Page 33 - Florida Sentinel 10-2-20

Political
This was maybe the worst pres- idential debate in American his- tory.
If this was supposed to be a box- ing match, it instead turned into President Trump jumping on the ropes, refusing to come down, the referee trying to coax him off, and Joe Biden standing in the middle of the ring with his gloves on and a confused look on his face.
Trump doesn't play by any- one's rules, even those he's agreed to beforehand. He's prided himself on that. But even by his standards, what Trump did Tuesday night crossed many lines.
More than 200,000 Americans are dead from the coronavirus pandemic. And instead of a seri- ous debate about the direction of the country, Trump sent it off the rails.
Most charitably, both former Republican Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former Re- publican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who helped Trump prep for the debate, said he was "too hot."
"I think the president over- played his hand tonight," Santo-
Trump Derails 1st Presidential Debate With Biden
rum said on CNN.
Here are five takeaways from
the first Trump-Biden debate. 1. Even for Trump, he went too
far
For part of the debate,
Trump looked like he was con- trolling the stage. He interrupted constantly and tried to distract, deflect and interject. That's fairly typical Trump behavior, but a few things in particular were egre- gious.
When Biden, for example, was talking about his late son Beau's military service, Trump went in on Biden's other son, Hunter, and brought up his past cocaine use. It backfired.
Biden, looking directly to the camera, turned something he rarely talks about into a positive, sympathetic moment.
"My son, like a lot of people you know at home, he had a drug problem," Biden said. "He's over- taken it. He's fixed it. He's worked on it. And I'm proud of him."
What's more, Trump would not urge his followers to remain peaceful as votes are counted, in- cluding if there are delays in re-
Biden disavowed policies the Trump campaign has tried to lasso to him.
President Trump ran roughshod over debate moderator Chris Wallace and his Democratic opponent Joe Biden — and crossed many lines in the process.
porting the results. Later, when Trump was asked to denounce white supremacists and militia groups — and specifically the far- right extremist group Proud Boys — he instead said this: "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by." And then he denounced left-wing groups. (Proud Boys is now using Trump's words as part of a new logo.)
"I'm urging my supporters to go into the polls and watch very care- fully because that's what has to happen," Trump said, adding, "If it's a fair election, I am 100% on
That might have harmed Biden with the progressive left, particularly when it comes to the Green New Deal, if Trump had- n't gone quite so Trump.
board. If I see tens of thousands of ballots being manipulated, I can't go along with that."
More than 200,000 Americans have died from COVID-19, and coronavirus cases are spiking again in some parts of the coun- try.
2. Trump likely did nothing to expand beyond his base
And yet Trump's tactic when defending himself on his manage- ment of the pandemic was to in- sult Biden's smarts.
Trump's base will probably love his performance. But coming into the debate, Trump was be- hind in the polls. That's no secret.
"He panicked or just looked at the stock market, one of the two, because guess what?" Biden said. "A lot of people died and a lot more are going to die unless he gets a lot smarter a lot quicker."
He needed to try to win back suburban and independent vot- ers, both of whom he won in 2016 and who have largely abandoned him this cycle.
Trump repeated his "law and order" appeal to white, suburban voters and tried to force Biden to repeat the words. But Biden did- n't take the bait and pivoted, call- ing for "law and order with justice where people are treated fairly." So who was this performance for exactly?
Trump's response?
"Did you use the word 'smart?' "
Biden just restated his posi- tions, and they all line up with the middle of the electorate, far more than Trump's policy positions do.
5. Trump's response on his handling of COVID-19 was more of the same
And Biden said this about Trump and the nature of his ap- peal.
Trump said he disagreed with his own experts on a vaccine time- line, insisting it would soon be widely available. But making rosy assertions to the public is exactly what got him in trouble after Bob Woodward's latest book, Rage, revealed that Trump privately knew the virus was worse than he let on publicly.
"He wouldn't know a suburb unless he took a wrong turn," Biden said. "I was raised in the suburbs. This is not 1950. All these dog whistles and racism don't work anymore. Suburbs are by and large integrated."
He tried to claim Biden would have made the pandemic worse. "Two million would be dead now," he said.
3. Trump tried to tie Biden to the far left, but it didn't work
Trump tried his darndest to paint Biden as a socialist, or at least beholden to the "radical left." But on issue after issue — "Medicare for All," defunding the police, the Green New Deal —
But Trump is president, and, on average, a majority of Ameri- cans say they disapprove of the job he's doing handling the coron- avirus.
Trump asked rhetorically, adding, "You graduated either the lowest or almost the lowest in your class. Don't ever use the word 'smart' with me."
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