That was a jaw-drop moment in our house. We looked each at the other in amazement. “Did he really just say that?”
Actually, to be honest, Pence’s boring style holds up well under scrutiny. I expect Harris will get in a few zingers, but Pence won’t be overwhelmed.
Yes, he was giving instructions to neo-nazis on national tv. The leader of the GOP is also the leader of white supremacists in America. That is clear.
I think Wallace handled it as well as he could have, and if anything, his frustration with Trump boiled out into the open, which probably worked against Trump. Wallace is a good moderator, or at least he tries to be.
It’s the format that is the problem. People look at these debates as if they’re a boxing match. The networks want insults. They seem to anticipate and look forward to the trash talk and one-liners. The format is what needs to change, or they just need to be scrapped altogether. Campaigns - and I think Biden’s should have - stop treating them like they’re an obligatory part of the process. They shouldn’t be obligatory unless the two candidates standing side-by-side format changes. They should cut off the mic of the person who’s not talking. It should be a Q&A, with questions coming from reporters/moderators, members of the public, and the candidates themselves. They should then be given a chance to respond with the opponent’s mic shut completely off. The campaigns should agree on a fact-checking organization that can challenge the legitimacy of claims in real time.
The current format of debates, like the conventions themselves, is not in any informative or helpful to democracy; it’s quite harmful, and campaigns need to stop agreeing to participate until changes are made.
As for the debate itself, to be absolutely clear, I never thought Trump even came close to winning in terms of substance, but I was concerned at first that he was rattling Biden and knocking him off balance. Trump wanted to make Biden look less presidential, which was somewhat effective in the beginning.
But fortunately, Trump was so far over the top, he over-played that hand. His repeated interruptions were called out by Chris Wallace, to the point where even when I thought Trump might have ‘scored’ a point, he lost it right back by being an out-of-control a-hole. The low-light for Trump was when he started attacking Biden’s son - not for Burisma but for his service and drug problems. Only the true fanboys who love watching other people in pain enjoyed that one.
I also thought Biden began to react better to Trump’s batshittery and he started speaking and reacting more fluidly. If anyone watched the entire debate, it’s clear that Biden was the winner not only in terms of substance but also personal style.
I think that there was zero point in Biden trying to score on Trump. What I think he had to do was look like an adult and let Trump look like the raving lunatic he is. I thought Biden did ok on that front, not great.
This morning, most people are talking about Trumps white supremacy and mental state. Even his base are saying things like “both of them bickered too much,” that’s pretty extreme criticism of Dear Leader for them.
I thought having the candidates wear electric shock collars might be good.
Moderator: Can you tell the white supremacists to stop the violence?
Trump: Yeah…
Biden, moderator, couch potatoes: DO IT!
Trump: Proud Boys, stand by.
Great idea, with one modification. Start out with no collar, and the third time the candidate ignores the moderator, then put the collar on that candidate.
I’m not a Trump fan and regardless how I feel about him as a person, I think Chris Wallace should have called out Biden for telling POTUS to shut up. And a clown. This is the guy who wants to bring Respect back to the position.?
Concur. Pence did well against Kaine, who never laid a glove on him.
Not a good sign for Trump when even the NY Post is saying Trump stumbled and Trump had a bad plan.
I can’t imagine how upset you must have been when Trump called Clinton a nasty woman during their debate.
Until the day someone does that, the current office deserves no respect.
Well, I feel justified for not watching. I suspected it was going to be absolutely disgraceful, and it sounds like it was. My evening was much more enjoyable re-watching season 5 of Schitt’s Creek.
Regarding mute buttons: I don’t see what good that would do if they’re both in the same studio. It seems like Trump’s verbal diarrhea is meant to trip up Biden and prevent him from giving coherent answers. Muting his mic isn’t going to prevent him from talking over Biden to throw him off.
CBS did a poll immediately post debate. They did not state the audience or numbers, “the Internet”(?), but likely do so elsewhere. Some 70 pct were “annoyed” by the debate, a surprising 17 pct were “informed”. The winner was proportional to the coming election result - 47% Biden, 41% Trump, 10% “Do we have any Naproxen left?”.
As I mentioned in the other debate thread, even Rasumussen has Trump’s approval rating down since last week.
She wasn’t POTUS .its not the person it’s the position.
So, I was wrong about Biden. he was coherent. I’ve read that people were claiming they should turn off the microphones when their opponent is speaking. I have also read a sign language person say he saw many signs Trump was lying. What can I say? Even Santorum said trump should’ve renounced the supremisists, and didn’t because they are his supporters.
So former US Senator, former first lady, former secretary of state don’t matter?
I get your point, but I disagree.
On one hand, yeah, Biden had a moment or two where he lost his cool, but how cool and composed is someone supposed to be when they’re being mugged? I mean that’s what the issue boils down to. Biden started the debate in good faith, but he already saw it was turning into a train wreck because Trump was deliberately trying to interrupt - something the moderator, Chris Wallace, pointed out multiple times. Trump tried to suckerpunch Biden - not literally of course, but in terms of the debate itself.
Believing that Biden or any of Trump’s targets are somehow bound by the norms of decency and professional decorum while Trump’s only sanction is a slap on the wrist in the form of “Gee, that’s unfortunate. I wish Trump wouldn’t have done that, but Biden’s bad, too” is not a valid or genuine argument to make.