# I don't think Biden should bother debating Trump **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 12, 2020, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536 "2020-06-12T14:39:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536/61 "2020-06-16T00:03:57Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > I suspect it will be Trump who limits debates. His performance space is rallies not debates. Biden will be prepared for childish taunts. Trump’s “performance space” is everywhere and everything. He destroyed all the other Republicans in the primary - remember that, the primary with 16 other guys who he mocked and ridiculed relentlessly during the debates and got the audience howling with laughter? He’s very much in his element in that scenario. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536/62 "2020-06-16T03:33:17Z")
The 2016 GOP Debates circuses was not the same performance space, scenario, or target audience as general election debates. He won in 2016 despite his performances in the general election debates not because of them. ---
**Author:** ![CGHJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@CGHJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CGHJ)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536/63 "2020-06-16T23:13:41Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > I suspect it will be Trump who limits debates. His performance space is rallies not debates. Biden will be prepared for childish taunts. Debating Biden is the one thing Trump does want to happen in this election. It’s his only chance. I like Biden enough personally, I dislike Trump viscerally. But Biden is barely coherent, even in YouTube ad that he produced he can barely keep it together. The idea of Biden having his finger on the button or having to deal with major world problems scares me…marginally less than it scares me to have Trump in the same position. Biden is senile, Trump is a kook. Neither one of them should be in that office. Biden, however, will pick competent people who don’t try to undermine democracy, and that’s a plus. And this is what a lot of people want, so if Biden went down into a bunker and didn’t come out til the votes were counted, he’d probably win. If he goes on that stage and Trump will twist him into little knots. Not by saying anything worthwhile mind you, just by being the biggest dick he can be, which is a pretty big dick. He will make Biden look like a frail old man who shouldn’t be greeting people at Wal-Mart. Lots of people won’t care, but it may energize the MAGAs, and swing some swingers. Trump is praying for a debate. To address the OP’s question, I wish that Biden could get away with not debating Trump, but for the reasons other posters have said, he can’t. It’s part of the process, and should be. Debates are our way of taking a measure of the candidates. Biden, if he wants to be president, must be measured against the other candidate, no matter who he is. Even if the outcome is something I don’t personally want. ---
**Author:** ![Major\_Kong\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Major\_Kong\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Major_Kong_1)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536/64 "2020-06-16T23:49:21Z")
Presidential debates are about who can keep their cool in this uncontrolled situation. It’s about appearing cool calm and collected in a high stress high stakes forum. Historically candidates have never done anything they’ve said they would do anyway so no participant is worried about any of their statements. They just need to seem to be in control. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536/65 "2020-06-17T00:52:28Z")
> [@CGHJ](#): > > Debating Biden is the one thing Trump does want to happen in this election. It’s his only chance. > > I like Biden enough personally, I dislike Trump viscerally. But Biden is barely coherent, even in YouTube ad that he produced he can barely keep it together. The idea of Biden having his finger on the button or having to deal with major world problems scares me…marginally less than it scares me to have Trump in the same position. Biden is senile, Trump is a kook. Neither one of them should be in that office. > > Biden, however, will pick competent people who don’t try to undermine democracy, and that’s a plus. And this is what a lot of people want, so if Biden went down into a bunker and didn’t come out til the votes were counted, he’d probably win. > > If he goes on that stage and Trump will twist him into little knots. Not by saying anything worthwhile mind you, just by being the biggest dick he can be, which is a pretty big dick. He will make Biden look like a frail old man who shouldn’t be greeting people at Wal-Mart. > > Lots of people won’t care, but it may energize the MAGAs, and swing some swingers. Trump is praying for a debate. > > To address the OP’s question, I wish that Biden could get away with not debating Trump, but for the reasons other posters have said, he can’t. It’s part of the process, and should be. > > Debates are our way of taking a measure of the candidates. Biden, if he wants to be president, must be measured against the other candidate, no matter who he is. Even if the outcome is something I don’t personally want. Unfortunately I don’t think that that is Trump’s only chance. If it was I’d be breathing easily. Not sure if you watched the same last few of the Democratic debates that I did, but I saw the same things that the writer of [this Boston Globe opinion