Takeaways from CNN’s presidential debate with Biden and Trump: https://t.co/9bz93zkSyF

— CNN (@CNN) June 28, 2024

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For weeks, I had been eager to watch the debate that occurred last week, the same kinds of feelings I have had when anticipating a season finale of a favorite show.

I was glad to know that President Biden had been taking time beforehand to study, prepare, and rehearse and that TFG (The Former Guy) was simply going to wing it. Surely, that would bring forth even more mish-mosh verbiage that has included reverential references to Hannibal Lecter, as well as comparisons of sharks and boat batteries as a means of death.

After a long day of work, and watching reruns of two comedies (“Young Sheldon” and “Ghost”) to cushion my brain in case the debate was a let down, or sh*t show, I turned on CNN and sat in world-wide community to watch Dana Bash and Jake Tapper moderate this consequential conversation.

Within the first few minutes, I became painfully aware that Joe was off his game. His voice was raspy and barely audible. Where were cough drops and water? His skin was pale and waxy, as if the makeup artist had overdone it. As much as I hated to entertain the thought, perhaps his age was showing. I prayed that he would regain his vigor, which he did, close to the end of 90 minutes. I shuddered, knowing what the right wing media, Republican leaders, and Trump’s base would make of it.

I kept in mind that he had not only spent time on the campaign trail but had made two trips across the pond to meet with world leaders. Consider, as well, that in his personal life, he received the devastating news that his son Hunter was found guilty of gun charges and may face jail time. He didn’t contest it. He didn’t rush to pardon his son, stating that he wouldn’t. He offered his ongoing emotional support but would not interfere with the sentencing.

I speak for a living, of course not on the level that he does, and I know the toll it takes on my vocal cords. I do keep water and lozenges at the ready. He may even have “overstudied,” kind of like when you have an important exam to take. Sometimes enough is enough.

The former president and self-referentially wannabe dictator, did not disappoint. I have become inured (habituated to something undesirable, especially by prolonged subjection) to his hate-laden rhetoric, so his insults hurled at the President, the country, immigrants, the list is endless, was to be expected. The rapid fire pace of his lies, without being fact checked by the CNN moderators, reminded me of the machine that hurls tennis balls at a player when they are practicing. There were lies, so many lies, most of which went unchallenged.

While reading an entry by historian Heather Cox Richardson, I learned a term: Gish gallop. (The term was coined in 1994 by anthropologist Eugenie Scott, who named it after American creationist Duane Gish and argued that Gish used the technique frequently when challenging the scientific fact of evolution.) As she explained, “It’s a rhetorical technique in which someone throws out a fast string of lies, non-sequiturs, and specious arguments, so many that it is impossible to fact-check or rebut them in the amount of time it took to say them. Trying to figure out how to respond makes the opponent look confused, because they don’t know where to start grappling with the flood that has just hit them.”

Keeping up with it would take an oratorial master, which Biden is not. Even at his sharpest, the man has contended with a lifelong stutter, that some see as a sign of cognitive decline. That combination did not serve him well on this night when he had the chance to disprove the fears that he is incapable of fulfilling his role for four more years.

I held off shouting at the TV for the bulk of the 90 minutes but instead shook my head, wondering when Trump would be called out on his outrageous confabulations. Some include the statement that Democrats are in favor of unlimited abortion parameters, up to and including infanticide once the baby is born, and that “everyone wanted Roe v. Wade overturned,” when in fact, “a poll conducted by Pew Research Center in July 2022 found that 57 percent of respondents said they disapproved of the overturning of the landmark decision. Another PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll conducted in May 2022 (before the case was decided) found that 64 percent of respondents were opposed to reversing Roe v. Wade.”

He also claimed that Biden indicted him in New York City because he was a political opponent. The charges were lodged by the state and not the federal government for hiding hush money payments to Stormy Daniels. He was found guilty by a jury of his peers, some of whom had voted for him. He awaits sentencing on July 11th. He continues to deny that they had sex.

He accused Biden of calling Black people, “super predators.” A piece in USA Today, explains the conversation:

“While Biden once warned of ‘predators’ in 1993 while advocating for a 1994 crime bill he sponsored as a senator, he never referred to African Americans as ‘super predators.’ Rather, it was then-first lady Hillary Clinton who linked that term to the 1994 crime bill, as USA TODAY previously reported.

While campaigning for her husband in 1996, Clinton praised the 1994 crime bill for curbing gangs, saying, ‘We need to take these people on, they are often connected to big drug cartels, they are not just gangs of kids anymore. They are often the kinds of kids that are called super predators. No conscious, no empathy.’

Notably, she did not connect this comment to Black people.”

One of the most telling statements made by the former holder of the Oval Office came at the end when he was asked if he would accept the outcome of the 2024 election, no matter who won. He was asked three times, since he evaded the answer and then offered, “If it’s a fair and legal and good election, absolutely.” Translate to “if I win.” This was the only time I felt that either of the moderators was assertive with him as I wish they had been all throughout.

I also wanted them to raise the question about Project 2025, which was created by The Heritage Foundation as a roadmap and guidebook for dismantling the government as we know it. Hoping the moderators of the second debate, which will take place in September, will ask.

I went to bed feeling disheartened and resigned to the fallout that would follow, with the DNC panicking and considering nominating another candidate. I was encouraged when I watched Biden’s far more energetic and on point speech in North Carolina the next day and it had me wondering where this guy was the night before. He was vibrant, articulate, having recovered from the cold that was given as a reason for his condition during the debate. His face looked brighter. His demeanor lighter. I hope that he is able to maintain that presentation throughout the campaign.

Yes, there is a legitimate concern for Biden’s stamina and ability to give four more years as a servant leader for all Americans and not just those who voted for him. An even bigger concern is that, despite all of Trump’s horrendous comments, his 34 felony convictions, his stated intention to rule the way the autocrats he admires do, there will be enough people to put him over the top, since the poll numbers still, after all he had done, show them neck and neck. Even if he loses, we are at risk of another January 6th style insurrection.

Although there have been calls for President Biden to step aside in favor of a younger candidate because of his performance, some of his trusted advisors and family members are supporting his remaining in the race. On the other hand, alternative candidates’ names are being floated, including VP Harris. National anxiety is at an outrageously high level.

As much as I have valued the accomplishments of this administration, if a viable candidate who had a better chance of defeating Trump was on the ballot, I would vote for him or her. Ironically, the media is not calling for Trump, after the copious amounts of lies he told, as well as his felony convictions to drop out of the race for the good of the country. With the recent SCOTUS decision on presidential immunity, it makes it imperative to vote with the best interest of everyone in the United States in mind. The stakes couldn’t be higher.

The ultimate questions are these: What kind of country do you want to live in? What values do you hold most dear? Which candidate best reflects those values?

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