Shrouded in the repetition of rhetoric, there were a few breakthrough moments in last night’s final debate between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger former Vice President Joe Biden.
Whether it was the muting of microphones during segments of uninterrupted responses from the candidates or pressure from his closest advisers, President Trump’s demeanor behind the podium was a stark contrast to the interrupting bullish behavior in the first debate. The result was the audience - the voters - witnessed a more civilized exchange between Trump and Biden.
There were moments when President Trump disrespected a 10 second time limit to respond; but compared to the first debate that is hardly worth mentioning.
Overall, President Trump gave a strong performance and his level of confidence often overpowered a milder Joe Biden. The President was superior in his peering looks at Biden when the former vice president was talking. Trump’s cocked head as Biden spoke can easily be interpreted as total condescension of his opponent. The President also showed superiority when he continually referred to Biden as “Joe.” Biden occasionally called Trump “this guy.”
On the topic of the coronavirus, President Trump said that all Biden wants to do is shut things down. Biden responded saying that he wants to shut down the virus - not businesses.
A gasp moment for Trump came when he called New York as “ghost town.” When Trump made a point to condemn states run by Democrats, Biden pointed out that the current surge in COVID-19 cases is coming from red states.
When Trump challenged Biden on “raking” in money from deals with foreign countries, Biden said that he has not taken any money from foreign governments. Biden also said that his son, Hunter, did nothing wrong and Trump is the one who did wrong when he tried to bribe the Ukranian government to say negative things about the Bidens.
Both candidates failed to present any substantive plans about healthcare in America, but Biden did score after Trump said that he would like to come up with a “beautiful healthcare plan” and Biden said Trump has no plan. There were differing opinions when it came to affordable healthcare with the President insisting that Biden wants socialized medicine; and, of course, Biden defined his plan as offering a public option.
Biden also scored when he talked about the 500+ children who were torn away from their families at the border and the Administration is unable to reunite those children with either parent. But Trump came back with a description of how well the children are cared for, which is debatable.
Trump scored points on the topic of climate change when he pushed Biden to say that Biden would destroy the oil industry. Lower gas prices are good for many across America, but the low cost of oil hurts Louisiana and other fossil fuel producing states. Biden did make a point of saying that he never said he was against fracking and that he will not ban fracking. The rhetoric around that topic is fracked up.
President Trump made the bold statement that, with the exception of Abraham Lincoln, he has done more for blacks in America than any other president. When challenged about his support of the 1994 crime bill, a bill that led to countless black males going to prison on drug charges, Biden admitted that supporting that bill was a “mistake.”
Biden made a point of saying that he no longer believes that individuals should go to jail on drug charges when the real problem is drug addiction.
I doubt many minds were changed, but there is a small percentage of voters that remain undecided. With the race as close as it is, that small percentage could sway the election.
Both candidates had uncomfortable moments, and the real winner lies in the party affiliation of the eyes of the beholder. Biden was sincere; but at times Trump’s energy level made Biden look meek - and that’s not a good look when you’re running for president.
There are probably as many Trump supporters who will vote for Trump even though there are things they don’t like about him as there are Biden voters who will vote for him in spite of things they don’t like about him.
The moderator, Kristen Welker, whom Trump complimented during the debate, did a better job than Chris Wallace in the first debate. When Welker told both candidates that they were running out of time - Biden committed the ultimate debate sin - he looked at his watch!
In 1992, President George H.W. Bush looked at his watch toward the end of his debate with Bill Clinton and the gesture was interpreted as Bush’s eagerness for the debate to end. While Biden’s watch gesture was a little different since it was not random and followed an alert about time, it was still a mistake and gave the impression that Joe was ready to go.
If there was ever a doubt about which candidate was Republican and which was Democrat - all you had to do was notice Trump’s red tie and Biden’s blue tie. At least they made it simple for the less engaged voters.
Eleven days before the election - neither Trump or Biden supporters can be confident their candidate will win - no matter how much they believe they are backing the winner.
