On the June 27th Presidential Debate
June 28, 2024

By Andrew Samaras

              There are many crises facing the United States, and indeed the world, today. From untenable wealth inequality; corporate and political corruption; and the erosion of trust in academic and governing institutions, to full-fledged and burgeoning wars in Ukraine, Israel, across the extended Middle East, and along the East and South China Seas; to economic partners like South Africa and my family’s own Brazil withdrawing from a union of worldwide democracies in favor of partnerships with the world’s autocracies and theocracies; and even to the preservation of our American democracy, a beacon to the world which is under threat from a pathological liar who mocks democratic ideals—there are hundreds of things I can think of that should be more important during an election than an incumbent presidential candidate’s apparent frailty under the unique conditions and strain of a televised debate. The existence, and significance, of these issues makes it all the more of an egregious sin for the Democratic party to attempt to prop up Joe Biden as a candidate in the way they did during the debate, and for President Biden to continue to promote himself as the best option to lead us as we confront the trying days ahead.

             While the Media, and CNN, bear much of the responsibility for the cascade of lies that were allowed to spew unchecked from Trump’s mouth, President Biden still utterly and completely failed to make any case for his administration’s policies or successes. “The idea” that he is the only one who can defeat Trump and possibly be the restorer of order and civility to our society has become laughable, because he cannot even persuade his own base that he is mentally coherent enough to win in November, let alone serve four more years. While his performance improved as the debate progressed, and while on second viewing his remarks are markedly more intelligible, last night made it official that the president’s greatest liability, his poor communication, is outweighing his key strength, which is the contrast of his character and principles relative to his predecessor’s.

             The country and the world will lose if Trump wins this election, a possibility that seems ever more likely as the scalding summer wears on. At this point, the only thing that keeps the democratic machine churning Biden ‘spin’ is ego. The irony is that the ego of the President, those closest to him, his surrogates, and the democratic party, in ignoring the mood of the society in their pursuit for power, will be the proximate cause of the demise of their campaign and eventual concession to the world’s most dangerous egomaniac, Donald Trump.