Trump’s debate showing? He didn’t burn the house.
Hello, I ama political pundit whowatched the final presidential debate before theNovember election, and Iwould like to sharewith youmy expert analysis of President Donald Trump’s performance.
Overall, the president did well Thursday night, in that he did not projectile vomit on former Vice President Joe Biden or unleash a swarm of murder hornets on moderator Kristen Welker ofNBCNews.
Trumpwas able to speak in sentences thatwere audible and occasionally complete, and in an obvious nod to swing-state voters, he at no point poured gasoline on the stage, lit amatch and ran away shouting, “Burn, you (expletives), I’ll see you in (expletive)!”
Demonstrating a striking change in tone fromthe first presidential debate, Trump did not come across as a writhing, angry body inhabited by the spirit of CharlesManson. Instead, he took on the more affable demeanor of a writhing, angry body inhabited by the spirit of CharlesManson on a day whenManson didn’t interrupt people quite so much.
Granted, when asked about his handling of the coronavirus pandemic at a time when cases are surging in most states in the country, Trump said:“We’re rounding the turn, we’re rounding the corner. It’s going away.”
But any criticism of that statement should take into account the indisputable fact that, as hewas speaking, the president did not pull a baseball bat fromunder his podium and start assaulting baby ducks. Fairness demands I award that round to Trump.
When the moderator turned to the subject of immigration, one could argue Trumpwould have been better lighting his hair on fire and running into the sea. But thatwould be an unfair assessment, because the debate was held inNashville and the nearest ocean is about a sevenhour drive away.
Welker brought up the gutwrenching fact that more than 500 children whowere separated fromtheir parents at the border under Trump’s own policy still haven’t been reunited.
On the one hand, that’s an unspeakably cruel act, a stain on the fabric of America that will neverwash out. On the other hand, Trump cleverly avoided showing a lick of compassion and said this: “Children are brought here by coyotes and lots of bad people. Cartels. And they’re brought here and they used to use them to get into our country.”
That is a strong response. It is factually incorrect, willfully misleading and generally gross, but definitely strong. So again, it’s hard to argue that this hurts the president, at least among voters who enjoy the idea of children being terrorized by the U.S. government.
Trump also said that only immigrants “with the lowest IQ” showup to asylum hearings. To the untrained ear, thatmay sound wildly insulting and transparently racist, the kind of thought that could only wriggle out froman emotionless mind that views life as an unending series of transactions. But it’s worth noting that it is also a lie. So…well, anyway, let’s get to the next topic.
Health care! This is where the president really shined, because he said he absolutely wants to see Obamacare struck down by theU.S. Supreme Court, something thatwould take health care away from about 20 million Americans in the midst of a pandemic. Now that may sound bad, but the president made clear he has a plan that hewon’t explain to you.
“I’d like to terminate Obamacare and come up with a brand-new beautiful health care,” Trump said.
OK, that sounds a bit vague, particularly since Trump has been promising this beautiful plan for four years, but the president swiftly redeemed himself by saying: “The Democrats will do it because therewill be tremendous pressure on them, andwe might even have the House by that time, and I think we’re going to win theHouse, OK?”
Sure, that might sound like a sentence created by an randomword generator dissatisfiedwith its lot in life. Or the ramblings of a person who fell down the stairs a few too many times. But as Trump spoke, he did not murder a single busload of nuns, so his commitment to the health of all Americanswas clear.
In conclusion, Trump lied so much that 27 fact-checkers had to be hospitalized, he insulted immigrants, he declared to a Black moderator that hewas “the least racist person in the room,” he shrugged off children orphaned by his own administration’s policies and he parroted a slew of hackneyed conspiracy theories about Biden and his family that only make sense if you run a chapter of the SeanHannity Fan Club.
But, importantly, President Trump did not, at any point, drop his pants and run across the stage screaming “BENGHAZI!!!” while injecting bleach into his arm. So you have to give credit where credit is due.
Bottom line: The debatewas a clear victory for Trump. Something he and his supporters knewwell before the whole thing started.