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There was no question who came out victorious after Thursday evening’s debate. On policy after policy, from the economy to the border to foreign policy, President Trump hit it out of the park.
Biden stuttered and mumbled all throughout the evening. His voice sounded weak; his hands shook; he looked every bit the octogenarian in terminal decline conservatives portray him – but even worse. Afterward, Team Biden attributed this to a “cold,” but no cold explains the mental lapses, irritability, and rank incoherence exhibited by the man all throughout those embarrassing ninety minutes on stage.
If it wasn’t already obvious, Biden is a mere figurehead for an administration that is beyond his control or capacity to understand. He has no idea the destruction he has wrought upon our inner cities, the result of a wide-open border and chaos overseas that have flooded the nation with countless illegal aliens, many of whom are military-age men that have ravaged every city in our country from coast to coast.
Nor does Biden recognize the harm caused by his fifty-year high inflation rates, or the weaponization of the justice system which has wreaked havoc upon an untold number of innocent American families who are being penalized for merely exercising their rights to speak and assemble by a vindictive regime out for blood.
President Trump is a genuine statesman and Biden a dithering fool. President Trump has put everything into this presidential contest – he has been indicted by his political opponent, which is without precedent in all American history. He faces a sham sentencing in less than two weeks, the product of a relentless witch-hunt that has been waged against him ever since the moment he entered the political arena nine years ago.
He has gone through all of that and stands stronger than ever. Last night’s debate stood testimony to his own willpower and the strength of the movement he leads. He has reduced his opponent into a pathetic shell of a man, to the point where even CNN and MSNBC, and really every major network, broke into panic calling for Biden’s resignation. They need him to be replaced as their candidate because of how poor of a performance he gave.
Biden was the furthest thing from a competent leader. Instead, he looked the part of central casting for a nursing home patient. Undoubtedly, America’s enemies are emboldened by that grotesque display of weakness. And our allies are shaking in their boots, counting down the days until the next Trump administration.
For his part, President Trump was very diplomatic even though he shared a stage with the man now attempting to put him behind bars. He was also gracious, at one point saying that he wished Biden would do a good job for the country – because we all would be the better for it. Yet, Biden is not someone who is aware of the devastation his policies have brought upon this country, and that was clear based on his struggles to form a coherent sentence.
At one memorable point, President Trump called out his adversary: “I don’t know what he said at the end of his sentence there, and I don’t think he knows either!” But it was apparent already within the first three minutes of that debacle that Biden did not have what it takes.
Some were concerned he would not even last the full ninety minutes, let alone four more years. This was the first presidential debate in recent memory that had commercial breaks – part of the rules agreed to between CNN and Biden’s campaign beforehand. These rules were, of course, designed to give Biden every advantage.
But even with the rules – and questions, which focused too much on irrelevant issues like climate change and Roe v. Wade, now settled law – rigged in Biden’s favor, he still failed. Long before the debate had wrapped up, many Democratic operatives were pitching names for Biden’s replacement. Some were calling for an emergency meeting in Washington. Expect there to be many discussions along these lines between now and the Democratic National Convention.
However, Biden himself does not appear willing to step down. In his mind, he did a good job. There are also logistical problems with swapping him out, particularly at this late stage. With each passing day, it becomes more difficult for the Democrats to do a last-minute switcheroo.
There are tremendous risks to that as well: could they find a candidate who could match Biden’s popularity within the party at large? Although Crooked Joe suffers from historically bad approval ratings, Kamala Harris is even less popular. Who else do they have on their bench? Gavin Newsome? Hillary Clinton? Michelle Obama?
Their bench is limited. And creating a vacuum by removing him at this juncture only would lead to the prospect for party infighting, which nobody wants just months away from a critical election.
Regardless, all those questions do not really matter. President Trump looked like a formidable candidate: cool, calm, and collected. The CNN debate forum helped facilitate a disciplined and focused performance on his part. He was very knowledgeable on the major policy points that mattered and adeptly used opportunities throughout to exploit Biden’s weaknesses.
President Trump has been for several months now enjoying some of the strongest poll numbers of his political career. After that debate, his momentum will doubtlessly only gain in strength. The Democratic Party remains as fractured as ever, and President Trump cuts the image of unity, which is exactly what our deeply divided country needs right now.
The 45th President’s closing remarks were some of his powerful of the night. He dealt a fatal blow to Biden, while reassuring that he will bring America back up from near-extermination, close the border, end the weaponized justice system, reduce inflation, and have so many of the foreign conflicts – from Ukraine to the Middle East – resolved before he even steps foot again into the Oval Office and takes the oath as America’s 47th President.
Paul Ingrassia is a Constitutional Scholar; Communications Director of the NCLU; a two-time Claremont Fellow, and is on the Board of Advisors of the New York Young Republican Club and the Italian American Civil Rights League. He writes a widely read Substack that is regularly posted on Truth Social by President Trump. Follow him on X @PaulIngrassia, Substack, Truth Social, Instagram, and Rumble.