this is an unmitigated disaster for the dems

    • Coca_Cola_but_Commie [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Yeah. By the technical rules of debate he might've lost, but most people don't give a shit about debate order or decorum. I know I don't.

      Trump didn't exactly demolish Hillary, they were mostly talking past each other. She didn't rise to his bait, called him a liar when warranted. But Trump was able to pivot every question to the sort of things his base cares about, and got a few funny jabs against Clinton along the way.

      But I think people felt like an outsider like Trump just being there on stage with Hillary Clinton meant that they were finally getting back at the establishment. So long as he didn't get backed into a corner by Clinton, Trump was effectively always going to win the debates just by being there.

      It'll be interesting to see what the fallout from this most recent debate will be? Will this galvanize a mass of normal non-voters into voting for Biden? Or change the minds of whatever small percentage of voters are actually swing voters? Will people see Biden as weak for not standing up to Trump, or will Trump be seen as a bully picking apart a friendly old man?

      I'm generally of the opinion that debates at this stage don't change anybody's mind. During primaries, maybe, but surely with a presidential election, especially between an incumbent president and a familiar face like Joe Biden, everyone's already made up their mind's? But this particular debate was such a poor show by Biden on one hand, and such a frightening show by Trump on the other, that I have no idea what the landscape looks like going forward.

      Last I heard Biden has a comfortable lead in the polls, but does that matter in the year 2020? Even if he wins the popular vote? Who knows.