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On Thursday night, we got a sharp reminder of why leadership debates, for all their staged awfulness, still matter.
On live TV, in front of millions of horrified American voters and viewers around the world, US President Joe Biden confirmed all the doubts about his fitness to serve a second term.
The first of two planned presidential debates with his rival, former President Donald Trump, was his to lose – and within 10 minutes he had.
Biden walked onto the stage looking frail and doddery, his face ashen, his voice a hoarse whisper. With his very first answer, he lost track of his thoughts, and rambled into excruciating, meandering nonsense.
Though his answers became a bit more coherent as the debate progressed, and certainly more accurate than the factually-challenged Trump, it is not ageist to conclude that Biden is far better suited for retirement to a nursing home, than another four years in the Oval Office. In fact, so dire was his performance, that I even wondered whether he was capable of seeing out his current term as President.
As a newly minted American citizen and voter, I also felt extreme anger that the President, his family, friends, and advisors had colluded in covering up the state of his mental and physical deterioration, and indulging his egotistical desire to run for office again.
‘Trump’s Second Presidential Run and the Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse Have a Lot In Common’
Baltimore’s Francis Scott Bridge collapsed after one part of the structure was hit by a ship. The disaster is a perfect metaphor for the crisis Europe may face if Trump is re-elected, writes Alexandra Hall
Biden claims to be a great patriot, whose whole life has been dedicated to public service, and whose main motivation to run in 2020 was to preserve American democracy against the dangers of a second Trump term. Yet, his decision to run again, reflective of preening self-regard and ambition, may end up being the single biggest factor opening the way back for Trump.
Biden Crumbles While Trump Lands Blows, Lies and Exaggerates
If expectations were low for Biden, they were even lower for Trump, whose consistent lying, wild exaggerations, and outlandish assertions are already baked into perceptions of the man.
But, while Biden crumbled on the stage, Trump managed to outperform himself – making crisp, punchy, points every time he took to the floor, no matter that they were riddled with inaccuracies, and often completely unrelated to the question he was asked.
While Biden waffled vaguely about his domestic achievements, Trump repeatedly hammered him on the state of the economy, and failure to control migration across the southern border, which he said had allowed millions of “criminals” to enter the US, facilitated human trafficking and misery, and enabled a drug crisis which was “destroying lives” across the country.
Trump even managed to claim that he had done far more for black people and Hispanics than Biden, was a champion of the environment, and had a nuanced position on abortion – which allowed for exceptions in cases of rape, incest, or where the life of the mother is in danger.