Manhandled by Donald Trump this Thursday evening during the first debate of the American presidential election, Joe Biden does not reassure about his ability to run for a second term in the fall.
Joe Biden and Donald Trump faced off last night during a televised debate lasting more than an hour and a half, four months before the American presidential election. And the current president appeared weakened in this debate which was very violent. Because they dropped their punches, the two old candidates… Quite quickly, Joe Biden said: “I have a convict next to me, he slept with a porn actress while his wife was pregnant”. And Joe Biden calls his opponent “depraved”. Donald Trump denies having had sexual relations with this actress and denounces a legal conspiracy led by politicized judges.
Another moment of high tension, on abortion. A very sensitive topic in this campaign. Donald Trump accuses the Democrats of wanting to authorize abortion up to the ninth month. And he lets go: “With Joe Biden, we tear babies from their mother’s womb to kill them”. Donald Trump even spoke of Democratic states where children can be killed after birth and Joe Biden let this enormity pass without reacting…
Donald Trump was the most offensive. He repeatedly called Joe Biden the worst president in history. He accused him of having destroyed the country, of being weak, of being sold out to the Chinese, of being a Palestinian… Joe Biden responded to these numerous attacks by repeating: “Lie, liar, I have never heard so many lies.” But he seemed on the defensive, sometimes searching for words and with the handicap of having a much weaker voice than his opponent. He sometimes didn’t finish his sentences. And Donald Trump didn’t miss it when he said: “I didn’t understand a word he meant and besides, he doesn’t know what he meant either.”
Golf to prove your fitness…
The question of age was asked. CNN anchors reminded Joe Biden that he would be 86 years old at the end of a possible second term. The president kicked in by explaining that he had often been criticized for being too young at the start of his career. Donald Trump jumped at the opportunity to say that he had taken cognitive tests and that he had answered all the questions. He boasted of being in great shape and of having recently won two golf tournaments, and not tournaments for seniors, while according to him Joe Biden is no longer capable of sending the ball 50 meters in golf . The president protested, claiming to have had a good level at golf. He noted that Donald Trump had gained weight. It was the moment of the debate where we would have thought we were in a schoolyard…
In the end, was there a winner? Trump did Trump, with the excesses that we know him for and that please his supporters. But what we remember most is that Joe Biden took the blows, that he appeared older and weaker than his opponent. He was not knocked out, but he did not reassure those who wonder if he is really capable of leading the world’s leading power until 2029. The New York Times speaks of an inconsistent performance that raises questions about his ability to continue his action as a candidate.
“Continuing his action as a candidate” means that the major American daily is wondering whether the Democrats will not be forced at the last moment to find another candidate… We will have to watch in the coming hours to see if the question really arises.
