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Political debates are a mainstay of democratic elections. From the beginning of the modern US government in the late 1700s to now, presidential candidates typically have informed, moderated debates on issues of policy. Incumbent Donald Trump and former vice president Joe Biden are slated to have the first of three scheduled presidential debates on September 29 in Cleveland, Ohio.
“I’m looking forward to getting on the debate stage with Trump and holding him accountable,” Biden told supporters at a campaign fundraiser. “I think I know how to handle bullies — we’ll find out,” the former vice president noted. In the past, Trump has attacked Biden over his mental faculties. Biden, 77, has defended his mental acuity and welcomes a chance to match wits with Trump, 74.
Trump has remained fiery in his descriptions of Biden. The incumbent has called his opponent “the worst presidential candidate in history,” and has been dismissive of the concept of Biden winning the election.
However, Trump trails Biden in national polls. The average national approval has Biden leading Trump by a few percentage points. Still, the November election is expected to be hotly contested.
Part of Trump’s strategy for reelection has involved painting Biden as a “puppet” of progressives. However, actual progressives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ro Khanna likely wish Biden was half as receptive to their ideas as Trump suggests.
Trump has further tried to tie Biden to widespread civil unrest in cities across the country. Notably, that unrest can be read as a backlash to the Trump Administration that would likely calm significantly under a Biden Administration.
Debates are a complicated political pageant where both parties are trying to make the other look unfit for the job. It takes more than looking up the five best whitening toothpastes to make a debate a winnable prospect.
Biden and Trump will both need to study up on the issues and bring reasoned, well-researched arguments to refute the other candidates’ side.
However, this is unlikely to be the case. In reality, Biden will likely try to prove to viewers that he is mentally sound and quick-witted, not a man in the grip of dementia. Trump, meanwhile, will likely employ his typical combative, grandiose strategy to bully his opponent out of speaking. Many pundits fear that the debates might devolve into full-blown shouting matches. Hopefully this will not be the case, though it does seem to be plausible.
