem,” added Princeton University professor Julian Zelizer, saying Biden’s supporters “are going to be extremely concerned how this unfolded.”

Though he spread a flurry of lies regarding Biden’s administration, electoral fraud, and abortion legislation, Trump occasionally appeared more confident and authoritative.

A Trump who is more disciplined

Out of the two contenders, Trump might have taken viewers by surprise by exhibiting a more composed, polite side to his typical aggressive politics. CNN’s host turned off the microphones unless a candidate was questioned, a move that experts believe helped the rival.

For example, when Biden attacked Trump, claiming that he had “encouraged” protestors to storm the US Capitol in early 2021, Trump mostly remained silent, either shaking his head or looking down.

And he struck when it was his turn to talk.

“Trump’s somewhat tempered and authoritative demeanor — at least for him — masked a number of mistruths he made throughout the night and helped him appeal to swing voters on top polling issues like the economy and the border,” Ashley Koning, director of the Rutgers Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling, told AFP.

It’s personal

It was clear from the debate—which started without a handshake—that these men do not get along. The personal animosity was evident, as evidenced by Biden calling his opponent “a convicted felon” and Trump thinking that “I don’t think (Biden) knows what he said.”

“You have the morals of an alley cat,” Biden hissed after laying out Trump’s various legal woes and verdicts against him.

“You’re the sucker, you’re the loser,” Biden said.

Trump punched back, saying “everything he does is a lie.”

“He’s the worst president in the history of our country,” Trump fumed.3. Less disorder and less responsibility

CNN’s plan to prevent a screaming fight paid well, and the chaotic chaos of their first 2020 debate—in which then-president Trump bullied Biden and the debate moderators—was all but forgotten on Thursday night.

“I think the rules may have aided Trump because they prevented him from yelling over Biden’s answers,” said Robert Rowland, a communications professor at Kansas University.

Both candidates had more time to concentrate on the issues because there was no studio audience to applaud or jeer.

Furthermore, Trump and, to a lesser extent, Biden were unrestrained in making incorrect or misleading assertions on a range of themes, from immigration and crime to the economy, because CNN moderators failed to provide real-time fact checks during the discussion.

A foreboding tone

Near the end of the debate, Trump’s tempered reaction to a crucial issue provided a worrisome glimpse into his post-election future.

Before Trump directly responded to the question three times, moderators asked him if he would accept the election results. He said, “if it’s a fair and legal and good election, absolutely.”

But in the same breath he repeated his baseless claims about 2020 vote rigging or interference, saying “the fraud and everything else was ridiculous.”

Biden suggested even Trump’s conditional response should not be trusted. “I doubt that you’ll accept it because you’re such a whiner,” Biden said.

AFP