That sickening thud you heard was jaws dropping to the floor. That sickening sound you heard was hearts sinking into boots. That hoarse noise you heard was that of a US president embodying what seemed to be the struggling republic’s last gasp.
Tell me it’s not like that, Joe.
The first US presidential debate in Atlanta on Thursday was the night Democrats went from “Don’t panic!” to “OK, time to panic!” After months of preparation and anticipation, they arrived at the altar and suddenly realized they were marrying the wrong man.
In 90 miserable minutes, Joe Biden I achieved two things that seemed impossible. He lived up to expectations that were already at rock bottom. And he managed to do it donald trump sound almost coherent. Trump didn’t win the debate, but Biden certainly lost it.
There was a suitably mournful silence as the president, wearing a blue tie and flag pin, and Trump, wearing a red tie and flag pin, entered CNN’s red, white and blue studio. This was the first presidential debate without an audience since John F. Kennedy v Richard Nixon in 1960 (these two candidates had a combined age of 90; this time they had a combined age of 159).
Journalists in Atlanta were forced to watch on TV like everyone else. But the men’s mutual animosity and contempt oozed across the screen. It was clear that neither of them was thinking about shaking the other’s hand.
Democrats were lulled into a false sense of security by Biden’s high-energy performance in the State of the Union address. They expected Superman again. Instead, they got Clark Kent in his old age.
The crisis became clear almost as soon as Biden opened his mouth. His voice was hoarse and difficult to hear. Clear your throat, man! Later, his team stated that he had a cold. Or was he overprepared?
At first he fumbled: “We have 1,000 trillionaires in America – I mean billionaires in America.” Then: “… making sure that we’re able to make every single person eligible for what I’ve been able to do with – with – with – with Covid. Excuse me from dealing with everything we have to do with…”
His voice trailed off. “Look, if – we finally beat Medicare.”
Trump lashed out: “Well, he’s right. He beat Medicare. He beat him to death.”
Trump is only three years younger, but he is a creature of television. When Biden spoke, the former president, his hair hovering above his head like a bright cloud, could be seen frowning, pursing his lips or speeding up to respond. But when Trump spoke, the white-haired Biden stared off into the distance, his mouth open, looking as weak and fragile as the democracy that now rests on his shoulders.
It was a Greek tragedy because the Biden campaign pushed for this debate, the longest-running in history, to “drag Trump into Americans’ living rooms” and wake them up to the threat. They established rules, including muted microphones and no studio audience, which seemed to backfire and work to the opponent’s advantage.
The restrictions have helped Trump remain relatively controlled and disciplined, at least by his own epically low standards. He didn’t constantly interrupt like he did in the first debate in 2020. He didn’t play to a crowd and get carried away with crazy stories about sharks.
Not that Trump should be off the hook. This was an unwatchable debate between an old man who couldn’t finish a sentence and an old man who couldn’t tell the truth. It was Rip Van Winkle versus Pinocchio.
Biden couldn’t resist Trump’s lies. But so did CNN moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. This gave the impression that Trump’s falsehoods carried as much weight as Biden’s facts, especially for viewers who are just paying attention to the election. Let’s hope Democrats use this argument to divert attention from the failings of their own men.
More than an hour after the debate, when most people had already tuned out and gone to bed, CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale went on the air and said that Biden had made nine false claims, while Trump had made 30. of Trump included some Democratic states that wanted people to execute babies after birth; the USA currently records the largest budget deficit ever; Biden receiving lots of money from China; no terrorist attacks during the Trump presidency; Biden wanting to quadruple taxes; the US provides much more aid to Ukraine than to Europe; Nancy Pelosi turned down Trump’s offer of 10,000 National Guard troops on January 6; “ridiculous fraud” in the 2020 elections; NATO closing its doors before becoming president; Biden indicting him; his tax cut was the biggest in history.
First impressions — and viral clips — are everything, so voters will forget that as the debate progressed, Biden gradually became stronger in style and substance. He opted for Trump’s character: “The only person on this stage who is a convicted felon is this man I’m looking at right now.”
Angry and scowling, Biden insisted: “My son was not a loser, he was not a sucker. You’re the sucker, you’re the loser.”
And again: “How many billions of dollars do you owe in civil penalties for molesting a woman in public, for doing a series of things, for having sex with a porn star at night – and while your wife was pregnant? I mean, what are you talking about? You have the morals of a stray cat.”
Trump responded: “I didn’t have sex with a porn star, number one.” An immortal phrase, never before spoken in a presidential debate. Carve in marble!
Related: The Trump-Biden debate likely amplified Americans’ dismay over the election
Biden and Trump debated which of them is the worst president in history. And who is the best golfer? Trump boasted: “I just won two club championships, not even seniors, two regular club championships. To do this, you have to be very smart and be able to hit the ball from far away. And I do that. He doesn’t do that. He can’t hit a ball from 50 meters. He challenged me to a game of golf. He hasn’t hit a ball in 50 years.”
Biden responded: “Look, I would be happy to do a driving competition with him. I took my handicap, which, when I was vice president, dropped to six. And by the way, I already told you that I would be happy to play golf if you carried your own bag. Think you can do this?”
Trump: “That’s the biggest lie that he has a six handicap, ever.”
Biden: “I had an eight-year disadvantage.”
Trump: “Yes.”
Biden: “Eight, but I have – do you know how many…”
Trump: “I saw your swing, I know your swing.”
As Bash tried to intervene, Trump said, “We’re not going to act like children.” Biden replied: “You are a child.”
It is telling that, once the horror show was over, it was Trump’s surrogates who flooded the media center’s “rotation zone”. Standing on a bright red carpet on what is normally a basketball court, former Housing Secretary Ben Carson said of Biden: “I really felt sorry for him. He struggled to find answers. He was trying to remember the things he was told.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said, “I think President Trump has been strong and coherent and I think President Biden has been weak and confused for the most part. What began as a political debate turned into a debate about capabilities… It is very difficult to believe that President Biden can continue this work.”
After a while, Biden surrogates emerged, including California Governor Gavin Newsom and his beaming smile. It is still highly unlikely that he will be the Democratic nominee in November. But a little less unlikely than it used to be.
