No Contest

 

The much anticipated debate between Vice-President Harris and ex-President Trump was like a Navy destroyer doing battle with an old tugboat.

It was a blowout. Harris was in command from the start when she walked to his podium to shake his clearly reluctant hand. After that, it was a master class by a disciplined candidate who had done her homework and a desperate man who usually wandered off topic and sometimes seemed angrily hysterical.

And the ex-president is desperate. Already convicted of 34 felonies in his business finances and judged liable for sexual assault, the presidency would shield him from current federal charges of conspiracy and theft of classified documents.

The debate covered a range of topics. Harris promoted her “opportunity economy” with plans for cash or tax credits for small businesses, first-time home buyers, and new parents, and protections for organized labor. Her opponent called her “a Marxist” and offered no plan to help workers, pushing, instead, tariffs “to make China [and others] pay.” (Tariffs often raise consumer prices here on imported goods from clothing and electronics to vehicles and food, adding to inflation.) 

The ex-president bragged about overturning Roe v. Wade, leaving states to vote on abortion as “everybody wanted,” even though that’s certainly not what “everybody” wanted. Harris promised to work for and sign legislation that would restore women’s freedom to choose.

Asked if he would have done anything differently during the January 6 attack on the Capitol, Trump blamed others, saying Speaker Pelosi and the D.C. mayor were responsible for security. Asked again, he changed the subject. Harris said, “Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people. Clearly, he has a very difficult time processing that.” Her tone was that of a patient adult discussing a child unwilling to face facts.

On foreign policy, Harris was asked about the hurried U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. She pointed out that Trump had negotiated a weak withdrawal agreement with the Taliban, and President Biden was obliged to meet its terms. About Ukraine, she made a forceful case for defending democracy against Putin’s aggression; Trump complained about the cost and refused to say if he wanted Ukraine to win.

Ah, immigration. Baiting Trump for the umpteenth time, Harris invited debate viewers to attend a Trump rally and notice that people, possibly bored, were leaving early. That sent him into a rant about how he had the biggest numbers ever seen and soon launched his usual racist description of America as “a failing country,” blaming immigrant criminals who are ruining “the blood of America.” He said Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating people’s pet cats and dogs. (This is far-right Internet garbage with no factual basis.) 

On energy policy, Trump claimed that solar and wind wouldn’t make us “strong,” and said, “Germany tried that, and within one year, they were back to building normal energy plants.” More garbage. The German Foreign Office soon issued a rebuttal: “Like it or not, Germany’s energy system is fully operational, with more than 50% renewables. And we are shutting down—not building—coal and nuclear plants. Coal will be off the grid by 2038 at the latest. P.S.: We also don’t eat cats and dogs.” 

It's sad when our allies feel compelled to make fun of a candidate for president. London’s Evening Standard, a generally conservative paper, called Trump “a laughingstock.”

The morning after the debate, Trump criticized ABC News moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis, who had done a fine job, calling them “enemies of the people” (again, someone else’s fault). Trump said, “It was my best debate ever” and refused another debate, claiming that only losers want “a rematch.” If that’s true, he should demand one because Kamala Harris was commander-in-chief from start to finish.