Master Debaters: Trump V. Biden I

I didn't want to watch it live. "Can't we just wait and catch the highlights from Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert?"  

My wife and daughter actually prevailed to watch the first debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. 

Basically, it went pretty much as expected. Li'l Donnie yelled, bullied and interrupted, spouting discredited conspiracy theories and basically lying his fat ass off. 

Here is an artist's rendering of the debate.

Artwork by Scott McCloud from his comic, DESTROY!!

By comparison, Joe was forceful but focused, ready to discuss specific policy issues. But it was hard to do that with Trump constantly talking over Biden and frequently not even related to whatever topic Chris Wallace just asked about.  

Most of the debate kept Trump and Biden on a split screen. Whenever Biden spoke, Trump would make faces like a petulant child and mutter retorts when he wasn't out right talking over Biden.

Moderator Chris Wallace kept admonishing the candidates to follow the rules they agreed to for the debate. Each guy gets their turn to talk. 

Once while having to remind Trump of this rule on more time, Trump whined and pointed at Biden, "Hey, he's interrupting too!" Wallace replied, "Yes but you're doing it more." 

When Wallace asked Trump to let Biden finish one of his answers, Biden responded, “He doesn’t know how to do that.”

Biden had enough, admonishing Trump, "Will you shut up, man? This is so unpresidential.”

My favorite Biden barb of the night: "You would never know a suburb unless you took a wrong turn."  

OK, this is a good one. At one point, Bide asked, "Do you have any idea what this clown is doing?

And Biden called Trump "Putin's puppy".  

Donald Trump is notorious for not planning for debates and that was clear Tuesday night. Basically, Li'l Donnie just trotted out his usual campaign rally fodder. 

Casting doubt on the election again, Trump repeated his claim, “This is going to be a fraud like you’ve never seen."  

Predicting calamity if Biden wins, Trump declared, " “Our suburbs would be gone, and you would see problems like you've never seen.”

At one point, I commented that Donald Trump needs new material.  For a guy who once claimed to know all the best words, there is a distressing lack of variety in Trump's syntax. "Like you've never seen" comes up a hell of a lot.  

Perhaps the worst moment of the night came when Chris Wallace gave Trump a chance to publicly condemn white supremacists and to tell them to stand down. Li'l Donnie didn't take that chance. Instead, he issued a call to arms: “Proud boys, stand back and stand by."

All in all, Biden held his own and didn't flinch under Trump's bullying assault. On a stage side by side to see who looks for presidential, only one man did and it sure as hell wasn't the guy who has the job now. 

Well, dear lord we've got 2 more of these to get through but next week we have the under card with Mike Pence going head to toe with Kamala Harris. Mike Pence will continue to sell out his alleged religious beliefs in support of a morally deficient Donald Trump while Kamala Harris will do her damnedest to get Mike to blink.  

Then it will be time for Biden and Trump again. 

I wonder what we can expect from Donald Trump?

Artwork by Scott McCloud from his comic, DESTROY!!

Yeah, that's what I figured.