piece](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/03/16/opinion/bidens-convincing-debate-performance/)saw. > [@](#): > > he came across as someone who knows what must be done and who is familiar enough with the levers of the federal government to get it done. … Biden was confident and at ease, his knowledge and experience on full display. By [objective metrics](https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/biden-sanders-debate-poll/) as well he picked up support after that one on one against Sanders. And his solid performance just before South Carolina, when he had been pretty much written off by many, was a large portion of what got him the nomination. Obama level? No. Not even close. But solid and with a lack of polish that actually appeals to many who want to sense authenticity more than caring too much about what is being said. It is the interesting contrast to HRC. She is a far superior intellect than either Biden or Trump. And I believe she authentically cares. But she did not exude authenticity, in debates more giving the opposite impression, false as it may have been. Biden, verbal missteps and odd metaphors all, exudes that this is his real self. One on one debate Biden will do just fine. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536/66 "2020-06-17T02:59:02Z")
Just to make even clearer. Trump lost every debate against Clinton [by polling results](https://www.cnn.com/2016/10/19/politics/hillary-clinton-wins-third-presidential-debate-according-to-cnn-orc-poll/index.html) anyway. Trump losing debates just did not matter enough, did not alter votes much. Trump also has already laid the groundwork for [refusing to participate](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/12/us/politics/trump-presidential-debate-democrat.html) …because debates are unfair to him. > [@](#): > > Dec. 12, 2019 > > WASHINGTON — President Trump is discussing with his advisers the possibility of sitting out the general election debates in 2020 because of his misgivings about the commission that oversees them, according to two people familiar with the discussions. > > Mr. Trump has told advisers that he does not trust the Commission on Presidential Debates … > > … In the 2016 general election debates, Mr. Trump repeatedly complained about being at a disadvantage to Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee. And the post-debate polls showed Mr. Trump had good reason to be concerned: Mr. Trump and Ms. Clinton were essentially tied in the polls going into the first debate, but she received a bump after each of the three face-to-face matchups. > > A Gallup poll conducted after the third debate, for instance, found that 60 percent of viewers thought Ms. Clinton did a better job, while 31 percent chose Mr. Trump. > > After his performance in one of the debates was panned, Mr. Trump blamed a “defective mic” and questioned whether it was done “on purpose” to put him at a disadvantage. … > > … Former Clinton aides said they expected Mr. Trump to participate in at least one 2020 debate, despite the president’s hints that he would refuse. “Not doing any would not be strategically smart,” said Philippe Reines, a longtime Clinton adviser, who predicted that “he’ll bluff that he won’t do any with the goal of only having to do one.” Trump will avoid debating as best he can. Even if he is polling in the dumpster. Outrageous lies that “he hears people asking about …” and passing on “people say …” and other many completely false claims … made to crowds that eat it up. That’s where he has his chance to shine and to win. ---
**Author:** ![GulfTiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e79b87/32.png) [@GulfTiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GulfTiger)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536/67 "2020-06-17T13:36:20Z")
If the debate is done from remote locations, you could use deep-fake technology and have Obama field the questions while it appears that Biden is doing the answering. That might be the just the ticket for getting raisin-brain Biden through it. ---
**Author:** ![putnam6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/putnam6/32/4082_2.png) [@putnam6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/putnam6)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536/68 "2020-07-28T00:52:16Z")
CNN’s Joe Lockhart seems to agree in his op-ed piece. [https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/27/opinions/biden-trump-presidential-election-lockhart/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/27/opinions/biden-trump-presidential-election-lockhart/index.html) I’m not so sure the optics of avoiding debates would look good? Is he really that bad off that he can’t handle Trump for 2 hours? The media will give him softball questions all he needs to do is point out Trump’s lies and he should breeze through. Refusing to debate just adds to the weak and frail right narrative ---
**Author:** ![putnam6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/putnam6/32/4082_2.png) [@putnam6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/putnam6)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536/69 "2020-07-28T01:44:08Z")
this just in… The first presidential debate, scheduled for Sept. 29, will now be held in Cleveland. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536/70 "2020-08-31T02:49:36Z")
