Category: Debates

Six Weeks Until First Debate

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The earliest presidential debate, ever:

CNN is President Joe Biden’s preferred network to host at least one presidential debate, he said Wednesday.
CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will host, according to Puck News. . . .
The Biden campaign said the president would debate Trump only in June and September, without live audiences present.
“I’ve received and accepted an invitation from @CNN for a debate on June 27th,” Biden posted on X. “Over to you, Donald. As you said: anywhere, any time, any place.”
Trump accepted Biden’s invitation and urged the president to debate him earlier and more often.
“I’m ready to go…The dates that they proposed are fine…Let’s see if Joe can make it to the stand-up podium,” Trump reportedly told Fox News Digital. “The proposed June and early September dates are fully acceptable to me. I will provide my own transportation.”
Trump also said he would debate Biden in October on Fox News.

Of course, everybody sees this setup as favoring Biden, who is trailing Trump in most polls and therefore will welcome the chance to reset the perceptions in a friendly media forum, knowing that CNN is completely controlled by partisan Democrats. As someone who routinely watches CNN (so you don’t have to), I can attest that Jake Tapper and Dana Bash are about as objective as Karine Jean-Pierre. Everybody sees this debate arrangement as proof of how desperate the Biden campaign is:

President Joe Biden’s decision to take Donald Trump up on his “anytime and anywhere” debate offer and propose June and September debates is a clear sign of worry among his reelection campaign team.
Two months ago, Biden cracked the door open to not having any debates, which hadn’t happened in a presidential race since 1972. Asked by a reporter if he would “commit to a debate with former President Trump,” Biden responded, “It depends on his behavior.”
Nothing has changed about Trump’s behavior since then. What also hasn’t changed is who is leading the polls. . . .
Recent polling suggests Biden only has a narrow path to 270. He would need a bigger recovery in the more diverse Sun Belt swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina—where his deficit is generally around 5 or 6 points—to recreate the multiple paths he had four years ago when he narrowly defeated Trump in several critical battlegrounds.

So we’re going to have a debate in June — more than four months before Election Day — and what happens if that doesn’t resurrect Biden’s poll numbers? Frank Lautenberg could not be reached for comment.



 

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‘Republican’ ‘Presidential’ ‘Debate’

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Let’s face it — none of the four candidates on the stage Wednesday night are going to be the Republican presidential nominee. Donald Trump beats all of them by at least 30 points. What was the point of that televised exercise? Cui bono? Chris Christie’s poll numbers are microscopically small, but he feeds the media’s anti-Trump appetite:

Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie called former President Donald Trump a “dictator” during Wednesday night’s debate and said that “he wants to exact retribution” if he wins back the Oval Office.
The rhetoric mirrors a narrative spun in recent days as at least three leftist outlets — the Atlantic, the New York Times, and the Washington Post — have worked to stoke fear about a potential second Trump administration.
Christie first attacked Trump as a dictator in his opening statement while criticizing the other candidates for not speaking about Trump to that point:

The fact is that when you go and you say the truth about somebody who is a dictator, a bully, who has taken shots at everybody, whether they’ve given them great service or not over time, who dares to disagree with him, then I understand why these three are timid to say anything about it. . . .

Christie contended that Trump “instructed others to commit crimes,” which the federal government alleges but has not been proven in court.
“So, do I think he was kidding when he said he was a dictator? All you have to do is look at the history and that’s why failing to speak out against him, making excuses for him, pretending that somehow he’s a victim, empowers him,” Christie added.
“He will only be his own retribution. He doesn’t care for the American people. It’s Donald Trump first,” concluded Christie.

Now that he’s gotten his fourth TV debate appearance, Chris Christie has completed the purpose of his “Republican” “presidential” “campaign.” The anti-Trump forces have chosen Nikki Haley as their preferred alternative, and the other names on the ballot in Iowa, New Hampshire, etc., are irrelevant. It’s now Trump-vs.-Haley, which I would expect to be a 70-30 landslide for Trump, and all these televised “debate” circuses are just about producing sound bites for the cable networks.



