The first presidential debate was certainly an experience. After a pretty poor performance from both Joe Biden and Donald Trump last night it’s kind of terrifying knowing that this is the best the country has to offer right now.
Pick your poison: insanity or senility, those are the two choices American voters must face in November. While Trump needed to prove that he isn’t an egotistical fascist trying to bring an end to democracy, Biden needed to prove that he does, in fact, still have the mental facilities required to be running the country. The opposition have been pushing the narrative that the president is a confused old man and tonight was his chance to prove them wrong.
So how did Biden do? While he certainly had moments, pressing Trump on a quote from when he visited a WW1 memorial and chastising him for not doing anything about the insurrection on Jan. 6. But it’s hard to ignore the fact that the president did have a few moments where he seemed confused throughout portions of the interview. Especially after one viewer pointed out the somewhat dazed expression Biden had on his face for the majority of the interview.
So what’s up with the face? One individual suggested that he was “trying not to fall asleep.” Maybe that’s just resting old-man face? I’d like to think so but it’s not just the expression on his face that has people concerned for his mental state.
Some of Biden’s answers and rebuttals are hard to follow — at one point while talking about abortion and the terrible decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, he switched mid-sentence and brought up immigration and the murder of a young woman. To be fair he did recover and emphasized that Roe v. Wade would be restored and even corrected Trump on his assertion that it would allow for terminations up to nine months.
There’s no doubt that reactions like the one above and snippets taken from the debate out of context will be used to further push the narrative that Biden is completely incapable. The sad fact is, he’s still the better choice out of the two men.