A Few Observations Concerning the Presidential Debate

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris participated in a presidential debate hosted by ABC News last night. The overwhelming consensus is that Harris won in grand style. Harris cleaned Trump’s clock, something I had expected Biden to do in his ill-fated debate with the GOP candidate.

I won’t essay a full analysis of the debate; others are doing that very well. Instead, I want to comment on a few moments in the debate I found notable.

The first topic of the debate was the economy and the cost of living. Trump took no time to illustrate that he understands neither tariffs nor the concept of inflation. He mistakenly believes that tariffs are a cost to nations selling to the U.S. rather than a cost invariably borne by consumers. And he believes (or wants us to believe) that the inflation rate is about higher prices, not the speed at which prices are changing.

Politicians are certainly in the habit of embellishing the truth, but Trump repeatedly offers outrageous observations that are blatantly false. He insisted that infanticide is perfectly legal in parts of the country run by Democrats. This is an outright lie, and one wonders if Trump supporters really believe such nonsense. (Moderator Linsey Davis noted that Trump’s statement is untrue.) Just as outrageous was Trump’s assertion that Haitian immigrants are killing and eating Americans’ pets. His information source for this charge was something he saw on TV. On Fox News likely. (Moderator David Muir observed that no evidence exists that people’s pets are being eaten.) These two incidents by themselves should be disqualifying for any candidate for the highest office in the land.

Harris repeatedly showed concern for everyday Americans. Her explaining how Trump got  GOP legislators to kill the bipartisan border bill was a stark illustration of how Trump has little concern for America and Americans but only for his own ideocratic interests.

Harris mentioned some of the crazy things Trump talks about in his rallies. Trump countered by talking about crazy things. (This is when he brought up pet eating.)

Trump repeated one of his favorite lies that the country is being flooded by drug dealers and terrorists who are responsible for a crime wave. He never offers data to support this assertion, of course, and David Muir pointed out that the FBI says that crime is down under the Biden administration.

When asked about his inaction during the January 6 insurrection, Trump accepted no responsibility and remarked that the insurrectionists have been treated badly. Another disqualifying response.

Trump was also asked about his recent admission that he lost the 2020 election. His response was that that “admission” was simply sarcasm. David Muir noted that he saw no sarcasm in Trump’s statement.

Trump called Harris weak and made the extraordinary declaration: “Putin endorsed her last week.” He claimed she will cause World War III.

Trump tried to blame Harris for the chaotic U.S. exit from Afghanistan. Harris pointed out that Trump ignored the Afghanistan government, negotiated an exit with terrorists, and invited terrorists to Camp David.

Trump was asked about Obamacare, which he has wanted to replace. He described Obamacare as lousy, but admitted that he had no replacement plan, though he has “concepts” for a plan. (How much time does he need to come up with a plan?) Harris pointed out that the administration has improved Obamacare, though Republicans in Congress tried 60 times to kill the program.

In general, Harris behaved like a normal candidate; Trump acted like a crazy man. How much this matters to people, I cannot say.

ABC News and its moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis did a fine job. Their questions were well-chosen, and they were willing to call out the most outrageous falsehoods. Had I been a moderator, Trump’s microphone would have been turned off at times it was left on, but the moderators headed off the shouting matches that often result in debates in which Trump participates. I continue to believe that the lack of an audience makes a positive contribution to presidential debates.