Republicans are Still Making Excuses for Trump’s Disastrous Debate

By ELWOOD WATSON

When it comes to the issue of debates, perception is often just as crucial as reality and substance.

Donald Trump’s debate performance Sept. 10 was nothing short of dismal. It was a failed opportunity for Trump to persuade the American people (albeit cynically) about the direction of our nation. True to his character, he was abrupt, combative, and ruthlessly negative. As Trump sees it, the country is a few steps away from implosion.

From a historical perspective, presidential debates usually are irrelevant. A trove of social science literature argues the majority of debate watchers have firmly decided whom they intend to vote for. While the victorious candidate might get a current boost from a competent performance, the polling bump often subsides.

But the debate between Trump and Kamala Harris may very well be a political aberration. It was a one-sided affair, a waterloo of epic proportions for the former president.

It was such a rout that many conservative pundits frantically bewailed Trump’s disastrous performance. Some resorted to sinister conspiracy theories in an effort to discredit Harris’ performance, pointing to a unsubstantiated document dispensed by a random social media account that claimed, without evidence, ABC News colluded with the vice president against Trump.

The charges were so outlandish that Gateway Pundit, a far-right conspiracy theory site supportive of Trump, denounced it as “a complete hoax.”

None of these issues stopped folks like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, billionaire Bill Ackman, and X owner Elon Musk of jumping all over the false story and sharing the phony documents.

Until recently, many perceived Harris as ill-suited for the role of the vice presidency, let alone president of the United States. She was a person that much of the mainstream media often ridiculed, a number of political pundits had derided as the “weakest” alternative to Biden. Racist and sexist voices on the right routinely demeaned her supposed political deficiencies and large segments of the press provided only sporadic coverage of the vice president.

Her debate performance effectively dispelled initial perceptions, misguided assumptions and bigoted prejudices that she was a “DEI” hire. Even now, post-debate performance, there are a few detractors who believe that Harris is devoid of the necessary political acumen to be successful.

There are a small segment of journalists that have championed her achievements and competencies, but they have tended to be voices on the political periphery. Interestingly, the Sept.10 debate became a revelatory moment to many seasoned beltway political veterans who had smugly dismissed Harris as being ill-suited for her current position. Many of them were left wondering as well as pondering what it was that made them misdiagnose their patient with such gross negligence.

As history indicates, first debates do not always guarantee a final outcome, though this one may be the only event between Harris and Trump. Walter Mondale, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton were seen as the victors after their initial debate performances yet failed to win the presidency. Nonetheless, for the moment, the vice president and her campaign have the wind at their backs.

Harris is the nation’s first female vice president. In a nation that historically has been deeply politically ingrained in racial conflict, such a fact itself is glaringly noteworthy. Regardless of whether she is victorious or not in November, Harris is the first woman of color to serve as the Democratic party nominee.

This is a fact that will be permanently etched in her life story as well as in the political annals of American history.

Elwood Watson is a professor of history, Black studies, and gender and sexuality studies at East Tennessee State University. HIs columns are distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. He is also an author and public speaker.

From The Progressive Populist, October 15, 2024

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