Over half of the adults in America will be watching the war of words between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump tonight. The two debated in 2020 and regardless of who you think won the debates, Joe Biden won the election.
President Biden and former President Trump are polar opposites, not just politically, but also in terms of temperament. Trump is aggressive and Biden is passive. Will President Biden be the “fiery” Biden we saw during the State Of The Union address in January, or will he appear to struggle for an answer to a question? Will former President Trump try to talk over his muted mic when his time is up, or will he control his hot temperament? These are a few of the questions that give tonight’s debate the characteristics of a verbal version of watching NASCAR and that’s why people will be watching or tuned in on WWL.
And now, for the BIG question: Who will win the debate tonight? And does it matter?
Trump has already won the debate with the MAGAites and the right-wing radicals. They will look for any moment in the debate to show why Trump won and even if Trump is a disaster like he was in the first debate in 2020, the groundwork has already been laid that CNN will not be fair to Trump and he was put in an impossible situation.
It has been fascinating to watch the groundwork being laid for Trump’s possible failure in the debate tonight. There are countless examples, but here is one that exemplifies the many. Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt was appearing on CNN with host Kasie Hunt. Leavitt condemned the CNN-appointed moderators, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, as incapable of being fair and unbiased in the questioning of Donald Trump. When Hunt tried to move on, Leavitt continued the relentless bashing of Tapper and Bash, and Hunt essentially ended the interview. By ending the interview, Trump’s followers were quick to hit social media with the narrative that CNN host Kasie Hunt shut down an interview with a Trump spokesperson and would not allow her to express her views on the upcoming debate. Of course, that was a false narrative - it was fake news - but that didn’t stop Trump’s loyalists from promoting the idea that CNN is incapable of being unbiased when it comes to Trump.
I can recall presidential debates hosted by Fox News with Fox News-appointed moderators, and the Fox hosts asked tough, pointed questions of Trump or other Republicans. The first debate of 2020 was September 29 hosted by Fox News and moderated by Chris Wallace, who at the time was with Fox News. Wallace hit both Biden and Trump with tough questions. The idea that Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will be blatantly biased toward President Biden is not backed by precedent or facts and there is every reason to believe that Biden and Trump will be hit with many challenging questions tonight.
President Biden will have his supporters watching and listening tonight and there is little he can do to change the victory that he has already won in their minds. Biden supporters will be looking for any reason to declare Trump lost and to point out that his temperament is a threat to democracy.
So for most tuned into the debate tonight - Biden and Trump have already been declared the winners in the hearts and minds of their supporters, who will be looking for confirmation that they have made the right choice.
However, there will be a small percentage of Americans watching tonight who really don’t know who they are voting for. They don’t like either candidate, but they are looking for the candidate that seems to be less of a threat to the country over the next four years. For this group, the performances of Biden and Trump will be significant.
There are uncertainties about tonight’s debate that make it must-see TV for political junkies. Which Biden will show up? Will Biden attack Trump? Will Trump maintain control for 90 minutes? How will Trump react to no live audience? How will his answers be received when they are followed by silence rather than cheering?
Watching tonight’s debate will be like watching NASCAR - it’s not that you want a fiery wreck to happen - but you want to be watching just in case one does happen.
