WILL YOU SHUT UP, MAN?
I’m a little behind on political commentary and I know you’re all dying to hear what I think about that debate and the thing about his taxes, etc.
So:
1. I didn’t watch the debate, because (1) I already know which candidate I prefer, (2) I already know that debates never tell me anything I don’t already know about the candidates - it’s all trainwreck entertainment theatre that I can live without, and (3) I value what little sanity I have remaining. My Twitter feed of people watching the debate live assures me I made the right decision.
That said, based on the coverage and commentary, it went the way I expected. Which is also why I find all the hand-wringing over how it was a low point in Presidential elections and a total shit show and etc a bit disingenuous. I mean, yes, it was all that, but what honestly did they expect? Trump did exactly what Trump always does when you put him in front of an audience - lies and bloviates and bullies and disregards all rules and decorum generally shouts word salads at you He always does that. He’s never not done that. It’s his brand. Like, dude, where have you been for the last four years?
2. While we’re at it, the “Trump paid almost no taxes” story was welcome, but again didn’t say much we didn’t already know. If anything, it told us that Trump is like most rich people in America - he pays people good money to make sure his tax bill is as close to zero as you can get.
I don’t think it matters in terms of the election outcome. To be clear, I think it does matter very much in the sense of understanding how desperate Trump is and what he may do to save his own skin (rig an election, say, or cry fraud if he loses), and it matters in the sense that Trump’s tax returns are symptomatic of a much wider problem of systemic tax evasion that the rich have been utilizing for years.
But as a game changer in the 2020 election? It’s not going to move the needle much, if at all. It certainly won't turn Republicans and his MAGA base against him - most of them would love to know how he did it so they can do it, too. Remember how the Panama Papers showed just how many rich people with actual money do this kind of thing all the time? Remember how no one did anything to really change that?
So yeah. I don’t think it will affect the outcome of the election. It should. But it won’t.
Also, I admit I’d be kind of annoyed that this would be the dealbreaker for Republicans that have backed every other horrible thing Trump has done so far. The racism, the cruelty, the sexual assault and harassment, the bullying, the incitement of violence, kids in cages, collusion, corruption, nepotism, mocking the disabled, the constant lying - and this is where you draw the line? Come now.
3. Back to the debate, the big takeaway for me is his statement about/to the Proud Boys. It’s hard to make it more obvious that Trump supports them and approves of their intentions and activities.
Predictably he’s been trying to walk that back in his usual bizarre way - simultaneously claiming he has no idea who the Proud Boys are but he condemns them anyway. But like most of his walkbacks, he sounds like he just saying what his advisers told him to say and doesn’t really understand why he has to say it, and is just as likely to turn right back around and say what he said the first time. The fact that he didn’t condemn them the first time when he had a chance - and honestly, the fact that it has to be asked at all is not a good sign - speaks more loudly than his damage-control followups.
4. Even if you can somehow prove that Trump was just mouthing off and wasn’t serious, or misspoke, or whatever, the fact remains that the Proud Boys and groups like them are feeling mighty proud that that President Himself supports their manifesto and their actions, which makes them even more dangerous and more likely to pull a Rittenhouse in the belief that Trump will have their back.
5. Anyway, the debate experience was so awful that even before Trump got sick, people were suggesting maybe we cancel all the others. I cannot think of a good reason against this. POTUS debates don’t really add any value in terms of learning where candidates stand on topics and hashing out whose plan is better. The only people who benefit from TV debates are the candidates (cos hey, free airtime) and the TV networks (cos hey, trainwrecks are good television).
And in this particular election year, I’d wager most people already know what the choice is - four more years of Trump TV, or something that is not that.
Anyway, if the tone of that first debate really put you off, here’s the bad news: that’s as good as it gets, and it will not get that good again. Maybe the Harris/Pence debate is worth doing as a relative palate cleanser, but I think the other Trump/Biden matches are going to be more of the same, and once was plenty.
The talk about extra rules or tools for the next debate to make it more civil is adorable, but look - the first debate had rules. Trump characteristically did not bother to follow any of them. He’s already opposed the proposed changes for the next one. That’s no reason not to put the rules in, but Trump is gonna Trump.
And honestly democracy won’t suffer if we cancel the rest of the debates. Frankly, democracy has far bigger problems to worry about.
Muted,
This is dF
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