2016 Trump, not 2020 Trump, is a winner
Read my full column on the Washington Examiner website.
Congratulations to America, if not the world, on making it through round one of the nerdy, geriatric version of Rocky II. On Thursday evening, 81-year-old President Joe Biden finally faced off against former President Donald Trump (a mere 78 years young!) in a long-awaited rematch.
And, thank goodness, Trump won.
First, let’s take a look at Trump’s performance, which, quite frankly, was as good as anyone could hope for. Apart from his meandering, waffling response to CNN’s expected question about accepting the results of the election, his answers showed that Trump had moved away from his argumentative debate style of 2020 and returned to the prime Trump era of 2016.
Regardless of the question or topic, Trump controlled the conversation by keeping the audience’s attention on three crucial areas: the economy, immigration, and foreign policy. He (mostly) refused to get dragged into petty back-and-forths, and he calmly reminded the country of Biden’s monumental and undeniable failings as president. Special attention was given to foreign policy, with Trump repeatedly shoving Biden down the memory lane dedicated to his disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Even if Trump’s opponent had been equipped with the ability to engage in actual debate, Trump was prepared, composed, and sharp to the point that his victory (given the policy failures of his counterpart) was almost guaranteed.
Unfortunately for Biden, it’s quite obvious that the White House medical team got his dose wrong.
Biden was practically a cartoon version of himself: bumbling, confused, bizarrely vacant. On multiple occasions, Biden slurred his way into oblivion or stared off into the distance as if to say, “Please, mommy, let me go to bed.”
Yes, both men are older than the ideal candidate for what is the toughest job on the planet (except for, perhaps, Hunter Biden’s Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor). But the side-by-side shot of Trump and Biden on screen was simply brutal, providing a stunning contrast that made Biden seem more like a stand-in for a corpse on Law and Order than a candidate for reelection.
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