The first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden has been overwhelmingly panned. Chris Wallace tried but ultimately failed at controlling the mania-charged interruptions by Trump of his opponent Joe Biden. Presidential debates have rules that both parties agree to before the debate. The topics are pre-determined, and a 2- minute time limit is set for responses. The consistent manner by which Trump ignored these rules indicates he decided ahead of the debate to be aggressive, intrusive, and disrespectful. Trump’s strategy is commonly used because he is incapable of sustaining an intelligent, reciprocal conversation on complex topics. Did Wallace fail to regulate the discourse between the candidates because he is weak, or would anyone have failed to control the mania episode Trump appeared to be experiencing?
The post-debate analysis on every media outlet except Trump TV/Fox News was unanimous in their disgust at Trump’s negative, vacuous performance. Analysts expressed feelings of sadness, fatigue, and embarrassment at how the debate went. Trump was excessively aggressive, delivered personal attacks, stated blatant inaccuracies, and clarified he was racist, incompetent, without empathy, and painfully insecure. He compulsively interrupted Wallace and Biden appearing to not be able to control himself. Examples of some of Trump’s darkest moments were:
- Refused to denounce white supremacy and told the racist group the Proud Boys To “Stand Up And Stand By, ” a dog- whistle permitting the group to unleash violence if he loses the election.
- Accused Biden of holding town halls instead of rallies because he cannot draw a crowd
- Predicted election fraud to stoke fear and doubt about the vote
- Lied about how much federal taxes he has paid
- Failed to xpress honor or empathy towards Beau Biden, the deceased son of Joe Biden
- Failed to express empathy for the 206,000 people who have died from COVID-19 or their families
- He Insulted Biden’s college and his 47 years of public service.
- Called racial sensitivity training racist and harmful to our country
- Falsely stated Biden’s healthcare plan will force people to give up their private insurance policies.
- Aggressively badgered Biden to state the name of any endorsements he has received from law enforcement groups.
- Made demeaning comments about Biden’s mask-wearing practices
- Accused Biden of holding town halls instead of rallies because he cannot draw a crowd
- Failed to demonstrate any knowledge pertaining to climate change or COVID-19.
- Refused to say he would accept the election results, sounding ominously unwillling to leave the office if he lost
In the midst of these desperate attempts to manage his insecurities, Trump failed to offer a substantive policy or give specific answers to the questions posed by Wallace. The reaction to Trump’s unhinged appearance has been that it was a ” national embarrassment. Media outlets around the world agreed. Trump reconfirmed once again that he is a racist. By refusing to acknowledge the racial injustices towards black Americans and refusing to denounce white supremacy, he sounded like a white identity dictator. His use of aggression to appear macho was pathetic. Despite Trump’s verbal diarrhea of nonsense, Biden stayed on point sounding like the qualified leader America needs. He was justified in retaliating to Trump’s vindictive, shameful attacks. He was factual in referring to Trump as racist, a clown, and the worst president this country has ever had. Unlike the many who have given Trump undeserving, unearned respect, Biden modeled how a real man doesn’t cower; in fact, they laugh at his clownishness and accurately point out his many flaws and failures. Biden’s superior performance to Trump included;
- Presented his plan to deal with the pandemic by issuing a mask mandate, funding for; full PPE for frontline healthcare workers and all Americans, encouraging the development of vaccines and treatments for COVID patients, establishing contact tracing programs, and keeping Americans fully informed about the virus information.
- Clarified he does not support defunding law enforcement but rather supports developing programs to improve training for officers on how to deal with mentally ill citizens they encounter in the line of duty.
- His commitment to re-entering the Paris Climate Accord Agreement
- Clarified he does not support defunding law enforcement but rather supports developing programs to improve training for officers on how to deal with mentally ill citizens they encounter in the line of duty.
- Offered a plan to deal with climate change in a way that would create tens of thousands of solid, good-paying jobs.
- His commitment to re-entering the Paris Climate Accord Agreement
- Shared his intention of re-uniting the country by healing the divide created by Trump’s racist, partisan rhetoric.
- Acknowledged the existence of systemic racism and support for the goals of the Black Lives Matter Movement.
- Proposed a tax increase for those making over $400,000 to create financial equity for all Americans
- Demonstrated knowledge about the science of COVID and climate change
- Demonstrated the ability to feel empathy for victims of COVID-19 and their families
- Defended the integrity of his son Hunter who has struggled with and conquered his problem with addiction.
Trump loyalists should listen to how the former Trump cultist Michael Cohen describes how and why he lost his moral compass and became complicit in the Trump family cult. He admits to loving the power and social cache that went along with being in Trump’s world. He also admits to feeling afraid of getting Trump mad for fear he would suffer the kind of brutal retaliation he had witnessed Trump inflict on others. Most people who join cults eventually leave them because they realize during a moment of clarity, they have been used and duped. They also realize the losses they have suffered and may continue to suffer if they stay in the cult. When the reign of Trump ends, psychotherapists will be flooded with patients trying to recover the self-esteem, and personal identity they lost, destroyed in the experience of believing in Trump.
