President Donald Trump and President Biden had their first debate of the 2024 Presidential Election season at CNN studios in Atlanta, Georgia. Many mainstream media and social media pundits say the debate was a dumpster fire. The results should be presented separately for the three parties involved.
As the host, CNN did a fine job. There was a fear that CNN would abuse its ability to turn off the candidates’ microphones, but that didn’t happen. CNN was fair, and both sides were allowed to express themselves fully. The central thing that CNN made a point of doing was to make sure their questions were answered directly when either side attempted to be evasive.
President Trump did very well during this debate. He was energetic but not frenetic. CNN posed questions that enabled him to hammer Biden on specific issues facing the country, mainly the migrant crisis that did not happen under Trump’s watch. Sometimes, Trump would be evasive when asked a direct question, and CNN fairly challenged him on that, and he would usually respond positively.
President Biden had the worst public speaking performance that he’s ever had. He was horrendous. There was no saving grace to what he did on that CNN stage. Biden was able to lock himself away at Camp David for 10 days before the debate to prepare. It was clear that he practiced certain talking points, specifically about calling Trump a liar after every question he answered. The problem is that Biden is so old and fragile that he was barely able to string sentences together in a coherent fashion.
Biden’s performance was so bad that all mainstream media outlets abandoned the facade of a strong President and seriously considered replacing him before the general election. One Democratic strategist said that one of Biden’s “glitches” during the debate was so bad that it made him want to jump off of a bridge. CNN’s post-debate coverage was as somber as a funeral. Television and print media outlets were essentially in unison that this debate was a disaster for Biden with zero redeeming qualities.
SOURCES:
Who Won the Presidential Debate Between Biden and Trump? – The New York Times
‘A turning point’: US allies wince at Biden debate performance – POLITICO
Analysis: Biden’s disastrous debate pitches his reelection bid into crisis | CNN Politics
Presidential debate analysis: 4 takeaways from the Biden-Trump match-up : NPR
