“The clearest loser from the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden was America.” – London Times. “American Democracy on a Shaky ground.” – Kenyan TV. “This dark, horrifying, unwatchable fever dream will surely be the first line of America’s obituary.” – London’s Guardian
Or as China’s news agency put it, “Americans watched a drama of hurting each other.”
“The anger-filled event did nothing to calm fears … that the presidential election…could end in chaos,” said Kenya’s Capital FM radio.
Joe Biden did not win the debate. He did better than Trump but the strength and resolve needed by a President trying to put this country back together, again, was successfully compromised by Trump’s bullying.
Biden collapsed when his sons were brought up.
The Times continued that the ‘debate’ was “an ill-tempered and at times incomprehensible squabble between two angry septuagenarians who palpably loathe each other.”
Biden capitulated to his own pride when he called Trump a “clown” and other names. He fell into a trap. Carter or Obama would not have so fallen. (Bill) Clinton might have.
“Slugfest”, “messy”, “chaotic” isn’t just what the world thought about the debate. It’s what they’re beginning to think of democracy. It’s exactly what Trump’s handlers want.
Round One: Trump.
For my fifteen years of blogging few of you cared what someone in Africa said about America. That was a terrible mistake you made. In my life time America has retracted into itself, exactly as its power and wealth and influence grew smaller. Like Britain dealing with its collapsed empire in the last century, America dealt with its lessening preeminence by learning how to believe things that aren’t true.
It is sickening that I have to survey the rest of the world to get a true commentary on what happened last night. Liberals and progressives and Democrats to a fault think Biden won. Won what? A few minutes of staring into the monitor and telling viewers to vote? A slugfest? How can you win chaos?
It’s time to listen to people looking in from the outside. America from the inside has become an insane asylum without windows.
Listen to Kenyan Collins K‘ebwato:
“The debate which was supposed to take center stage on the Economy, Health, Covid-19, and Climate turned out to be a shouting match and billions of people across the world were stunned by how the Debate degenerated into a weird conversation.
“Joe Biden tried his level best to stay cool but President Donald Trump was on his neck and won’t let him speak.
“When asked to reassure the American people on the outcome of the General Election slated in November Donald Trump refused to admit that he will hand over power if he loses the election to the winner throwing the Country into a spin.”
Forget any more so-called debates, please. We’re already schizoid, let’s not become masochistic.