Trump Was the Trump We Know. Biden Was the Biden We Feared.
Trump raged. Biden aged.
Joe Biden had his shot—a chance to dispel concerns about his age and his abilities. But in his first debate with Donald Trump, he stumbled through 90 minutes, muffing answers, often looking uncertain, speaking in a low, gravelly voice that did not convey strength. This was not only a missed chance. It was a disaster. Afterward Democrats had good cause to be in despair and to wonder if disarray was on its way.
While Biden’s State of the Union speech earlier this year showed him vigorously on his game—perhaps a surprise to his detractors—this appearance, within minutes, provided a ton of ammo to those who contend Biden is not up to the job. In the Oval Office, he may be able to do the work of a president well. But if a vibrant public performance is necessary to win the confidence of uncommitted or loosely committed voters, Biden failed miserably.
The bottom line was obvious before the first commercial break: Trump came across as the Trump people know and either love or hate: boastful, brash, disingenuous, demagogic. Biden was not the Biden that Democrats wanted.
Biden accurately slammed Trump for Trump’s stint in the White House: historic deficits, a supersized tax cut that benefitted the rich, mismanagement of the Covid pandemic. Yet he often muddied his remarks with not just his usual stutter but with half-sentences and misspoken words. There’s no denying this: Biden did not come across as commanding. Any voter who has wondered about the abilities of this 81-year-old-man would not be reassured.
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