Trump Knocks Out Biden

By Jason Collins

Debate Night Smackdown: Trump vs. Biden in the Ring

The night we had been waiting for has finally come and gone in a historic personality clash. The debate largely focused on both candidates bashing each other’s past records, a bizarre case of golf handicap trash talk, and while it revealed nothing new about each candidate’s thoughts on major issues facing the country, the debate did broadcast unforgettable images of a pale, feeble, and muddled Joe Biden into living rooms and smartphones across the country and world. Here are the highlights from a potentially decisive debate.

Biden’s a Bumbling Mess and the Democrats Are Worried 

Joe Biden’s halting performance at the debate is not surprising considering that the weeks leading up to the event have been marred with videos of the elderly president wandering off, zoning out, and slurring over his words at official events. Biden has been the butt of many memes and jokes from the Donald Trump campaign about his declining mental state. The White House played these videos off as “cheap fakes,” but after Biden’s performance at the debate, it seems as if they were, well, lying. Democrats are now more worried than ever that the truth is out. 

Before the debate, Trump had demanded that Biden take a drug test beforehand, suggesting that the elderly president needed performance-enhancing drugs for the discussion. Interestingly, the Biden Administration refused to answer that question point blank after Fox News reached out for comment. If Biden was on drugs, someone messed up the dosage.    

From the start of the debate, Biden took to the stage with a low-energy and muted voice that made translating what he said a nightmare job. His raspy voice and dazed expression looked more like an old, confused man rather than the president of a country. What could have been an opportunity to hammer down his thoughts on key policy issues like abortion and pharmaceutical costs was missed as he stumbled over basic policy questions. 

Remember, it was Biden who called for this debate, and it was his campaign that engineered the event to show the public that they had nothing to worry about. However, his performance had the opposite effect. There aren’t just concerns about his age now, there is panic and some calls for him to be replaced before the DNC in August. 

Biden and Trump Clash over Jan.6 Events 

Despite Biden’s bumbling speech, both he and Trump clashed as they hurled insults at each other over the Jan.6 events. Trump was asked how he would assure voters that he would respect his oath of office after the attack on the U.S. capitol. The question appeared to startle the confident candidate before he launched into a denialism of the attack. During the debate, Trump tried to avoid addressing the issue and blamed Biden for prosecuting the people who stormed the capital. He told Biden,

What they’ve done to some people who are so innocent, you ought to be ashamed of yourself.

To which Biden, in one of his more lucid moments of the night, fired back, “The only person on this stage who’s a convicted felon is the man I’m looking at.” 

Biden also took the opportunity to attack Trump’s claim that the 2020 elections were fraudulent and told him,

I doubt you’ll accept it because you’re a whiner. 

Trump Makes a Vow on Abortion 

What should have been one of Biden’s strong points in the debate saw Trump taking the lead on the discussion about abortion. According to him, one of Trump’s greatest victories was the overturning of Roe v. Wade; people were happy with the decision. Biden replied, “The idea that the founders wanted the politicians to be the ones making the decisions about women’s health is ridiculous.” Even if Biden appeared old enough to have personally consulted the founding fathers, his summary is rather post-modern since Colonial era women didn’t have suffrage, and abortion required visiting someone that was at the very least witchcraft adjacent.   

Trump revealed that he would support the Supreme Justice’s decision to preserve access to mifepristone, the pill used in abortions. When it came time for Biden to speak about Roe, a vital issue for the Democrats, he dropped the ball and offered a mumbled incoherent explanation about trimesters that left everyone in the building and viewers at home confused. 

Sparring Over the Economy 

Trump made sure to focus his time on pointing out Biden’s failure over the economy and telling Biden that inflation is “absolutely killing us” and he’s doing nothing about it. Biden defended his accomplishments by telling Trump he had inherited an economy that was already in a freefall thanks to the pandemic. He retorted, “There was no inflation when I became president. You know why? The economy was flat on its back.” He also listed his accomplishments, such as creating millions of new jobs and lowering the cost of insulin.  Trump has consistently polled much better than Biden over who can run the American economy. Biden has for years listed economic statistics as “proof” he’s right and remains tone-deaf to the pain people are feeling every time they go to the grocery store. 

Trump Airs His Grievances at the Justice System 

Trump also took the time to launch a claim that Biden has weaponized the justice system, referring to his multiple indictments and criminal charges. Trump told the moderators,

He indicted me because I was his opponent.

That wasn’t all. Trump also brought up the investigation into Hunter Biden’s dodgy business dealings, where the authorities investigated whether Hunter had benefited from Biden’s presidential power during his business dealings with foreign entities. Trump warned Biden, “He could be a convicted felon as soon as he gets out of office.”    

Biden tried a National Inquirer approach by mentioning Trump’s recent criminal trial and evidence he slept with adult film star Stormy Daniels while his wife was pregnant. Biden told Trump, “You have the morals of an alley cat.” Trump’s response to Biden’s claim was, “I didn’t have sex with a porn star.” Which is certainly not something we expected to come out of a presidential debate. Generally, Americans don’t want to be involved in the sex lives of others and this line of attack doesn’t work for Biden. It’s either baked into the cake over who Trump is, or it puts American voters in an uncomfortable position as they grapple with the question, if I had a chance would I sleep with a porn star too?   

An Argument over Golf Handicaps

The debate took a strange turn when Trump started a bout of golf trash talk about 20 minutes into the event. The moderators had asked the two candidates about their age and how it would affect their campaigns. During his answer, Trump took the opportunity to say that he had passed multiple cognitive tests and boasted about the two non-senior club championships that he had won. Trump claimed that Biden could not hit a ball fifty yards. Biden quickly made jabs at Trump’s physique and said he would happily play golf with Trump if he carried his own bag while claiming he had a 6 handicap. Trump snorted in derision. Biden’s claim is ludicrous unless we are talking about putt-putt golf, but the whole exchange felt stuffy, two old white guys arguing about their golf games. Not exactly in touch with an America dealing with two wars and record inflation. 

Closing Arguments 

As all good things must come to an end, and even if the debate wasn’t good, it was entertaining. Each candidate delivered their final message to America from a debate stage, it’s hard to see them doing this again, even with another debate tentatively scheduled for September. Another performance like this from Biden would doom any chance the Democrats had sending many down-ballot races into a nosedive with Biden’s sinking ship. As for Trump, why would he want to do another debate? He scored a decisive knockout. 

So, what does this debate mean for the upcoming elections in November? Unfortunately for Biden, this was supposed to be his chance to convince the nation that their fears over his cognitive abilities were false. Biden’s frailty, the images of him staring off into space his mouth open in dazed submission, his often incoherent rambling answers; all these things are impossible to unsee. Panic is spreading throughout the Democratic Party and its operatives. And yet, despite calls for Biden to stand aside, the only one that can step down is Joe Biden himself. Will a proud, but weak Joe Biden send Democrats into a tailspin and Donald Trump back into the White House?