Most of the time I get my fill of American political news from clips of The Daily Show, which I know many people accuse of being more political left leaning than balanced with its humour.
As such it was my first port of call when looking for commentary on the recent, first US Presidential debate for 2024. I say first because I don't know if they'll do another one. I'd strongly advise they don't.
Getting your news from a comedy show isn't ideal, even one as arguably intelligent as The Daily Show, because they're focussed on what can be laughed at, more than serious analysis. As such their coverage very well could be making both candidates look more foolish than they may actually be.
As such I decided to watch the full replay of the debate so I could get more of a sense of who both candidates are and how they come across in, what should be, their ideal platform - debating the opposition.
Before Donald Trump became President I was a fan. I watched every season of his reality show, The Apprentice, and he always came across as a tough but thoughtful kind of businessman.
Unfortunately, once he entered politics, his say it often enough and people will believe it style didn't really translate to the public discourse, where data is readily available to contradict any dodgy claims.
Not that this has particularly been a hindrance in a climate where most people know you can find data that backs up anything you say almost as easily as you can find data to discredit it.
While I never predicted Trump would win his first term as President I always knew he was a strong contender, and quietly hoped he'd win just because I thought that would be hilarious. Except it wasn't.
I still can't believe anyone in the Republican Party thinks he is a good ambassador for their politics, or that they allowed him to run again.
Joe Biden seems like a smart guy but he just doesn't have, whatever he used to have, that made people think he'd be a great leader. He shouldn't have run for President for his first term let alone a second.
While Donald sometimes struggles to put fourth a coherent sentence, Joe struggles to finish making a point about almost anything he's asked about. He'll start out with confidence but lose his train of thought, finishing with a closing point that barely relates to anything he started out with.
Joe also loves a list to help him remember things, time and again, numbering the points he wanted to make.
Honestly, Joe is probably still a capable guy. He just doesn't need the spotlight nitpicking every glitch and magnifying it into senility. He reminds me a lot of Ronald Reagan in his second term, when many began to question his health, particularly his mental state.
Incidentally, in my opinion, Reagan was far and away a better president than Trump no matter what Trump says about his own presidency being the best. Sure Regan fuelled the Cold War to concerning levels but at least he actually made America seem like a force not to be reckoned with by anyone - even Russia).
But I digress... After watching the debate, regardless of your political leanings, how did either of these guys end up being the best choice from their respective parties?
Perhaps they're better in the trenches, doing the actual work, rather than being in the spotlight, though both have extensive media experience. They both should present far better than they do.
If both men are determined to run as their party's best chance of keeping the other out of office one can only hope the winner resigns early in their term... for any reason. Neither really has anything left to prove.
Trump, during the debate, straight up said he'd rather not be running. I forget why he said he had to, so he at least thinks he's the Republican party's best chance of a win.
Maybe once he has, he'll resign early knowing the party will still be in office, headed up by his Vice President. There's no need for him to hang around since he can't run for a third term (and why would he want to?).
I'm sure Joe Biden at least aspires to be in office for a full second term but I don't think anyone would hold it against him if he decided keeping Trump out of office was all he needed to achieve before getting off the world stage.
Perhaps he thought his running mate and VP, Kamala Harris, would have struggled to win the Presidency so he decided to run instead with plans to resign early so she could take over the top job?
Regardless, it would be nice to once again have a US President who can at least string a few sentences of substance together.
Trump and Joe just aren't leaders anyone can take seriously. If they stay in office another four years America will truly be standing in 'it' while the rest of the world looks on with a look of incredulous disgust at having to deal with these people again.
Maybe that's a bit harsh but come on, are these guys really the best candidates America has?
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