 

NBC ‘News’ Hosts ‘Republican’ ‘Debate’

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Excuse me for overloading on the scare-quotes in the headline, but let’s not kid ourselves: None of the five “candidates” (there I go again) on the stage in Miami is likely to be the 2024 Republican nominee.

According to the Real Clear Politics average, Donald Trump has 58.3%, more than 40 points ahead of his nearest rival (Ron Destantis at 14.6%), followed by Nikki Haley (9.4%), Vivek Ramaswamy (4.4%) and Tim Scott (2.6%) and, while I suppose anything is possible, the likelihood of the GOP 2024 nominee being anyone else but Trump is rather remote. So having televised “debates” without the odds-on favorite for the nomination is, we may say, “a really stupid and futile gesture.”

Speaking for myself personally, I’d be happy if DeSantis got the nomination, and I’ve previously expressed my admiration for Vivek Ramaswamy, but GOP primary voters aren’t seeking out my advice on how they should vote, so I’ve made my peace with the idea that Donald Trump will be the 2024 nominee, even if he has to give his acceptance speech from a jail cell in New York. It is what it is, and there’s no point complaining about it, so why was this “debate” on NBC?

Isn’t it just to provide fodder for media coverage? Sound-bites and TV images they can use as the basis for “news” stories and commentary, all of which is generally hostile to the Republican Party?

Highlights from the third Republican Debate: Ramaswamy, Haley and DeSantis spar over Trump, abortion and the economy
— NBC News

Losers, scumbags and policy, too.
The third GOP debate got testy, quick.
— Politico

Nikki Haley to Vivek Ramaswamy
During GOP Debate: ‘You’re Just Scum’
— The Daily Beast

Fact Check: Nikki Haley Claims
Ukraine Is a ‘Democracy’
— Breitbart

Tim Scott finally reveals mystery girlfriend
at 3rd Republican debate
— NY Post

So there’s your “news” about the “debate,” so you can’t say I haven’t done my “job” in covering this made-for-TV event. But I think there’s no doubt that Ramaswamy had the best rant of the entire night:

All the Trump people hate Ramaswamy and all the DeSantis people hate Ramaswamy, too. I’d say the same for the others, but is there such a phenomenon as “Chris Christie people”? Who are they? Can you name even one? Is anyone stupid enough to think Republicans are going to nominate that bloated RINO? And what about Nikki Haley? What is her constituency, beyond the media and Pentagon contractors eager to get paid to supply weapons for endless neocon foreign-policy adventures?

Readers here are probably divided into two large groups: Those who think Trump should be the 2024 nominee, and those who favor Somebody Else. My point is that, (a) if you’re in the Somebody Else camp, it doesn’t matter which candidate you support, because (b) Trump’s going to win it no matter what. The sooner you accept that reality, the better your mental health will be. Worrying about it will only drive you crazy and, I don’t know about you, but I’m holding onto sanity by my fingernails, and can’t afford to risk the psychological trauma of thinking too much about it — or watching these phony “debates.”



 

Debate Aftermath: The Media React

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When I asked Thursday if anybody had watched Wednesday’s Trump-less Republican debate, I didn’t realize my blog buddy John Hoge had subjected himself to that ordeal, his account of which concludes with the question: “Is it 2025 yet?” Meanwhile, in the corporte media . . .

Chris Christie hit with ‘lots of boos’
after GOP debate introduction
— Fox News

The winners and losers
from the first Republican debate
— Washington Post

The Most Unsettling
Presidential Debate Spectacle Ever
— Talking Points Memo

 ‘Climate Change Agenda Is a Hoax,’ Says
Surging GOP Candidate at Debate
— Rolling Stone

 Nikki Haley Is the Best Trump Alternative
— David Brooks, NY Times

The GOP’s Dispiriting Display
— Tom Nichols, The Atlantic

Vivek Ramaswamy is America’s
demagogue-in-waiting
— The Guardian

The way you can tell that Vivek Ramaswamy did well in the debate is that the media have now begun attacking him, in quite the same way that they’ve been attacking Ron DeSantis for the past several months. Whereas, by the same token, you know Asa Hutchinson has no chance of winning because the media never say anything bad about him.

