(ThyBlackMan.com) Upfront: weak showing for President Biden, on par showing for Trump. Even without an audience to the debate, Trump was able to get his points out with the same enthusiasm as he has in speaking events.
Meanwhile, Biden appeared very lethargic at times and struggling to find his point much of the time in the first half. In the second half, I’d say he was better performance-wise.
A televised debate is heavy on optics. It’s been that way since Kennedy-Nixon. You want your leader or potential leader to appear full of vigor mentally and physically for the next four years.
Are we aware that being President seems to age leaders? Yes, we know that but if you’re going to run again, then get some pep in your step.
The First Biden vs. Trump Debate of 2024 Went as Expected
Having seen both big party candidates in recent public engagements and while speaking on world events, we got an idea of their form before this debate.
I don’t believe anyone figured Joe Biden would head out there in 2020 form. At least I wasn’t. I mean, this hasn’t been the best couple of years to govern over—even though his administration managed some positive results over the previous one.
That would be a major factor in the debate as debates tend to hinge heavily on facts. Or rather they should. Of course, debates and discussions have been won just by being the loudest and the rowdiest. There were several issues such as the economy, jobs, crime and the border where Trump hit his usual points which were contested by Biden.
Also, post-debate fact-checking pointed out that a lot of Trump’s stuff didn’t hold water. However, Biden could never garner enough oomph to really check him in front of the cameras. Not everyone is going to check the points mentioned on Snopes and FactCheck, many will take what was presented and spread it without looking it over.
What was interesting—but not particularly surprising—was the lack of involvement from the moderator. See, a debate is really only a debate if there’s a moderator present to basically serve as referee. They keep things respectful for both speakers and push back when necessary on some claims. Without the moderator, it’s a discussion.
The Lack of an Actual Moderator Moderating
With CNN’s witness-moderator approach here, both candidates had room to groove but one guy didn’t use all the room allotted and the other used all the room but wasn’t heavily checked on claims during their time to speak.
So, the audience-less debate didn’t actually hurt Donald Trump. I guess the thought was to let Trump’s inaccuracy breathe and allow the voters to discover what is fact and what is false—but that’s putting a lot of faith in the voters. Then again, that’s where the post-debate commentary comes in: to make sense of what we just saw from facts to optics to insight. It’s simply that the moderator is supposed to contest points made since they have the numbers and notes in front of them. Failure to do that can reflect poorly on the moderator and the network hosting the debate.
But hey, this was an unconventional debate featuring unconventional candidates. What did you think about the presentation of the debate and who do you believe won? Let us know in the comments.
Staff Writer; James Swift, Jr.
Gaming since 1989 and headbanging since 1999, James enjoys comics, RPGs, wrestling, and all things old school and retro. Check out his writing here AfroGamers and The Black Rock and Heavy Metal. You can also find him on Twitter at; metalswift and soon on Kick where he will stream mobile titles.
One can also contact this brother at; JSwift@ThyBlackMan.com.