Trump gave Biden ample opportunity to outdo himself. The former president claimed all conflicts over abortion were resolved by overturning Roe and returning the issue to the states, when in fact Roe allowed states to ban or severely restrict abortion. And he lied about Democrats supporting abortion after birth. But Biden missed the point by starting by saying that a “majority of constitutional scholars” supports Roe, and never argued about the imminent danger posed by the repeal of Roe. This was a major missed opportunity on an issue Democrats had hoped would help them win close states.
It’s time for Democrats to tackle Plan B.
by Jeff Jacoby
It was a total disaster from the moment it began.
President Biden entered the CNN studio looking shaky and uncertain. As soon as he began speaking, his voice sounded shaky and uncertain. He jumped from question to question with robotic lethargy, as if hoping the questions would coalesce into a cogent argument. Many of his remarks were bizarre, and some were completely inaudible.
It was a stark contrast to Donald Trump. The rude, ranting, insulting Trump he was during his 2020 debate with Biden was nowhere to be seen. The former president’s answers were clear, coherent and to the point, if not always true or factual. His counterattack was devastating. “I don’t know what I said at the end of that sentence,” he said, after a rambling remark about Biden. “I don’t think he knows what he said either.”
Biden gambled that the early debates would prove he was still going strong and not too old for a second term. That gamble turned out to be a huge mistake. Democrats had better start working on a Plan B.
Trump has leaned heavily into immigration.
by Karine Hajar
Within the first 15 minutes of the debate, Donald Trump declared that immigrants were coming into the country from “prisons, jails and psychiatric hospitals” and that “millions of people are coming in.”[migrants] “Trump rapes and kills women,” he said before the moderator even mentioned immigration, a statement he repeated several times throughout the debate. Trump has been criticized in the past for making such crude generalizations.
But for President Biden, record illegal immigration and a surge in immigration-related crimes over the past few months have made immigration a losing battle. He offered some feeble rebuttals, including blaming Republicans for killing a bipartisan border bill in February and adding, “The Border Patrol stood with me and supported my position.” But that’s not the case. The Border Patrol Coalition supported the bill, but Warned During a visit to the southern border in March, Biden warned them to “keep our name out of your mouth.” Tonight, they posted: “To be clear, we have never endorsed Biden and never will.”
Democracy was supposed to be more than just an election slogan.
by Renee Graham
President Biden has made democracy, and the risks to it, a pillar of his campaign, but in this crucial debate he failed to make a strong case for whether those who vote for Trump are voting against democracy.
Biden and his supporters have repeatedly said “democracy depends on voting.” But instead of using Trump’s own words to condemn the former president as a clear and present threat to the country’s founding principles, Biden spoke about the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 and Trump’s perceived embrace of neo-Nazis.
This was Biden’s chance to make his concerns about the state of American democracy more than just a campaign slogan, but, as was the case so many times in this debate, he inexplicably failed to rise to the occasion.
If Biden looked this old, Trump’s insanity might not be an issue.
by Joan Venochi
Donald Trump said a lot of crazy things during his debate with President Biden.
For example, Nancy Pelosi is responsible for the riots on January 6, 2021. Democrats are radical when it comes to abortion and choosing to have babies who they don’t want executed after birth. Biden “made up the Charlottesville story.” Trump is also the first presidential candidate to say “I don’t have sex with porn stars” during a debate.
But Trump’s insanity may not be the problem: From the start, Biden looked and sounded old, tired and confused — the exact opposite of what he needed to shore up his confidence in his age and intellectual abilities.
Like a predator, Trump sensed a weakness and pounced. One of Trump’s most shocking comments came in response to Biden’s incoherent response: “I don’t know what I said at the end of that sentence, and I don’t think he knows what he said.” In that moment, Trump was probably right.
There’s no question that Biden lost this debate, but given the choice before us, there is also a bigger loser: the country.
Trump has turned foreign policy into a fantasy
by Rachel G. Cohen
In Donald Trump’s world of fact-free nonsense and bombast, the world is a simple place. Midway through the debate, Trump claimed that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine never happened under his administration. Hamas never invaded Israel either. “There was no terrorism under my administration,” he added. And there was more to the fantasy world he was trying to build. Trump vowed that if elected, “I’ll start a war.” [in Ukraine] “We will resolve this before I take office,” he said. It is unclear under what authority this will be done.
President Biden, hoarse-voiced and often slurring his words, at least mostly stuck to the facts when he fired back. “Putin is a war criminal,” the president said. “You think he’ll stop at Ukraine?” He also defended his administration’s Middle East peace efforts, adding, “We saved Israel.” Whether in Kiev, in a European capital or at NATO headquarters, the Russian threat is real. And so is the Trump administration’s threat.
Joan Vennochi is a columnist for The Globe. Contact her at joan.vennochi@globe.com. Follow her: Joan VenottiRenee Graham is a columnist for The Globe. Contact her at renee.graham@globe.com. Follow her: FollowKimberly Atkins Stohr is a columnist for the Globe. Contact her at kimberly.atkinsstohr@globe.com. Follow her: Kimberly E. AtkinsRachel G. Cohen is an opinion writer for The Globe. She can be reached at rachelle.cohen@globe.com. Karine Hajjar is an opinion writer for The Globe. She can be reached at carine.hajjar@globe.com.
