Reactions to the Next Presidential Debate Between Biden and Trump

One of the worst aspects of the debate completed last Thursday, June 27, between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump was the apprehension in anticipation of the debate and pundits’ and principals’ reaction to the 90-minute exchange.

In anticipation of the responses to the agreed-upon second debate, now scheduled for September 10, when, like the first clash on June 27,  both Biden and Trump will be their parties’ nominee, I have anticipated general pundits’ reactions to that debate, the knowledge of which should diminish some of the nervousness preceding it.

So here, forthwith, are the takes we the public may expect from Biden supporters and Trump supporters:

Pro-Biden Supporters

Wow! Where was this Biden on June 27?  Did anyone but his family expect the tour de force the newly energized president put on tonight?  Granted,  the president from time to time exhibited his stutter, but his line – “sorry, I couldn’t get rid of my stutter” – was widely appreciated by those in the audience who seemed to be excited with him all the way.  And his use of notes – barely noticeable – seemed to steady him throughout.

The president seemed to make great use of the improvement of inflation numbers, the surprising control of protests at the Democratic National Convention, the slowing of the previously escalating violence from undocumented immigrants, the imminent ending of the war with Hamas in Gaza and the relative quiet from our adversaries China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.

Moreover, when President Biden accused Trump of lying, which was his wont again, when the 2020 election was brought up by excellent moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis, Trump seemed to fall into his concerning claim that he would accept the 2024 results if and only if “the election is fair and honest.”

Biden pushed back on Trump’s lies this time, or at least all for which he had time.  He reiterated quite effectively Trump’s libel that those in the military are “suckers and losers.”  He argued convincingly why Ukraine needs United States’ help to avoid possibly a World War III.

And at the end, with Trump’s insisting that they talk about their golf games, his humiliation seemed confirmed.

Surely all of the precipitous doubters will want to reconsider their skepticism – President Joe Biden is back!

Pro-Trump Supporters

Finally, the second nail in Biden’s political coffin has been driven in by former and future President Donald Trump. Everything went Trump’s way tonight except that the ABC moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis were more open about their opposition to the former president.  When they cut him off, it seemed to be with prurient delight and with reminders that he needed to “answer the questions asked.”

Of course, Biden’s stuttering and unclear sentences were utterly unfathomable and embarrassing, and his look of confidence was disorienting at best.

President Trump reiterated once and for all how the United States cannot afford to pay and pay and pay for all foreign conflicts; Biden seemed out of contact with reality.  Moreover, when Biden claimed that the last 11 months of the Israeli war with Hamas proved how “dependable” Biden’s support was for the Jewish state, Trump’s claim that the war would have been over 6 months earlier under Trump’s U.S. leadership seemed to win the crowd.

Trump convincingly pointed out that the very moderate improvement in the number of illegals coming across the border was “hardly a solution.”

He further noted that the stabilization of inflation did nothing to erase the ravages of inflation at the beginning of Biden’s term.

 And at the end, with Biden’s insisting that they talk about their golf games, his humiliation seemed confirmed.

Surely all of the doubters of Biden following their first debate will want to say, “We told you so!” and indeed they did.  Soon-to-be president Donald Trump can start measuring the drapes in the White House, and he should.