Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Set aside for a moment Joe Biden’s haunting performance at the debate last week, there was something even more troubling that just took place.
It’s not getting as much attention because we’re used to it.
The debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump is an example of style versus substance. Trump won on style and Biden won, by default, on substance.
Biden supporters blamed a head cold on their man’s hoarse voice and subdued manner, while Trump’s supporters declared Biden ready for the nursing home. Meanwhile, Trump used his arsenal of misinformation to spin his way through the debate, with his falsehoods roundly ignored by his supporters, as if the truth really doesn’t matter.
For those of us who still care about the facts, The Associated Press did a fact-check on what both candidates said during the debate and, surprise, surprise, Trump won that hands down. Altogether, the AP explained 16 errors in fact, 11 belonging to Trump and 5 to Biden.
Here are four examples of what the AP found, aided by my own commentary on each:
n Regarding Jan. 6, 2021, Trump said: “They talk about a relatively small number of people that went to the Capitol and in many cases were ushered in by the police.”
Really? We all saw otherwise. Thousands of people were there. It was the worst attack on Washington, D.C., since the city was captured, looted and burned by the British in 1814.
n Trump, touting his environmental record, said that “during my four years, I had the best environmental numbers ever” and that he supports “immaculate” air and water.
Of course, the facts say otherwise. As president, Trump rolled back provisions of the Clean Water Act, eased regulations on coal, oil and gas and pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord. And he repeatedly dismisses the science surrounding climate change and routinely proposed deep cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency. Don’t expect anything good to happen to the environment if Trump is elected.
n Trump also alleged during the debate that if Biden and his supporters have their way, “they will take the life of a child in the eighth month, the ninth month, and even after birth, after birth.”
Total BS. Infanticide is criminalized in every state and was illegal under Roe. Trump’s just fearmongering, something he’s a pro at doing.
n Then there’s Biden’s far-more-tempered falsehoods, like the one in which he said Trump told Americans to “inject bleach” into their arms to treat COVID-19. Trump didn’t say that; instead, he publicly asked whether it would be possible to inject disinfectant into the lungs.
It’s true, Biden exaggerates from time to time. It’s also true that Trump lies, incessantly. Biden may not have looked the part, but if you listened to his words, you could hear his clear command of the issues. He may be walking softer now, but he’s still welding a big stick.
And that’s why I’d say Biden, as weak as he may have seemed, won on substance. For the most part, Biden stuck to the facts and made valid points, while Trump built his arguments on erroneous information.
Still, if you listen to the pundits and even most viewers, you’ll hear them saying that Trump won the debate. Style over substance.
It’s all part of the dumbing down of America, of which Trump is an integral player.
Tom McDonald is editor of the New Mexico Community News Exchange. Contact him at: