"Well, if I were him I’d want to debate me too. He’s got nothing else to do.”

    • Shake747@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      9 months ago

      Biden is like Trump’s kryptonite. Trump always tries to get in the other guys head.

      Can’t get in Biden’s head…Bidens not in there, good luck dude

      • Shane Gillis
      • techt@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        9 months ago

        That guy has the BEST impersonation I’ve ever seen, it’s repulsive! Not just the voice, but the hands, the sucking air through the teeth, the head tilts and mouth movements, all spot-on. You know how you have to wonder about the mental state of horror game/movie artists looking at reference material all day? Same feeling about Shane Gillis.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      9 months ago

      Debates aren’t part of the election process, they’re part of the entertainment process. And if Biden doesn’t agree to do the age-old Three Debate monkey dance, the Undecided Voter will grow angry and support the Fun Candidate instead.

      Or, at least, that’s a theory. There’s another theory that debates are dumb nerd shit that nobody who hasn’t already made up their minds watch anymore. And - much as a bunch of Senators and Governors have refused to debate during safe election years - Biden’s refusal to meet Trump on national TV will actually make him Cool and Based.

      • davepleasebehave@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        9 months ago

        you can’t beat trump in a debate really. he will shit everywhere and his supports will guzzle residues. what’s the point.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          9 months ago

          you can’t beat trump in a debate really.

          You can. He’s a B-list stand up so you bring your A-game.

          But Biden isn’t a professional comedian. He’s not going to roast Trump in a game of The Dozens.

          what’s the point.

          When you’ve got a friendly press corps, you do a debate and let the media stunt on the opposition for you.

          There’s going to be a 5 second clip of one of them stumbling or mispronouncing a word, and then the next week long news cycle becomes “Does Candidate Have Alzheimer’s? Here’s a dozen Dr. Oz tier talking heads to tell you he might!”

          But when conservatives have their own big, invasive, and professionalized hatchet men teams, there’s a legit fear among Democrats that they will be more likely on the receiving end.

          • Furbag@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            9 months ago

            I have to disagree. You can’t reasonably debate someone whose arguments aren’t based in reality. Trump’s tactic since 2016 has been to use whatever platform that he’s been given to smear and denigrate his opponents at every opportunity and to lie about how all of the problems we face can be easily solved if only he were allowed to do it. When questioned on actual policy matters, he spouts complete nonsense that doesn’t hold up to scrutiny, but since it’s a fast paced debate he can make up bullshit and nobody will fact check him. Even if by some miracle the moderators do fact check him, he will turn to attack them and say they are politically biased against Trump, etc. etc.

            It’s a zero-win situation. Trump will never lose points for bad behavior among his base, and he only stands to benefit from the increased exposure. Biden meanwhile can’t score a goal when the goalpoasts are motorized to move backwards at this point and only invites unnecessary risk of flubbing or tripping up, which will be played back on repeat on political talk shows to harm him.

            I don’t disagree that he could totally beat him, but when the opposition is always playing a game of Texas Sharpshooter, Trump only stands to earn bullseyes while Biden is just wasting ammo.

            • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              9 months ago

              You can’t reasonably debate someone whose arguments aren’t based in reality.

              The point of a televised political debate isn’t to win your opponent to your side. The point is to establish to the outside viewer that your position and your personage is more fit to the task of governing than your opponent.

              For a candidate who is divorced from reality, this is typically pretty easy. You point out a few things that the opponent disagrees with and that your audience knows to be true. Then you provoke the opponent into saying something outlandish, attack the absurd allegation, and put up a far more attractive countervailing position/policy that people are more likely to believe practical.

              The problem Biden has is that he’s also immersed himself in propaganda. He isn’t willing to accept the rising poverty or the failing liberal institutions at home. He’s backed an ugly unpopular war in Ukraine and a fucking outright genocide in Palestine. His fixation on bipartisanship has left him once again getting Lucy-with-the-football’d on immigration. His slavish loyalty to the banks means he’s back to harping about a balanced budget and gutting popular public services. He’s constantly saying how he can’t do anything as President, while insisting that a future Trump Presidency would be totally unchecked, which didn’t make sense when Obama claimed it in the wake of Bush and now has completely run itself through.

              And he’s OLD. Really fucking old. He’s even more prone to gaffs and flubs than he was sixteen years ago.

              Trump will never lose points for bad behavior among his base

              Trump’s base isn’t enough to win a general election. But “bad behavior” is its own reward when its directed at someone the crowd doesn’t like. That’s what really makes Trump dangerous. If he were to try and tussle with Biden on the debate stage in 2020, an enormous number of people would be disgusted. But now that so many of those people have soured on Biden, I suspect you’d see quite a few of those same voters applaud.

              Even then, the thing Biden really has to worry about isn’t the Obama-Trump-Biden swing voter nearly so much as it is the Ohio or Virginia or Arizona or Georgia voter who refuses to vote for either one of these assholes. He needs to rally his base, regardless of who his opponent is. Trump being an asshole on stage matters far less than Biden advertising a future four years in this country that isn’t just four more years of shit.

          • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            9 months ago

            But when conservatives have their own big, invasive, and professionalized hatchet men teams, there’s a legit fear among Democrats that they will be more likely on the receiving end.

            Which is why the Democrats should have put someone else up for re-election, someone who can defend themself well.

      • aidan@lemmy.worldM
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        edit-2
        9 months ago

        I agree, my political theories of what is popular in the general public is based on sigma edits. Say something dumb but put phonk or synth wave music in the background and I will agree with you.

        Edit: I now support Serbian war criminals

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          9 months ago

          Edit: I now support Serbian war criminals

          The important thing is that you’re supporting some group of War Criminals.

          Moderate Rebels. Based Chads. Antifa Supersoldiers. Guys firing rockets from Yemen into the Red Sea. Guys firing rockets from Israel into Gaza. Guys driving fertilizer bombs up to the FBI building on Oklahoma. Guys dropping surplus munitions on the MOVE community center in Philly. Guys flinging pipe bombs into abortion clinics. Guys blowing up pipelines in Texas or under the Baltic Sea or anywhere that lets me fist-pump and shout “You fuckin’ gottem, mate!”

          Literally just anything that involves hard looking motherfuckers doing John Wick / Jason Statham shit with the highest body count imaginable.

          Please just promise me that There Will Be Blood.

          • aidan@lemmy.worldM
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            9 months ago

            Exactly, doesn’t everyone know casually killing people makes you cool. Especially if you’re in plain clothes and the footage looks like it’s from the 80s or 90s. I don’t know who shot first in Waco, but I do know who looked cooler, and it’s not the nerds wearing body armor.

            • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              edit-2
              9 months ago

              In a war of swag, David Koresh had it and Janet Reno did not.

              Unfortunately, this was a war that involved tanks. And Janet Reno was undeniably a bigger tankie.

      • nickwitha_k (he/him)@lemmy.sdf.org
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        9 months ago

        It’s not even “dumb nerd shit” these days. Current “debates” are little more than ways of generating soundbites. The moderators don’t do moderation and they refuse to cut mics for those who aren’t up. It’s entertainment and propaganda/campaign marketing, not debating.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          9 months ago

          The moderators don’t do moderation and they refuse to cut mics for those who aren’t up.

          You don’t really need to cut mics when you control the cameras and get to edit this shit in post during the Sunday Morning Talk Shows.

          The vast majority of people don’t watch the debates live. They just get the reactions after the fact.

          It’s entertainment and propaganda/campaign marketing, not debating.

          The future of politics is a new generation of celebrity candidates. And I don’t even know if that’s a bad thing, considering how many of our last generation’s candidates came out of a vat in the basement of some East Coast Ivy League boarding school.

          • nickwitha_k (he/him)@lemmy.sdf.org
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            9 months ago

            The vast majority of people don’t watch the debates live. They just get the reactions after the fact.

            I gave up on any of em after getting annoyed at the complete lack of debate in the “debates”.

            The future of politics is a new generation of celebrity candidates. And I don’t even know if that’s a bad thing, considering how many of our last generation’s candidates came out of a vat in the basement of some East Coast Ivy League boarding school.

            New boss, same as the old boss. Hard to say that there will be any difference as, since the embrace of neoliberalism, there’s been virtually zero politicians doing anything more than attempting to look like they’re trying to do anything for the populace but are somehow completely powerless to do anything but help their bribers-erm…“lobbyists” squeeze more out of those that can barely afford anything.

            • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              9 months ago

              there’s been virtually zero politicians doing anything more than attempting to look like they’re trying to do anything

              One of the big appeals of Trump is that he grasps at every lever of power he can find and pulls it.

              Nine times out of ten, it isn’t connected to anything. But if you pull on enough shit, maybe a big border wall or a Muslim ban or a repeal of Roe v Wade or a giant bucket of cash falls out and your voters love you for it.

  • Pavidus@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    9 months ago

    I’m torn. On one hand, debates should take place to show knowledge/professionalism/action plans, etc. Also, it showcases (yet again) what a fucking idiot he is. On the other hand, he hasn’t done a debate so far for this presidential race, so why start now? It’s been nice hearing about him slightly less.

    Also…how the fuck are debates not somehow mandatory to end up in the presidential race?

    • deft@lemmy.wtf
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      9 months ago

      debates haven’t been legit for decades and since then they progressively get worse

      • Mnemnosyne@lemmynsfw.com
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        9 months ago

        It’s a shame it didn’t happen…maybe, just maybe, if Bernie had trounced Trump in a debate, there wouldn’t have been that whole Bernie is unelectable/would lose to Trump idea floating so strongly, and it might’ve given him a better chance in the primary either time.

        • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          9 months ago

          It wouldn’t have mattered. The “unelectable” narrative was coming from the DNC leadership. Bernie was polling just fine until everyone started saying he couldn’t win.

          • I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            edit-2
            9 months ago

            I remember all the networks showing the number of delegates he and Hillary had, and they showed all the super delegates going to Hillary. Not only had they never shown votes like that before, but the super delegates hadn’t even voted at that point. It was all just based off the assumption that they would all vote for Hillary. Thumb on the scale.

            • Schadrach@lemmy.sdf.org
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              edit-2
              9 months ago

              Thumb on the scale.

              That’s the whole point of super delegates. The consequence in 2016 being that Hillary only needed about 30% in a given primary to “win” that state.

              EDIT: Curious about the downvote. Superdelegates made up a large enough share of delegate that to win a majority of delegates for a given state she only needed about 30% of the primary vote plus the superdelegates. Do the math yourself if you’d like to confirm. Hell, I’m from a state where Clinton only got about 35% of the vote in the primary, which meant she only got one more delegate than Sanders, who had closer to 51%.

    • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      9 months ago

      I’ll seriously consider debating you once - no, I’m sorry: IF - you win the Republican Primary.

      Can you imagine how fucking infuriating that would be to Trump?

  • FabledAepitaph@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    9 months ago

    It’s not really a debate when your opponent’s metrics for winning is simply to speak more loudly, more aggressively, and to refuse to shut the fuck up more intensely than anybody else in the room.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      9 months ago

      Okay, but that’s basically every debate. Hell, that’s the optimal strategy in a crowded field. Meekly sitting in the back with a pile of spreadsheets that say “I’m right” on them does nothing to galvenize public support for your policies.

      Even then, Biden refusing to meet Trump on stage won’t discourage Trump from doing his whistle stop Beer Hall tour. At some point, I think liberals lose sight of how important big crowds of people cheering at your approach is in a popularity contest. When Biden shows up at an event, he’s greeted by a few dozen angry protesters, calling him Genocide Joe and waving big blown up pictures of dead Palestinian children. When Trump shows up at an event, he’s greeted by a few dozen enthusiastic supporters, calling him the New Messiah and waving big blown up pictures of drowned children in the Rio Grande with “Win One More For the Gipper” scrawled across it.

      Totally different energy at these events. Totally different reception by the party’s base voters.

      If Biden wants to position himself as the “Guy Who Will Protect You From Trump Who Is Worse”, he’s going to have to get out in front of an audience, side by side with Trump, and remind everyone of the distinction. Otherwise, he’s just running in a vacuum as a mediocre President during an economic upswing, and hoping people give him credit for a rising stock market without blaming him for his party’s failure to deliver on any of their major platforms in the last 40 years.

    • dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      9 months ago

      Continuing the myth that Biden is senile when he’s simply just tired and has a speech impediment undercuts just how actually senile Trump is.

    • Tyfud@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      9 months ago

      We’ve got evidence of senility and pedophilia for Trump, it’s literally all over the place. Where’s the evidence for Biden? Can you link that for me?

          • GodlessCommie@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            0
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            9 months ago

            Claiming its a stutter and ignoring the obvious is a hill liberals are dying on. They cant admit they are supporting someone with mashed potato brain

            • not_that_guy05@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              9 months ago

              You know the sad part? You guys are bashing the liberals about picking Biden a man that should already be retired, but then decide to bring in a traitor as the best candidate which is also old as fuck. The ignorance is hilarious.

              I just want my friends to be able to own guns, smoke weed, and fuck whoever the fuck they want. Everybody should mind their business, but no, of course most, everybody wants to infringe on constitutional rights, bodily integrity, and freedoms.

              Fuck the lot of you that treat this is as a take all or none.

              • GodlessCommie@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                0
                arrow-down
                2
                ·
                9 months ago

                Whos this ‘you guys’ you are talking about? Both right wing parties are garbage in my eyes. Trump is as equal in being total garbage as Biden.

        • Tyfud@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          9 months ago

          I have watched a few.

          To make sure you’re aware, you know that he’s on record as having had a speech impediment his entire life, correct? He got into politics partially because he was practicing public speaking to work on his speech impediment.

          And just to be clear: That’s not what senility looks like. I’ve got an aunt and had a grandparent that went through dementia and senility.

          Biden doesn’t sound out any anything like them. Not even a little.

          I also thought you said he was a pedophile as well? Or was that also misunderstood to be his speech impediment and there’s no evidence of anything like that today and you’re making a bad faith argument to try and make Biden and trump appear even remotely like they’re similar to each other?

          • GodlessCommie@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            0
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            9 months ago

            Speech impediment is what liberals tell themselves when they see obvious signs of mental degradation. This must be exactly the same mental gymnastics Republicans did when Reagan was obviously declining.

            He is a pedo, unwanted and uninvited touching and groping is assault

  • ZK686@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    9 months ago

    Congratulations America, we have 2 old, white men running for President…AGAIN…

    • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      9 months ago

      Are you… new here? George Washington was elected at age 57. It took until 1850 for there to be a president who was born in the 1800s. It took until 1961 for a president to be born in the 1900s.

      Donald Trump is older than both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Before them we literally had presidents born in the 1920s. Reagan was born before WW1!

      Obama was the outlier. Fucking vote in every election if you don’t like it.

      • ZK686@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        edit-2
        9 months ago

        Oh, I’m voting…I’m just reminding people that both sides are guilty of the same shit. The Left complains and criticizes lack of diversity within the political world, but are doing the exact same thing…nominating, supporting, and voting for some old, wealthy, white dude…