Analysis
The debate was a catastrophe for Biden and the Democratic Party
The most important election with the least exciting choices now risks throwing one of the two parties into disarray.
Things got ugly for Biden from the moment he stepped onto the CNN studio stage and headed to the lectern with unsteady steps and a stiff posture. It got worse when he answered the first question with slurred words and a hoarse voice (because he had a cold, his campaign would later say in an official statement), conveying the exact opposite impression from the one he had wanted to give to the Americans watching. The first few seconds were enough to confirm the Democrats’ worst fears and raise serious questions about the judgment of the staff that had been working with the president in recent days to prepare him for a clash that was considered crucial.
Instead of strength, or at least competence and a reasonable level of energy, Biden only managed to project the feebleness of a well-meaning old man, easily outwitted by the bully opposite him, who seemed to be firing on all cylinders.
Trump, who at times looked surprised by his own good fortune, resorted to his familiar repertoire, a selection of old tropes featuring many of the themes he usually harps on, from the encroaching hordes of criminals overrunning the border, supposedly taking away jobs and putting young women at risk, to the White House being in the hands of radical Marxists intent on redistributing the savings of patriotic Americans, and Democratic doctors being willing to perform abortions for eight- and nine-month-old babies, or “even after birth.”
Now a convicted felon on multiple counts, Trump also attacked the “corrupt judges” who are supposedly persecuting him at Biden’s orders, who, Trump claimed, was actually the real criminal, on par with his son Hunter, recently convicted of buying a firearm as a drug addict. Trump’s raging torrent of lies even included a callback to one of the smaller “founding” lies of his administration: the one about him having a “larger crowd” at his 2016 inauguration.
But Trump’s performance, which fit expectations to a T, was not what defeated his opponent, who was the exclusive author of his own downfall. Nor does it matter that on the (little) actual content of the issues, Biden technically came out ahead. Everyone knows that debates are not won on the quality of the points made in the written transcript, but on “theatrical” performance, and the president’s was catastrophic.
CNN’s moderators had announced in advance that they would not be “taking sides,” which meant they would not be fact-checking Trump’s endless stream of lies, and they were true to their word. What was not expected – at least not to this extent – was Biden’s ineffectiveness in countering his claims, especially since they were so predictable to begin with.
All in all, it was a rude awakening for Democratic voters, who in recent months have been trying to downplay their candidate’s inadequacy in a competitive contest, hoping that he could show at least some of the combativeness on display in his State of the Union speech in March, when he had managed to stand up to the MAGA congressmen who booed and interrupted him, even answering them with some off-the-cuff quips. There was hardly a trace of that Biden on Thursday night; if anything, he was a shadow of himself. His weakness was finally revealed in the worst way possible, under the unforgiving spotlights of live TV.
Before this debate, we were writing about the existence among Democrats of a faction that secretly wanted Biden’s performance to be bad enough to force the party’s hand into replacing him. After Thursday evening, that unexpressed desire built up into a collective clamor from the millions of voters who shouted the answers they wanted Biden to fire back at Trump at their TV screens; but the answers never came.
While the debate was going on, in online chats and groups and on social media, there was first disbelief, then, in turn, second-hand embarrassment, worry, and finally panic. Afterwards, among the hot takes from the talking heads and in newspaper editorials, there was open talk about a topic that had long been taboo: how the Democrats could replace Biden with another candidate.
And there was a distinct feeling that we have all witnessed a crucial, perhaps “historic” moment. The most important election with the least exciting choices now risks throwing one of the two parties into disarray, which is now clearly split between Biden stalwarts and those who think there is no other option but to replace him. It is unclear how, and if, something like that could actually happen. But as of Thursday, it is clear that a substantial portion of America, including many candidates for lesser offices whose fates are tied to the success of the presidential ticket, now think this is unavoidable.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/dibattito-la-catastrofe-di-biden on 2024-06-29