So far I have only been able to stomach about 20 minutes of the debate.
Wallace was the clearest loser. Yes, it wasn’t his fault, but it’s still quite a stain on his career that he moderated over arguably the worst presidential debate to date.
Yes, we will need to turn off the mic of Y when it’s X’s turn to talk. And frankly, a buzzer or something would be handy for when Trump wouldn’t stop after being told 3 times his time was up and he’s not answering the question anyway.
But of the two candidates, I think Trump would be more happy. He made the fight his style – wrestlemania. No detailed points that he finds boring and difficult to understand.
And, I have to say it, if you’re someone that went into that debate not knowing that e.g. 1) the US is doing much worse on coronavirus than the rest of the developed world 2) that the republicans have been blatantly hypocritical on the supreme court (as well as well, everything), 3) that Trump is broke and corrupt…you will not have heard anything to tell you otherwise. Trump did enough to shout down these points, and Biden did not press enough.
Also, the format of the debate means that dodging and talking over so you run out the shot clock is an effective strategy.
Well I wouldn’t say injected at a relevant time, but he had a few pseudo-talking points in his pocket, that was clear to see. e.g. if they say US is doing comparatively bad on corona, mention China and Russia. And showing he was carrying a mask was likely planned too.
Wallace took the job but clearly wasn’t competent to perform it. He should have said over and over again that Trump was breaking his promise to follow the agreed upon rules. Then he should have told Biden to continue with his full time restored. After about 2 minutes of Trump continuing to interrupt Wallace should have stood up and suggested he and Biden leave because Trump was out of control.
It really is that simple, just find someone who can perform a job competently. Of course that rules out everyone called a journalist these days, you have to find people that can be assessed at performing a real job.
That’s not how he works. Yes, he pops out with canned “talking points”, but they aren’t intentional or planned. Instead, someone is talking about something and his brain makes some random connection to something someone else said in a similar situation and he blurts out some mangled version of what they said.
So I’ve no doubt someone said that the Proud Boys need to “stand down and stand by”, either about them or to them. Which is a chilling idea, and not at all something he was supposed to say in front of God and everybody.
I wish the media had made that the only story of the debate.
@AK84, when asked about climate change, Trump dodged the question of course, and then said something like “we’re planting a billion trees, a billion trees.” So, I guess he’s also the head of Pakistan or something, or possibly, just possibly lied about something. {shocked emoji}
I think if you replay the event, you will find several times when Wallace did NOT try to stop Trump when Trump was interrupting. Bravo for the times Wallace stepped in, but he wasn’t consistent.
I watched the whole fucking shitshow. Having not seen any of the Democratic debates and none of either of the conventions, I will say that I didn’t realize how bad of a speaker Biden is. I got used to it (or he got better?) as the shitshow went on, but it was pretty shocking at first.
Chris Wallace did the best he could and, for a Fox News guy, asked some pretty tough questions of Trump (and Biden). Trump didn’t answer, of course, since he’s a liar and a cheat, but he (Trump) left the question about his taxes hanging out there and any questions about fair voting and smooth transition of power are answered (in the negative).
I think Biden should go after him in this manner – Donald, you took credit for the economy that Obama and I left you. You take credit for (whatever else he’s taking credit for – a billion trees?). But, you take no responsibility for all the bad things happening on your watch. You complain that the voting will be unfair – you’re the president, what are you going to do about it? You complain about violence in the streets – you’re the president, what are your solutions? The fires in California? Those are happening on federal lands, too – what have you done to prevent those?
If I were Biden, I would say, “Goddamn, Donald, you’re a whiny sonofabitch! Why don’t you grow up and take some responsibility for something? Boo hoo, everyone is so unfair to you. As I told my kids when they were 10, life is unfair.” So, it’s a good thing I’m not Biden.
He was one of the worst performers I’ve seen in a major party Presidential debate ever including Republicans. He didn’t marshal the facts (other than correctly calling Trump a liar) or the speaking performance.
from NPR: “President Trump ran roughshod over debate moderator Chris Wallace and his Democratic opponent Joe Biden — and crossed many lines in the process.”
I agree, and I think about this a lot. My dad was a construction worker. Not at all wealthy of priveleged. But he taught us early on that whining about “fair” is a weak approach to life, and real winners simply find a way to succeed.
I mention this because a few times I’ve pointed that out to Trump supporters (in the context of Trump’s whining) it seems to really hit a nerve. I’d love to see Don’s reaction to that.
I’d love to, but there is a travel ban in place for Americans. Because somebody did not hadle a virus well, I have been told. Try again next year. Sorry!
With all due respect, this is still where everybody underestimates trump, and that should stop. Yes, trump hates the work of actually being president-- the policy making, the briefings, dealing with the American people, etc. etc. etc. ad infinitum. So he is terrible at that stuff, like a child who hates to do his chores.
But he lives for stuff like this. His entire career, scratch that, life has been about fighting in one way or another: arguing at, screaming at, browbeating, cheating and suing other people. Debates are his wheelhouse. As I said upthread, that’s how he stomped over 16 candidates in the 2016 Repub debates to claw his way to the top of the heap. Being a bully is his one and only superpower.
Two points on that. #1. I really don’t understand anyone being undecided at this point. Trump supporters have always demonstrated how much they like it when he makes up cute nicknames, says stupid shit, is a D-bag, and they really like chanting in a three word cadence. These minds can’t be changed. #2 A clown? A clown? Oh, the humanity! I seriously wonder about anyone undecided right now. I hope they don’t have to make any decisions for their household.
If you followed the debate and Biden calling Trump a clown is the part that disappointed you, then you are either lying about being undecided, or you are an idiot.
