Choosing someone known as “the leader of the free world” is a pretty big deal, and the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the American people. The President of the United States is an immensely coveted job, particularly amongst the likes of kindergartners and as of late, octogenarians. As Election Day draws nearer and nearer, the divided view on national and international affairs amongst this nation’s public becomes increasingly apparent. America watches with bated breath as convicted felon Donald Trump and the current record holder Joe Biden vie to become the oldest man ever sworn into office.
On Thursday, June 27, the first and earliest debate between the two candidates was held, and a second one will take place in September. The debates will be held by news studios rather than the Commission on Presidential Debates, who have been the conventional hosts since 1988, as per the current president’s wishes. The earliest a general election debate has been held is September 21, a good three months after the recent one.
Because the Democratic and Republican party conventions aren’t until July and August, Biden and Trump have yet to accept their official nominations from their parties, although they have both obtained the delegates needed. For the seventh time in the nation’s history, there will be a presidential rematch, and for the second time in the nation’s history, a current president is up against a former president.
It was a disappointing debate. Both candidates lacked luster and failed to deliver. And yet, several national issues were discussed during the debate, notably abortion, immigration and economy/taxes.
Abortions have been a source of extreme controversy ever since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2021. Biden strongly opposes state and federal abortion bans and urged Congress to send legislation that grants the constitutional right to abortion. During the debate, he stumbled through his explanation of the three trimesters of Roe v. Wade, “The first time is between a woman and a doctor. The second time is between a doctor and an extreme situation. A third time is between the doctor, I mean, between the women and the state.” Trump claimed that the constitutional right to an abortion would allow people to “take the life of a child in the eighth month, the ninth month and even after birth,” and targeted the former governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam: “He’s willing to, as we say, rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month and kill the baby.” He believes that the matter should be left up to the states, claiming during the debate that that is what everyone wants, “Everyone wanted it brought back.” However, Trump assured voters that he would not sign a national ban on the abortion pill mifepristone, “I will not block it,” and agrees that abortion should be allowed in the early stages of the pregnancy compromises the life of the mother or child. However, he has not stated clearly whether he would limit other abortion medications/methods and to what extent he would do so, so the Associated Press questions what the future of women’s reproductive rights would look like if he were elected.
Immigration and border patrol is another concern for Americans nationwide. Biden’s administration faces criticism, with the influx of immigrants that has only increased in the past years. Biden said he is considering taking executive action that does not require congressional approval. In a high moment for him, he referenced Trump’s “kids in cages” line from the last debate: “He wants to separate kids from their mothers, put kids in cages.” At a speech in Iowa earlier this year, Trump promised to organize the largest domestic deportation in the history of the country, and screenings to prevent “dangerous lunatics, haters, bigots, and maniacs” from entering the country. Associated Press reports that he also plans to revive a travel ban targeting citizens from countries with a Muslim majority and end birthright citizenship to those born from undocumented persons living in the country. During the debate, Trump spoke about the border as the “most dangerous place in the world,” and that “there have been many young women murdered by the same people he allows to come across [the US] border”; “These killers are coming into our country, and they are raping and killing women. And it’s a terrible thing.”
Trump said he believes that Biden has done little for the economy. All of the jobs under the Biden administration, he stated, were created for “illegal immigrants” or “bounce-back” jobs following the COVID pandemic. Biden said that Trump had the largest national debt of any president and emphasized the importance of raising the taxes, “For example, we have a thousand trillionaires in America – I mean, billionaires in America. And what’s happening? They’re in a situation where they, in fact, pay 8.2 percent in taxes. If they just paid 24 percent or 25 percent, either one of those numbers, they’d [raise] $500 million – billion dollars, I should say, in a 10-year period.” His fluctuating words and statistics weakened this claim. He finished his response with a confusing statement about healthcare: “…making sure that we’re able to make every single solitary person eligible for what I’ve been able to do with the COVID – excuse me, with dealing with everything we have to do with. Look, if – we finally beat Medicare.” Trump responded, “Well, he’s right: He did beat Medicaid. He beat it to death,” and then said that the international opinion on the United States is low due to Biden: “We’re no longer respected. They don’t like us. We give them everything they want, and they – they think we’re stupid. They think we’re very stupid people.”
Post-debate, concerns flew. Many voters expressed worry that Biden’s cognitive capacities, given his advanced age, render him unfit for office. Trump capitalized on the numerous instances where Biden did muddle his words, at one point stating: “I really don’t know what he said of that end of that sentence, I don’t think he knows what he said either.” As we know from the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon debate, appearing young is a crucial part of winning a presidential debate, and hence, the office itself. Political pundits have made much of Biden’s confusion and the Democratic Party is divided over what to do, despite Biden’s morning bounce back and eagerness to stay in the debate.
People are worried about Trump, especially in the wake of the Supreme Court giving him various forms of presidential immunity from prosecution for crimes committed. Trump was recently convicted of 32 charges and will be set for sentencing in July. The Constitution does not state whether or not felons could run for President or serve in office, and being the President could grant Trump the power to pardon himself. The assault on the Capitol on January 6th and Trump made several false statements during the debate that were later fact-checked by news sources. Many viewers will most likely not do additional or background research and his bold statements in contrast to Biden’s stuttering ones could lead to skewed opinions.
Either way, this debate has only worried Democrats and Republicans around the country as they find that neither candidate is an ideal option for this country. The next debate will be held on the tenth of September, but the next time we see the two presidents may be on a golf course, as they did spend a good chunk of the debate talking about golf. (“I’d love to go golfing with you Joe”).
