{"id":78410,"date":"2020-09-30T05:54:44","date_gmt":"2020-09-30T02:54:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/good-luck-america-five-takeaways-from-the-first-presidential-debate\/"},"modified":"2020-09-30T05:54:44","modified_gmt":"2020-09-30T02:54:44","slug":"good-luck-america-five-takeaways-from-the-first-presidential-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/good-luck-america-five-takeaways-from-the-first-presidential-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"#Good luck, America: Five takeaways from the first presidential debate"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a36ec2a3e1a8\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a36ec2a3e1a8\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/good-luck-america-five-takeaways-from-the-first-presidential-debate\/#1_Civility_is_broken\" >1. Civility is broken.\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/good-luck-america-five-takeaways-from-the-first-presidential-debate\/#2_Good_luck_America\" >2. Good luck, America.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/good-luck-america-five-takeaways-from-the-first-presidential-debate\/#3_Joe_wasnt_that_sleepy\" >3. Joe wasn\u2019t that sleepy.\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/good-luck-america-five-takeaways-from-the-first-presidential-debate\/#4_Many_happy_returns\" >4. Many happy returns.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/good-luck-america-five-takeaways-from-the-first-presidential-debate\/#5_Remember_remember_the_fifth_of_November%E2%80%A6\" >5. Remember, remember, the fifth of November\u2026<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#Good luck, America: Five takeaways from the first presidential debate<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n                                                                        <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In such an unpredictable year, it would almost have been comforting to see the two dark-suited septuagenarians playing so true to type. It would have been comforting if it wasn\u2019t so representative of the unravelling of America.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the first presidential debate of 2020, President Donald Trump was a perfect caricature of himself, speaking in hyperbolic soundbites that couldn\u2019t have sounded more off-the-cuff. Former vice president Joe Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>eared alternately incredulous, amused, confused and pained by the experience, letting out a \u201cWould you shut up?\u201d within the first 20 minutes of Trump\u2019s incessant interjections.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The event, exactly five weeks before election day, was expected to be the most-watched political event in United States history, including outside the U.S. If you only lasted a few minutes before turning off the TV in frustration, don\u2019t worry\u2014we\u2019ve got you. Here are five takeaways from the pandemic-era spectacle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Civility_is_broken\"><\/span><b>1. Civility is broken.\u00a0<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Could anyone\u2014especially any Canadian\u2014have come away with any other impression? The void between the two candidates vying to be president is huge, and the two spent more time attacking each other than discussing the myriad catastrophes facing the United States in 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trump interrupted and disrupted moderator Chris Wallace, of Fox <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a>, enough to make the entire scenario feel outmoded. Enough to make Wallace plead with Trump that \u201cthe country would be better served\u201d if he made fewer interruptions. Enough to make Wallace visibly agitated, raising both his hands in frustration, agreeing with Biden near the end of the event that it had been hard to follow the debate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More than once, Trump launched personal attacks, from Biden\u2019s college record to his son. More than once, Biden insulted the president, calling him a \u201cclown,\u201d a \u201cracist\u201d and a \u201cliar.\u201d More than once, the three-way repart\u00e9e devolved into yelling matches that were difficult to follow (even for viewers not engaged in a debate-themed drinking <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>\u2014we see you).\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After all that, knowing that debate rules prohibited even a hand shake, we could still have imagined the two coming to blows at the end of the event.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Good_luck_America\"><\/span><b>2. Good luck, America.<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>It was not an inspiring performance on the issues that have topped the agenda in 2020.\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trump downplayed his responsibility for a COVID-19 death toll that has surpassed 200,000, saying \u201cpeople know what to do\u201d in terms of their health, but took responsibility for the return of football. He flip-flopped on whether masks were helpful. \u201cYou would\u2019ve lost far more people,\u201d he told Biden, later pivoting to attendance at his campaign rallies. \u201cHe\u2019s been totally irresponsible,\u201d Biden said, attacking the president\u2019s inconsistent approach. \u201cHe\u2019s a fool on this.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On systemic racism, the two traded barbs and argued about statistics without offering much in the way of policy. Trump suggested that those who are raising issues of racism this year want Americans to hate their country. \u201cHe\u2019s racist,\u201d Biden said. Trump accused Biden of not being able to utter the words \u201claw and order\u201d; Biden countered, saying: \u201cLaw and order\u2014with justice, where people get treated fairly.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wallace invited Trump to condemn white supremacist groups. \u201cSure, I\u2019m willing to do that, but I would say almost everything I see is from the left wing, not the right wing,\u201d Trump responded. Biden pushed him to say it. Trump half-heartedly told the Proud Boys to \u201cstand back and stand by,\u201d then brought up the dangers of Antifa.