Does anyone remember 2019? The media spent most of that year acting as unofficial cheerleaders for Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris because — to explain their likely reasoning — Trump’s defeat of Hillary Clinton had aroused the wrath of women (the pink pussy-hat wearing Women’s March) and therefore, it was time for the Democratic Party to nominate another woman. But Kamala ran out of gas before she ever got to the Iowa primary, then Elizabeth Warren flopped badly in New Hampshire and, rather suddenly, the media were faced with the certain-defeat scenario of Democrats nominating Bernie Sanders. Suddenly, James Carville was all over MSNBC and CNN proclaiming that the party MUST rally behind Joe Biden, and that’s what happened. And the media messaging was transparently partisan the whole time.

Ergo, the fact that the media want us to pay attention to a bunch of losers like Asa Hutchinson and Chris Christie means . . . ? Yes, exactly: We should ignore those clowns, because the media are our enemy.

UPDATE: NBC News went full Godwin’s Law:

So, the secret Nazi is . . . a brown guy named “Ramaswamy.” Gotcha.

(Hat-tip: Ed Driscoll at Instapundit.)



 

Did Anybody Watch the Debate?

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The Network That Fired Tucker Carlson™ hosted a debate Wednesday night between Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy and six people who will definitely not get the Republican presidential nomination. Like, why is Asa Hutchinson even doing this? Or, who exactly thinks Chris Christie is going to win anything? And . . . Doug Freaking Burgum?

DeSantis is governor of the best state in the country right now. Ramaswamy at least has the “outsider” businessman thing going for him. The rest of them . . . Well, they’re wasting their time, and because Trump declined to participate, the whole thing was pretty pointless, since he’s 40 points ahead of everybody else. Politico has some “highlights” of the debate, if anybody actually cares, which I don’t think so.



 

A Widespread Mental Disorder

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Look at that headline. Notice something strange? I call your attention to the phrase “Fetterman Supporters.” Who are these people? And while we’re at it — “Undecided Voters,” really? After watching that idiot (who was already an idiot, even before suffering a debilitating neurological trauma) babble incoherently on national TV, who could possibly still be “undecided” about whether Fetterman is fit for office?

This is what blind partisanship does to people. No matter who the Democrats nominate for any important office, that person is going to get 80% of the vote in Philadelphia. Hillary Clinton got 83% of the vote in Philadelphia and, while we’re on the topic of brain-damaged imbeciles, Joe Biden got 81% of the vote in Philadelphia. And because Philadelphia accounts for about 11% of the statewide vote in Pennsylvania, this lopsided 4-to-1 Democrat majority in Philadelphia almost always results in Democrats winning every statewide election in Pennsylvania.

In the 2018 midterms, about 5 million votes were cast in Pennsylvania. If the same number of votes are cast in this year’s election, and Fetterman gets at least 40% of the vote — which he certainly will — that will mean that 2 million citizens of Pennsylvania watched that debate, saw with their own two eyes the unmistakable evidence that Fetterman is mentally damaged, and voted for him anyway! Which tells you that Fetterman is far from alone in being mentally damaged. Nearly half the people in Pennsylvania are also suffering from neurological defects.

They’re called “Democrats.”




 

Trump Won the Debate, But …

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BERRIEN COUNTY, Michigan
“C’mon” — Joe Biden used that seven different times during Thursday night’s debate, sometimes as “c’mon man,” other times as “c’mon, folks.”

It’s a tic, a mannerism, a habit, and you could see Biden get rattled after he made the mistake of bringing up Rudy Giuliani, which opened the door for President Trump to talk about Hunter Biden’s laptop. To this, Biden replied with his canned “Russian disinformation” response, and Trump was astonished: “You mean the laptop is now another Russia, Russia, Russia hoax? You’ve gotta be kidding. Is this where you’re going?”

Of course, Biden’s biggest error was on energy policy:

“I have never said I opposed fracking,” Biden maintained. He challenged Trump to show the tape. The moment the debate ended, Trump did just that by tweeting out video of Biden pushing for a ban on fracking on numerous occasions. Biden, who boasted “my reputation is for honor and telling the truth,” did not tell the truth here. More importantly, the energy issue revealed the extent to which the Democratic nominee embraces fringe positions.
The former vice president’s shocking statements on oil raised an important question: Is the Unabomber Joe Biden’s energy adviser?
“I would transition from the oil industry, yes,” Biden, taking the president’s bait, admitted. “The oil industry pollutes.” He argued, “It has to be replaced by renewable energy.”

