I had been looking forward to this debate for months, and it was like camping out for a new iPhone only to have dog shit thrown in your face.
Trump did the “Gish Gallop” - the debate technique of just repeating a bunch of weak points at high speed so that your opponent cannot answer all of them - whether he knew it or it’s just the core essence of his being. He was vocally combative not just during his turn, but during Biden’s turn…when moderator Chris Wallace was trying to ask questions…and probably when Melania came up to him afterwards. The conspiracy theories, personal attacks, ludicrous boasts and complaints familiar to every comments-section meathead in America turned the debate into not really a debate so much as what happens when a tornado hits a manure farm.
Did it come across as strong that he stayed on the offensive? Did it turn off people outside his base? Or just make people change the channel? As someone who can’t read interviews with still-undecided voters without screaming at the Washington Post app, I can’t claim to be in touch with the pulse of Swing Vote America.
As a strong Biden supporter, though, I was disappointed that he neither delivered the right cross so many of us wanted to see Trump get - or asserted himself as a statesman above the noise.
He had a few strong moments, when he addressed the camera directly and spoke refreshingly tight and rehearsed lines (one of the few times “refreshing” and “rehearsed” go in the same sentence). He spoke about the sanctity of voting and about how he wasn’t there to talk about Trump’s family or Biden’s family, but “your family.” When he just said “would you shut up, man?” after Trump serially interrupted him, he channeled the id of so many at home.
But he also failed to allay concerns about his age. When doubters would trot out the “he’s in cognitive decline” argument, I’d always pointed to his debate performances against Bernie or energetic speeches after primary victories as showing what he was capable of outside 15-second clips from the Daily Wire. Unfortunately, tonight he seemed rattled by the pressure and Trump’s behavior. He often spoke in awkward and contorted sentences, possibly to avoid stuttering, and looked lost for words when asked to name a law enforcement agency that supported him (missing a chance to mention he could name a few that were investigating Trump). At other times he contradicted himself, saying he didn’t support the Green New Deal and then talking about how great the Green New Deal was before clarifying that he didn’t support the version Trump was referring to.
He also failed to make some obvious arguments. When Trump decided to argue the 180-degree opposite of what Republicans said about Merrick Garland, asserting the President always had the right to confirm a Supreme Court justice in an election year, Biden inexplicably didn’t even mention the hypocrisy. When Trump yelled law and Order over and over, Biden barely grazed the cornucopia of illegal behavior in Trump’s own administration.
One strategic move for him that may or may not pay off for Biden was a move to the center--saying people who commit violence at protests should be prosecuted, complimenting Amy Coney Barrett, and defending the suburbs. Trump continually needled him as being afraid to stand up to the left, and I think he convincingly blunted that, but will it prevent some reluctant supporters from voting for him? I would guess Biden stands to gain more from suburban voters than he does lose from leftists, given Trump’s threat to Democracy and embrace of police brutality has pushed most liberals who don't love Biden to still vote against Trump.
We’ll see a comparison of strategies, as Trump took the opposite approach: by being the Trumpiest Trump that ever yelled about Antifa through a face the size of a jack-o-lantern. Will Trump declining to fully condemn white supremacists, accept that climate change is serious or follow the guidance of his own health chiefs lose him swing voters?
It’s been said you can tell who won the debate by watching with the sound off. And frankly, I’m jealous of anyone who did. I thought Trump controlled the room more and seemed stronger and more persuasive than Biden if you didn’t know or believe much of what he said was false. But he also was very unlikable and embodies the chaos and division that people are angry about; I’d never want to “get a beer with him” in my life.
Update: Instant polls seem to be in Biden’s favor, so perhaps that resolves it and my recap is obsolete an hour after the debate.
But, of course, polls can be off - and the clips that play on TV and social media for the days to come can sometimes be more impactful.
There’s two more debates scheduled. I like Emily Scherer’s idea of having them on Zoom so we can at least mute one. Other than that, though, god help us all.