The 2024 election season has just hit another milestone with the candidates both agreeing to a couple of debates. The first will be on CNN on June 27, in Atlanta, Georgia, where Donald Trump is currently awaiting trial for election interference. The second will be on ABC on September 10, location to be determined.
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These debates will be a departure from the traditional events that have been hosted by the non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates for the past thirty years. However, the hosting networks have agreed to some rules that President Biden - and most viewers - will appreciate, and that Trump will whine about.
First of all, there will be no live audience. That is generally a distraction that interrupts the flow of the discourse with the predictable and useless outbursts of the candidates' invited supporters. Trump has already complained about that provision saying that he preferred an audience "for excitement purposes." So as usual, he is behaving like the reality TV game show host that he is, and a narcissist who craves constant adoration.
Secondly, there will be strict adherence to time limits and an ability by the moderator to cut the microphone when a candidate exceeds his time. Once again, that's a rule that is likely to bother Trump who is incapable of controlling himself. During debates with Biden in 2020, he had to be told repeatedly to stop interrupting, including by Biden who eventually was so annoyed he just told Trump "Shut up, man!"
After Biden announced his acceptance of these debates, Trump responded in a manner that is typical for him. His response was littered with lies and insults. And most of it was a tedious repetition of the same lies and insults he has been disgorging for years. Which says more about Trump's defective mental state than anything else.
For instance, Trump started off regurgitating his old line that "Crooked Joe Biden is the WORST debater I have ever faced - He can’t put two sentences together!" Which raises some interesting questions. Such as why, then, did he lose to Biden in both of the 2020 debates (debate one poll - - debate two poll), as well as the general election? Is Trump bragging that he lost to someone who can't put two sentences together?
Trump also said that "Crooked is also the WORST President in the history of the United States, by far." But a recent poll of presidential historians puts Biden at #14, and Trump dead last. Then Trump unleashes a flurry of falsehoods about Biden's record as President, including the flagrant absurdity that Biden has an "open border" policy and favors inflation and high taxes.
In point of fact, Biden's stewardship of the economy has resulted in lowering inflation more than any of the other major economies of the world. And while he does want to restore the higher tax bracket to corporations and the wealthy, he has proposed lowering taxes for middle and lower income households.
The contrast between how Biden and Trump addressed the matter of forthcoming debates could not be more revealing. Trump is consumed by hostilities and delusions. And the deficiencies that he attributes to Biden are more likely projections of what he fears in himself. So although he has called Biden "Sleepy Joe," it is Trump who has been slumbering during his criminal trial. Could he remain awake for the duration of a debate?
Biden, meanwhile, is calm and possesses a good sense of humor, even in the face of Trump's animosity. Which was apparent in the video he posted challenging Trump to the debates...
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