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With orange skies and horrendous air quality setting the backdrop for west coast Americans in the lead-up to the debate, Trump dodged questions on climate <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a> and suggested that \u201cgood forest management\u201d would have prevented the annual burning of California.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Joe_wasnt_that_sleepy\"><\/span><b>3. Joe wasn\u2019t <i>that<\/i> sleepy.\u00a0<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amid plenty of attempts by the Trump campaign to portray Biden as old and fragile, pre-debate analysis held that if Biden came across \u201cwith it\u201d\u2014relatively sharp, relatively informed and most of all not senile, that would be enough to make the debate a success for him. If Biden exhibited any hint of a senior moment, Trump, despite any flubs of his own, would exploit the hell out of that right up until the election.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This was just the first of three debates but Biden came across reasonably alert, when he came across at all, with Trump taking a majority of the oxygen. There were moments he appeared scattered, inarticulate or flustered by the president\u2019s aggressive approach. But there were also moments where Biden confronted Trump, repeatedly shushing him. He looked straight into the camera and addressed the American people directly, telling them this debate should be about their priorities, and, \u201cHe (Trump) doesn\u2019t know what he\u2019s talking about.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On balance, that Biden didn\u2019t fall asleep at the podium was likely enough for him to exceed expectations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Many_happy_returns\"><\/span><b>4. Many happy returns.<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Sunday, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The New York Times<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> published an extensive report on the president\u2019s tax history, reporting that in 2016 and 2017, Trump only paid $750 in federal taxes\u2014a bizarrely-low bill compared to previous presidents\u2019 regular six-to-seven-figure payments. Trump denied the report but has not released tax documents publicly, despite promising to years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Biden released his own tax returns not long after the story was published. In 2019, he paid some $300,000 in federal tax, having paid bills up to $3.7 million right after leaving office. (It was a hot speaking circuit in 2017.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pundits expected Biden to lean heavily on the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Times <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">revelations, using Trump\u2019s bill as an example of his disconnect with the government he runs and the American people. But it was Wallace who brought Trump the heat on the question, pushing for a timeline on Trump offering proof of his claim that he in fact paid \u201cmillions of dollars\u201d in taxes the years that the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Times <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reported he paid $750. \u201cYou\u2019ll see it as soon as it\u2019s finished,\u201d Trump said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_Remember_remember_the_fifth_of_November%E2%80%A6\"><\/span><b>5. Remember, remember, the fifth of November\u2026<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2026we may still not know the results. The election is Nov. 3 but due to a large number of mail-in ballots it is possible that a final result will be delayed. The final, 100-per-cent-finished vote count for 2016 took a month. This year, we just don\u2019t know how long it will take. Neither candidate is likely to concede on election night. But the question of whether the incumbent will accept the ultimate result\u2014especially if it is at all close\u2014did not really get answered on Tuesday night.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite an entire 15-minute segment devoted to the integrity of the 2020 election, during which Wallace pushed him on that question, it is still unclear whether Trump will accept anything other than a victory. Wallace asked if each candidate would urge their supporters to stay calm during the interim, not to engage in any civil unrest and not to declare victory. Biden answered in the affirmative, but Trump made no such pledge. He said he would encourage his supporters to go into polling places and \u201cwatch very closely,\u201d because he expected vote-counters to \u201ccheat.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead of pushing Trump on whether he would accept a loss, Biden argued with Trump on minutia about mail-in ballots and their distribution.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trump said the ballots are \u201ca disaster,\u201d that ballots are being \u201cdumped in rivers\u201d and \u201cthis is going to be a fraud like you\u2019ve never seen.\u201d Biden ended the debate on almost a plea, saying he would accept the result and Trump would too. \u201cHe will too, you know why?\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once the winner is declared, after all the ballots are counted, that will be the end of it.\u201d And, for now, that was the end of it.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"ctx-article-root\"><!-- --><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/politics\/washington\/good-luck-america-five-takeaways-from-the-first-presidential-debate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Good luck, America: Five takeaways from the first presidential debate&#8221; In such an unpredictable year, it would almost have been comforting to see the two dark-suited septuagenarians playing so true to type. It would have been comforting if it wasn\u2019t so representative of the unravelling of America.\u00a0 During the first presidential debate of 2020, President&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":78411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/DONALD-TRUMP-JOE-BIDEN-PRESIDENTIAL-DEBATE-SMITH-SEPT29-766x431.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[73605,73606,4941,991],"class_list":["post-78410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-2020-presidential-debate","tag-chris-wallace","tag-donald-trump","tag-joe-biden"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78410\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}