No honest person could argue that Biden won the debate, and the question therefore becomes, how much of a difference will Trump’s debate victory make in the election?

Consider this: More than 50 million people have already cast their ballots in early voting; that’s about 40% of the entire vote in 2016. In other words, a substantial number of votes cannot be effected by the debate, or by anything else that happens in the final 10 days of the campaign.

What we can expect, however, is that Trump’s success in Thursday’s debate will blunt the “Landslide Joe” message from the media. Texas obviously is now safe for Trump, and Pennsylvania is still within reach. While it looks like Biden might carry Wisconsin and Michigan, if Trump can win Pennsylvania, Biden’s path to 270 becomes sketchy.

A week from now, expect to see the major polls adjust their numbers toward Trump. Predictions of Biden possibly winning Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio and Iowa were always wishful thinking, and pollsters know this. Suddenly, their forecast models will get readjusted, so that they don’t end up with egg on their faces Nov. 4.




 

Debate Night Open Thread

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BERRIEN COUNTY, Michigan
Tonight is the second and final presidential debate, which I’ll be watching in the hotel lobby here. During our drive across northern Ohio and Indiana to arrive here this evening, we saw dozens of Trump signs and only one Biden sign. A quick preview of the debate:

The stakes couldn’t be higher for Thursday’s second and final presidential debate between Democratic nominee Joe Biden and President Trump.
The showdown – coming with just 12 days to go until Election Day on Nov. 3 – is the last chance for both major party standard bearers to make their case in front of a massive national audience watching and listing on TV and radio and streaming online.
And it may be the last opportunity to reach out to the dwindling number of voters who’ve yet to make up their minds.
“This final debate will give each candidate a live opportunity to strengthen their core messaging and enhance their potential reach to undecided voters,” highlighted John Link, vice president at Advertising Analytics, a leading ad-tracking firm.
With so much on the line, it’s no wonder the campaigns are trading fire over numerous aspects regarding the debate, from the mute button to prevent the candidates from interrupting each other during their initial two minute responses at the top of each segment to the topics themselves.
The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) – the bipartisan group that’s been organizing and running these faceoffs for more than three decades – announced late last week that fighting COVID-19, American families, national security, leadership, climate change and race in America will be the major topics debated during six 15-minute sections at the commercial-free 90-minute showdown at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn.

I’ll be updating occasionally throughout the evening.

UPDATE 9:07 p.m. ET: They open with a COVID-19 question, basically blaming Trump, which is of course the Biden campaign’s theme.

UPDATE 9:17 p.m. ET: Notice how they allow this to go on and on, back and forth. The Biden campaign wants to make COVID-19 the main theme of the campaign, and the debate opens with 15 minutes on the subject, thus validating the preferred partisan narrative.

UPDATE 9:25 p.m. ET: Now more than 20 minutes of COVID-19, as if this will be the defining issue of the next four years.

UPDATE 9:32 p.m. ET: Now Trump brings up Hunter, and Biden claims he’s never taken any money from foreign sources, ever.

UPDATE 9:42 p.m. ET: Reactions to the Hunter questions:

UPDATE 9:50 p.m. ET: More reactions to Biden:

UPDATE 9:56 p.m. ET: After endlessly lying about Hunter’s foreign business deals, now Biden lies about healthcare.

UPDATE 10:13 p.m. ET: We’re past the halfway mark, and the general feeling of conservatives on Twitter is that Trump is winning this debate, bigtime.

Maybe they’re partial, but I can’t imagine that Biden’s winning over many people with his wobbly performance tonight.

UPDATE 10:39 p.m. ET: Biden vows to end the oil industry!

Good-bye, Pennsylvania! Good-bye, Ohio!

Debate over. Watching CNN and Jake Tapper is trying very hard to spin this as a “fine performance” by Joe Biden. Whatever you say, Jake.