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Wow! Is there really any other way to sum up last night’s debate? In the early hours of the morning after, I don’t even know how to start processing what we witnessed. Before attempting however, my disclaimer is that after sitting through last night’s event, I turned off the news, watched an episode of NCIS, then went to bed. I have no idea how the talking heads spun their summaries or how the print media misrepresented truth, but here’s my impressions.
I don’t like Chris Wallace, never have. He has a great voice, but whenever I listen to him interview someone a smugness comes through his demeaner dripping with condescension that’s just off-putting. That being said, I thought Mr. Wallace was well prepared, had equally challenging questions of both candidates, and he did as well as anyone could at trying to maintain control and decorum. He did allow his political biases to seep into the conversation and it seemed at times he was debating the President. I also felt multiple times that Wallace did not press Biden or push him to provide an actual answer. I grade Chris Wallace a C-.
Joe Biden had two goals in last night’s debate, 1) to survive and 2) to minimize gaffes. On both counts, Mr. Biden succeeded. It was clear from the onset President Trump was trying to provoke Biden and at several key moments it appeared that he had. Mr. Biden was clearly frustrated and angry at times, but he did not unravel. On the substance side, I learned absolutely nothing about candidate Biden and where he stands on any issue or what he would do as president and that was disappointing. I did however learn that he is the Democratic party so I can conclude that everything going on with Democratic mayors and governors in lockdown states and cities under siege is happening under his command, and that is unfortunate.
Biden was quick to criticize President Trump on every topic, but not once did he offer any concrete details of what he’d do different. He offered no plan for the nation on any topic and dodged any attempts by the moderator for specificity. Regarding the Biden scandal’s, including his role in the 2016 attempted coup, conspiring with China and Russia, and taking bribes from Ukraine and Moscow, he had no defense. I thought it was odd that he challenged Trump to “play the tape” when we’ve all seen the tape of him bragging about blackmailing Ukrainian officials to do his bidding. While the back and forth between Biden and Trump was equally ugly on both sides, Biden was the only one to resort to personal insults.
Mr. Biden had the best line of the night when he quoted an expression his father used to say, “Don’t compare me to God, compare me to the alternative,” which I take to mean his campaign position is apparently, “better the devil you know.”
Overall I was disappointed in Biden, not for how he chose to hold his own against Trump, but because he refuses to tell us how he would govern and what he’d do. He did admit he’ll raise taxes by two trillion dollars. If you understand that corporations pass their taxes onto consumers and that only half of Americans pay taxes, that means Biden intends to burden 160 million Americans with his taxes. If you do the math, that’s an additional $12,500 per year per taxpayer in new taxes if Biden wins the election. On that alone I give him an F as a candidate and a grade on last night’s debate at D-.
As already mentioned, last night’s debate was ugly no matter your political leanings. There’s an old expression that says “never wrestle with a pig, you’ll both get muddy but the pig enjoys it.” President Trump enjoyed last night’s debate. First he got a modicum of revenge on two rivals who have worked hard to destroy his presidency and second, he got to show Americans that he’s still fighting passionately for them. Imagine standing beside a man who attempted to overthrow your government in a failed coup and who seemingly got away with it. Imagine being on stage with a man who confesses to doing the very thing his party falsely impeached you for. Imagine debating a person who personally orchestrated the ruin of your friend and trusted advisor simply to cover up his corruption. Imagine what you would do or how you would conduct yourself.
President Trump was rightfully angry, after four years of made up lies and smears by the Democrat’s any of us would lash out at the man who claims to be the “Democratic Party.” And that is just what Trump did, spent ninety minutes lashing out. He came out swinging with a chip on his shoulder and never relented. He had some things to say regarding his treatment over the past four years by smear-minded politicians and their co-conspirators in the media and President Trump was not in the mood to hold back.
I was disappointed President Trump was not better prepared, he was so focused on his rage he didn’t share his accomplishments in any detail. Why didn’t he talk about what he did in trade, how he got a fair deal with the Chinese, how he renegotiated NAFTA, how he plans to get the nation back on its feet? Why didn’t he brag about his diplomacy, of getting NATO nations to finally pay their share of the costs of defending Europe, or how he’s been nominated for a Noble prize? Why didn’t tout his work in minority areas with justice reform, opportunity zones, and low unemployment? Rage is one thing and I give him his allowance to get things off his chest, but I needed to hear more about his accomplishments; particularly since Biden was so committed to not sharing anything about how he’d govern.
The president tried relentlessly to rattle Biden to get him to melt and Biden never did. Trump staggered Biden several times and I could see Biden was getting tired and confused, but Trump could not pressure Biden into a gaffe. Trump tried repeatedly to tie Biden to Bernie Sanders and on that front, he was successful, especially when he challenged Biden to name one law enforcement organization anywhere in the country who was supporting him. I think Trump successfully laid out his argument about why the election results will be tainted, and given the Democrats have a candidate who actively participated in an attempted coup, how could anyone trust the election results in states where his party is in control?
As a New Mexican, I can tell you voter fraud is rampant and has been for at least the last thirty years. For example, on election night in 2000, George Bush had won NM but the Democrats challenged the results just like they did in Florida. Early on in that attempted coup, NM’s seven electoral votes were considered decisive in determining the next president. Several days after the election, a closet full of ballots were miraculously “discovered” in a closet in Albuquerque that were so overwhelming cast for Al Gore that NM flipped and Gore was declared the winner. Ballot corruption is so blatant in NM, I doubt we’ve ever had a fair election. In 2012, I went to vote on election day and found that someone had already voted for me. I live in a small town where everyone knows everyone so for someone to vote in my place means the poll workers knowingly permitted it. My vote didn’t count that year because a Democrat stole my vote. Voter fraud is rampant and of all the conspiracy theories out there, this one being touted by Trump is one I tend to believe.
Overall Trump did not have a good night. He came across bitter, rageful, and sorry to say, un-Presidential. He needs to be better in the next debate if he wants to sway undecided voters, which there probably are not many left. I grade President Trump a D-.
While all participants in last night’s debate were a disappointment, the real loser was America. I worry about our nation’s future, not only about the aftermath of the election and the chaos that will follow from domestic terrorist like Antifa and BLM, but from the pushback that will most-assuredly occur when the rest of America decides it’s had enough. I have this feeling that once the votes are cast, regardless of whether Trump wins or loses, he will unleash federal law enforcement in cities like Portland and Chicago and finally do what needs to be done. I worry long term about the civil war we are in, and how far our nation will descend before hitting bottom. We are in the throws of a dark moment in history; we have the political class to blame for winding up in the dark and no one but ourselves to figure a way out. We have a choice this election, return the reins of power back to the political class or support the one person in Washington who is not a politician and who continues to fight for America even after four years of brutal and relentless assaults that would have broken most men.
