Credit: CNN

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: The big loser in the Trump-Biden TV debate was…. American voters

Sep 30, 2020 | 4:38 AM

KAMLOOPS — CAN YOU SAY, “Worst debate ever”?

If you watched the Trump-Biden debate last night you’re probably wishing you’d put your time to better use.

For an hour and half, President Donald Trump was rude, obnoxious and totally lacking in decency. Joe Biden was often off-stride and hesitant.

The whole thing was chaotic, disrespectful, childish and full of mis-truths, just like American politics in general.

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Biden tried to avoid taking Trump’s bait but succumbed all too often. In frustration, he called the president a “clown” and told him to “shut up.”

He frequently misspoke and had to back up. He has an annoying habit of starting sentences with “Here’s the deal” and interjecting his remarks with “Number One” and “Number Two.”

And his strategy of staring into the camera and trying to talk directly to the voters worked at times; at others it came across as affected.

But whatever shortcomings Biden exhibited were eclipsed by the boorish behaviour of the incumbent.

The low point, on substance, was when Trump refused to condemn white supremacy. That came after moderator Chris Wallace asked him a direct question, and Trump answered with “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by!”

The Proud Boys, by the way, are a far-right group.

And it got even lower when Trump took a shot at Joe Biden’s son Hunter’s drug addiction.

Sure, the questions from Wallace covered the economy, taxes, COVID-19, racism, law and order and climate change. There was so much volume, though, that it was hard to absorb what the policies of the two candidates are.

So, who won? Well, in terms of sheer domination, Trump was an easy winner. It can be argued, though, that Biden won more hearts.

There’s one certain loser in this debate, and that’s undecided American voters who had hoped to be persuaded to one or the other. They can be forgiven if they’re left shaking their heads instead.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.