As soon as Fox News started to trumpet the idea that Joe Biden would be on drugs at the debate, everyone should have known what was coming.
The narrative is set now: Trump was strong; Biden is weak. Biden’s voice was raspy; Trump’s was strong. Trump spoke with confidence; Biden was tentative.
Everything that came out of Trump’s mouth was a lie. Every word. Trump just used his rally speech as debate answers. But because there was no fact-checking, the lies have now found their way into the mainstream. Every media outlet, particularly Fox News, will be crowing about this debate because truth just doesn’t have a place in politics anymore.
If anyone was on drugs, it was Trump, on Adderall possibly. Or maybe just a lot of Diet Pepsi.
Biden got some hits in, but because his voice was hoarse, he sounded weak. And there was a moment right at the beginning where he flat-out glitched.
Things that frustrated me: Trump speaking multiple times for Putin and Biden never calling him out on it. Trump lying about literally everything and Biden trying to fire back with facts, even when it came to his golf handicap.
Moments I appreciated: In the video above, Biden calling Trump a whiner, getting Trump flustered, and earlier when he called Trump a liar.
I thought this debate was a good idea when it was first proposed. Now I think Biden shouldn’t have lowered himself, because it just raised Trump’s profile.
Here’s the transcript of Biden hitting Trump on his refusal to answer the question of whether he will accept the 2024 results:
BASH: The question was, will you accept the results of the election, regardless of who wins, yes or no, please?
TRUMP: If it’s a fair and legal and good election, absolutely. I would have much rather accepted these. But the the fraud and everything else was ridiculous. And if you want, we’ll have a news conference on it in a week, or we’ll have another one of these on in a week. But I will absolutely there’s nothing I’d rather do. It would be much easier for me to do that than I’m running again.
I wasn’t really going to run until I saw the horrible job he did. He’s destroying our country. I would be very happy to be someplace else in a nice location someplace. And again, no indictments, no political opponent stuff, because it’s the only way he thinks he can win.
But unfortunately, it’s driven up my numbers and driven up to a very high level because the people understand it.
BIDEN: Let’s see what your numbers are in this election is over. Let’s see.
You’re a whiner. When you lost the first time you said you continued, you appealed and appealed the courts all across the country. Not one single court in America said any of your claims have any merit, state or local.
None.
But you continue to provoke this lie about somehow there’s all this misrepresentation, all this stealing. There’s no evidence of that at all.
And I tell you what, I doubt whether you’ll accept it because you’re such a whiner.
The idea if you lose again, you accepted anything.You can’t stand the loss.
Something snapped in you when you lost the last time.
I’ll see you in the next one.
UPDATE: Jamison Foser asks the key question: What do you want this debate to be about?
He has an answer, and it’s a damn good one:
