The ten keys to the presidential debate in Cleveland
The polls of the main American networks say that the winner of the first presidential debate has been Joe Biden, in a percentage very close to that given by the polls of voting intentions. Donald Trump can always claim that these "express polls" are also manipulated, as he is denouncing the postal vote, but the fact is that the coincidence of the result of the debate with the polls on the election result is by no means coincidental and appears to confirm the trend of victory in popular vote for the Democrat, although a chasm may develop from there to victory in the Electoral College, as occurred in 2016. They do certainly give the president a wake-up call that may cause him to change his strategy in the pending rounds in Miami and Nashville, if it is true that the general impression is that he has lost the first round.
Trump has defended what his administration has done and Biden what he and Obama did. It has been a confrontation of the last two mandates, which may harm Biden for not knowing how to differentiate himself from his former boss and offer something for himself. Personal issues have arisen, as almost always when Trump intervenes, because he has accused Biden of his son's business, although the latter has not shrunk from doing so and has responded harshly, particularly at several specific moments: by accusing him of being a racist, by pointing out that it was impossible to talk unless "this clown" kept quiet, and by pointing out that he was a puppet of Putin. In general, it was a very rough first assault, with a deaf dialogue between the two contenders, and with mutual accusations. This is not the example of a debate that should be put on the table in universities to give lessons in public speaking.
It is the most topical and controversial issue, although probably not the main concern of citizens. Biden claims that thousands of them have already voted and the current administration cannot appoint the conservative judge Amy Coney Barret by upsetting the balance of power in the court. Trump replies that he has not been elected for only three years and that his term ends in January, until which date the president believes he can propose appointments. The issue escapes the airwaves at times due to the irruption in the debate on health protection.
Trump says he wants to repeal it completely, but has not proposed any serious alternative to replace the Patient Care Plan of the previous administration. Biden has it easy according to his progressive discourse: all Americans should have health coverage, although he has not been able to answer his opponent about whether his plans are the same as those of the left-wing extremist Bernie Sanders, whom he defeated in the primaries. Trump claims that insulin will cost the same as water.
The coronavirus arrives, and Biden clings to the fact that Trump knew about the risk thanks to Bob Woodward's recordings. "He was the one who panicked. The aspirant and ex-vice president has a hard time in this area because he has not left his mansion in Greenville, Delaware, due to the fear he has shown of contracting the disease. Although this is compatible with how easy it is to criticize the president for his lies about the virus and his lurches in the face of the risks it posed.
Trump repeats that China is to blame and accuses Russia of not even giving the figures on contagion and deaths. And when he is asked whether there will be a vaccine on 1 November, a timely vaccine three days before the elections, he does not dare to confirm it. Biden attacks: "Do you believe this man after all the lies he has told about the COVID? And the dialectic duel is aimed at discerning whether or not the masks are the saviours.
It was one of the points where Trump could exhibit both strengths and weaknesses. His term of office has been brilliant for the country's economy, but it has also collapsed in the last six months owing to the pandemic, precisely in the key year of his re-election. "Closing the country is like having people in jail, and this guy wants to close the country," he told the moderator, referring to Biden. And here it was inevitable that the president's tax return would appear, subject to public scrutiny since the news published a few days ago by The New York Times. Trump's low tax bill prompts host Chris Wallace to ask, "Can you tell us how much you paid in 2016-17? "Millions of dollars," answers Donald Trump circumspectly.
Biden promises the creation of seven million jobs and a trillion dollars to spend on people. And how will he do it? He offers a corporate tax hike, while Trump defends himself by saying that car companies have returned to Ohio and Michigan.
Episodes of police abuse resulting in the death of black people had been agreed upon as another part of the debate. Biden calls for equality, decency and the Constitution, We The People... He accuses the National Guard of gassing protesters in many cities across the country, and his opponent of fomenting racial hatred. It's not easy for Biden here. His opponent reminds him that he called the violent "super predators" when similar racial events occurred when he sat on Obama's right. "You can't even say the word police because all the radicals would stop supporting you. Trump is clearly caught by Wallace when he asks him to expressly condemn the violence against the coloured population. Law and order, he replies. And little else. Biden, for his part, has a problem: he cannot condemn the Anti-Fa and its left-wing militias. A draw in the absence of convictions.
A rather incomprehensible chapter in the middle of the debate, a kind of golden minute that has broken the rhythm of the show absurdly. Biden says that Trump is Putin's dummy, and the artillery crosses from one side to the other on stage.
On climate change, a label that Americans hold against the post-modernist expressions that have been adopted in Europe, there is an attempt by both to sell a balance between environmental interests and the country's economic interests. California's Governor Gavin Newsom will have had his ears turned because Trump has accused him of not knowing how to fight the fire that has destroyed much of his land. Biden promises ecological transition reforms compatible with job creation, and a return to the Paris Agreement. And he forgets that the Green New Deal is an asset of his adversary...
Open question arises in the campaign whether the next president will be the real winner at the ballot box. Trump has helped fuel this public debate. Biden addresses the chamber to speak to citizens directly and assure them that their vote is safe. For the president there is fraud because they are sending ballots to people who have not asked for them, they are losing 30-40% of the ballots, they have thrown ballots in the rivers and in the rubbish, and they all have Trump's name on them. Everyone accepts as real the terrible possibility that the Supreme Court (with Barret already in its midst) will decide the winner of the 2020 elections. Biden will accept the result and Trump will accept it only if he wins.
No hacía falta ser muy previsor para saber que Trump volvería sobre temas personales de su adversario demócrata. Ha atacado a Biden por los negocios de su hijo en China y porque según su información ha recibido tres millones de dólares de Moscú. La actividad privada de Hunter Biden en Ucrania ha estado sobre el tapete, como estuvo en el trasfondo del ‘impeachment’ contra el republicano. Biden dice que no quiere hablar de las familias de cada uno. “Mi hijo estuvo en Irak y es un héroe nacional, no se atreva a hablar de él, tuvo un problema con las drogas y lo superó”. Inevitable este fango en la moqueta.
It didn't take much foresight to know that Trump would return to personal issues with his Democratic opponent. He has attacked Biden because of his son's business in China and because, according to his information, he has received three million dollars from Moscow. Hunter Biden's private activity in Ukraine has been on the table, as it was in the background of the 'impeachment' against the Republican. Biden says that he does not want to talk about the families of the individual. "My son was in Iraq and he is a national hero, don't you dare talk about him, he had a problem with drugs and he got over it". Inevitable this mud on the carpet. Effects, imagery and an impartial arbitrator.
The candidates spoke on their platforms in front of a large picture of a fragment of the constitutional text. Something that would be unthinkable in our country. And above their heads is the eagle's short slogan, The Union And The Constitution Forever. Even more unthinkable for us.
Trump frequently interrupted his opponent, and Biden preferred not to look at him while he spoke, focusing his gaze on the moderator. A Chris Wallace who has constantly had to repeat that he is the moderator and that he is the one who orders the debate, although Trump has shaved it off by telling him that he is debating against two rivals. But his work has been impeccable.
There have been phrases of contempt from one to the other, directly of disrespect. Trump: "You can consider yourself intelligent and in 77 years you have done nothing?
Neither of them has taken out of their arsenal any object as is childishly done in debates in Spain, not even cards with graphics that are not seen on the spectators' screens. On the other hand, the insignia on their lapels with their country's flag, which is the same for both contenders, was clearly visible. Look for similarities and differences.