Trump lied and Biden got tongue tied at the first debate. So why is the world only focusing on one?

jeffw@lemmy.world to politics @lemmy.world – 785 points –
Biden had a bad debate night. That doesn’t mean we can ignore Trump’s lies
independent.co.uk
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John Stuart said it best - Trump meet everyone's expectations of him. His followers are either deranged or are just exploiting his madness. Biden was the one with something to prove and he ducking blew it.

He could have been better. But there are more debates. He can come out stronger next time.

That's not how old age works. Biden is not getting better, that's the whole point. This wasn't a political gaffe, it was a consequence of the inevitable collapse of age. Biden needs to step down, literally the only way Dems have a chance to win at this point.

Disagree. He's been a good president and far better than his opponent. His ACTIONS are a million times better than Trump.

I agree, but as Carter showed, being a good president isn't enough to get reelected.

Better then Trump is a low bar and you know it.

No one sane said that he was a bad president (although he could have been a lot better) just that he is too old for the job.

I would say that anyone younger and progressive would do better than him.

I would trade Biden in for someone ten years older if it meant we'd get a strict and intelligent moderator

You seem to be missing the most important point here - with cognitive decline from advanced age, time is not on your side. Biden would likely be worse in a future debate, if he doesn’t do the right thing and step down immediately.

I disagree. But that's why we vote. So we get that freedom.

He could have been better

Lmao no shit, would've been hard to have been worse

You're right. He could have been Trump.

Didn't Trump gain support from the debate while Biden lost it to the degree that people from his own party are openly calling for him to drop out?

He's still a rapist. So there's that.

I don't think that came up or showed in the debate so probably didn't affect it. This is about the debate performance and its effect after all. If people didn't care about that before the debate, they're not going to suddenly care after it.

You mean I take more information than just a debate to make a decision?

I don't know you so I can't say. But maybe, most do that. But the debate is part of the decision making. In this instance, Biden's performance was dogshit, which was the point. As awful as Trump is, somehow people were more put off by Biden than Trump, if we consider how the polling changed after it. And that's just awful result for Biden.

I don't think it's a measurement of any sort of decision making. I have taken a course in public speaking. People freeze. Or respond differently to a quiet room when there should be an audience. His performance as president is better than Trump's ever will be. It does not measure intelligence. A great public speaker can inspire, but it's one debate. Trump came out looking like a liar and a little boy in a suit. Plus he is a felon rapist. There is nothing that makes me think his "snapshot" is any better than Biden's.

I just don't judge people solely on what the camera captures. It's called critical thinking by most accounts.

I realize all that, but I'm just talking based purely on general public perception and polls over the debate. The whole point of the debate was to get the public and especially fence sitters on your side. I don't know if Trump's behaviour managed to convince anyone that wasn't already on his side, but it was Biden's atrocious performance that managed to get a lot of people against him and some to side with Trump. Biden's whole candidacy is now in question. It's hard to make a worse job in a debate than that, that's all I mean.

I think it could have been worse. It's still early. He could be playing coy too. Rope a dope. Build Trump up with confidence to light him up closer to the end. I don't think that is necessarily the case, but it's a possible strategy. Trump did not look better in my eyes. Biden did not look bad. He did say something whacky. But his composure is much more impressive than Trump's. Trump couldn't even answer a question he was asked 4 times.

I think it could have been worse. It’s still early.

Yeah but he took a real beating in that debate. And I don't just mean in the polling numbers but his own party's trust in him as a good candidate. It was a disaster. Recovery is certainly possible but man what a kick to the nuts the debate was to the campaign.

trump vs biden polling numbers after debate

He could be playing coy too. Rope a dope. Build Trump up with confidence to light him up closer to the end. I don’t think that is necessarily the case, but it’s a possible strategy

I think that's just pure hopium, tbh. Now more than ever after the debate and with the calls for him to step down he should act strong and show he is a good candidate. Not just for fence sitters but for his own party.

Trump did not look better in my eyes. Biden did not look bad. He did say something whacky. But his composure is much more impressive than Trump’s. Trump couldn’t even answer a question he was asked 4 times.

I'm talking in a general voter sense. I'm sure some viewed it as a good showing and that he came off as the better out of the two in it.

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