\*Checks thread for a pulse Nope. Not quite dead yet so not a zombie. It appears that Pelosi agrees with you and generally your reasoning. [USA TODAY](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/08/27/2020-election-pelosi-says-there-shouldnt-any-trump-biden-debates/5644923002/) > President Donald Trump has sunk so low that former Vice President Joe Biden should not even “legitimize” him by debating him in the presidential election, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday. > … > She explained she did not think “the president of the United States has comported himself in a way that anybody should, and has any association with truth, evidence, data, and facts,” and as a result, any debate with him would just be an “exercise in skullduggery” by Trump. The rebuttal theory of course being that she’s worried that Joe might be having a bad night and start spouting more word salad that he is famous for. I honestly don’t see any face saving way out of it now that he has already agreed to take part in three presidential debates before the November election. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536/71 "2020-08-31T03:30:40Z")
People are forgetting that a debate is pretty much the only remaining venue where Trump will appear where he does not already own the room. He will be fact-checked and pushed back on not only by Biden but the moderators too. (Debate moderators have not been stellar at this as a rule, but the recent examples of TV journalists asking Trump harder questions than formerly leads me to think they’re not going to roll over for Trump every single time.) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536/72 "2020-08-31T03:41:36Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > I honestly don’t see any face saving way out of it now that he has already agreed to take part in three presidential debates before the November election. He has to do it and Trump will obviously be a disaster. I think if Biden just plays things straight, it will not make a blip either way in the polls. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536/73 "2020-08-31T12:56:02Z")
OK, but Trump is always a disaster and he always benefits from it. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536/74 "2020-08-31T13:07:35Z")
Trump isn’t trying to win a debate; he’s trying to project an image of power. At the same time, Biden also has to do the same. Debates are not at all about substance; they’re about whether people look comfortable, look the part. I think that Pelosi and others urging Biden not to debate Trump doesn’t help Biden. If anything, people might assume that Biden is ducking Trump. In any case, Biden seems committed to debating so it’s probably not even an issue at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536/75 "2020-08-31T14:39:54Z")
If Trump is such an obvious liar and a terrible debater, not debating makes you looks incredibly weak. He is a very well-known entity and Biden should be able to prepare for him. This refusal to debate on moral stances sounds like a tacit acceptance of Biden’s inability to confront him one-on-one. Trump may be a liar and self-absorbed and pathetic, but you never see the prolonged “ummm, ahh, well, it’s like” of Biden. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536/76 "2020-08-31T15:00:02Z")
They’re both bad debaters, for their own reasons: Biden tends to ramble; Trump tends to spew bullshit. The one trailing in the polls is generally the one who’s the most eager to debate – so does Biden stand anything to gain by debating Trump? Ostensibly he could expose his lies, but at this point there’s nothing left to expose. The only reason to proceed – and they will – is because they’re expected and Biden would look weak if he cancels. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536/77 "2020-08-31T15:17:37Z")
> [@Crane](#): > > OK, but Trump is always a disaster and he always benefits from it. He only benefits when he’s in a friendly arena like a campaign rally or the RNC. He looks terrible when he faces any pressure, like a press briefing or an interview. A debate is the kind of situation Trump does poorly at; one where he doesn’t control the questions. Biden’s not a great debater but anyone could beat Trump in a debate. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536/78 "2020-08-31T16:10:18Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > but anyone could beat Trump in a debate. Like anyone could beat Trump in a presidential campaign? That is literally the mindset that put him in office in 2016. So please, carry on! ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536/79 "2020-08-31T16:13:42Z")
One bit of advice I’d give to Biden is to keep responses short and sweet, and keep hammering away at the same easy-to-understand themes. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that he has to give detailed explanations. He’s not trying to win a debate tournament; he’s trying to remind millions of simple-minded dolts at home why Trump is such a fucking disaster. He needs to bring crayons and paper. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536/80 "2020-08-31T16:32:30Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > Like anyone could beat Trump in a presidential campaign? That is literally the mindset that put him in office in 2016. I’ll admit I didn’t think anyone was stupid enough to actually vote for Donald Trump. And people proved me wrong. Of course it helped him that he only needed to finish in second place to be declared the winner. But nobody is laughing at Trump this year. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-biden-should-bother-debating-trump/855536.md?page=5)