First presidential debate (3 Viewers)

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    Optimus Prime

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    Since we usually have a separate thread for these
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    NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden begins an intense period of private preparations Friday at Camp David for what may be the most consequential presidential debate in decades.

    The 81-year-old Democrat’s team is aware that he cannot afford an underwhelming performance when he faces Republican rival Donald Trump for 90 minutes on live television Thursday night. Biden’s team is expecting aggressive attacks on his physical and mental strength, his record on the economy and immigration and even his family.

    Trump, 78 and ever confident, will stay on the campaign trail before going to his Florida estate next week for two days of private meetings as part of an informal prep process.

    The former president’s allies are pushing him to stay focused on his governing plans, but they’re expecting him to be tested by pointed questions about his unrelenting focus on election fraud, his role in the erosion of abortion rights and his unprecedented legal baggage.

    Thursday’s debate on CNN will be full of firsts, with the potential to reshape the presidential race. Never before in the modern era have two presumptive nominees met on the debate stage so early in the general election season. Never before have two White House contenders faced off at such advanced ages, with widespread questions about their readiness.

    And never before has a general election debate participant been saddled with a felony conviction. The debate-stage meeting comes just two weeks before Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on 34 felony counts in his New York hush money trial.

    “You can argue this will be the most important debate, at least in my lifetime,” said Democratic strategist Jim Messina, 54, who managed former President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign.

    PRESSURE ON BIDEN


    The ground rules for Thursday’s debate, the first of two scheduled meetings, are unusual.

    The candidates agreed to meet at a CNN studio in Atlanta with no audience. Each candidate’s microphone will be muted, except when it’s his turn to speak. No props or prewritten notes will be allowed onstage. The candidates will be given only a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water.

    There will be no opening statements. A coin flip determined that Biden would stand at the podium to the viewer’s right, while Trump would deliver the final closing statement.


    The next debate won’t be until September. Any stumbles Thursday will be hard to erase or replace quickly.………..

     
    The reason it was shocking to many people(mostly Democrat voters) is because the Democrat politicians, the media and the White House have been lying or covering for Biden's condition for 3.5 years.
    This is a lie. Or at the very least something you merely suspect with zero proof.
     
    That's a misleading story. The family gathering for the family photo was planned weeks ago. They are not meeting to discuss the campaign, but they are obviously going to talk about it while they are all together. Key quotes from that article:











    There was nothing in that article that suggests Biden put this story out to let people know he's reconsidering his run. That article actually suggests the opposite. What Biden and the anonymous sources indicate very clearly that the only way Biden will considering stepping down is if his wife, Jill, makes a strong argument for him to considering stepping down. There are zero sources are reports indicating that she's considering that.

    This is a classical example of a news outlet framing a story in a way that is factually accurate, but misleading to make it more dramatic and sensational of a story than it actually is, so they can make more money.

    The opening line say he's "expected to discuss the future of his re-election campaign with family." Well no duh they're going to discuss the future of his re-election campaign with his family. And water's wet. What's he going to discuss about the future of his campaign? Crickets on that information in the article. That's because they don't have a clue or a single hint of what will be discussed. They just know the family will discuss it. I could have reported that myself without a single anonymous source.

    You have got to stop. You have reached insane copium levels. NBC is not going to make up a story like this.

    At the same time, there is an understanding among top Democrats that Biden should be given space to determine next steps. They believe only the president, in consultation with his family, can decide whether to move forward or to end his campaign early — and that he won’t respond well to being pushed.

    “The decision-makers are two people — it’s the president and his wife,” one of the sources familiar with the discussions said, adding: “Anyone who doesn’t understand how deeply personal and familial this decision will be isn’t knowledgeable about the situation.”

    That's not coming out without the campaign's approval. The sources are multiple insiders. Those people aren't talking to NBC like that without the party's consent. The "Why" behind leaking this we can debate all day.

    I refuse to have a discussion on if NBC is running a false story on this. You can huff that copium alone.

    Edit to add: I've seen zero correction given on this story. You should take it as factual.
     
    I am only going to vote for Trump if Biden is on the ballot.
    If Biden isn't on the ballot I will NOT vote for Trump.
    What a crock of crap. Trump - you know what he is. You know he will bring in the worst possible people to run everything. You know he’s a crook, you know he’s a cheater.

    If you vote for Trump, it’s because that is who you are and who you support. Maybe it always has been.
     
    A stupid way to say jobs that black people hold. He said Hispanic jobs too.
    It’s not merely stupid. It indicates that he thinks the jobs that black and Hispanic people hold are all low-paying menial jobs. And furthermore that they are the only ones who work such jobs, otherwise why not just say menial or low-paying jobs? It’s just another indication of how he really feels about minorities. We have had plenty of other indications over the years. This just confirms he hasn’t changed one bit.
     
    Has he bothered to put out a heartfelt apology and explain in actual detail what he meant, and how he plans to help black people in the workforce, since this is (supposedly) a concern of his?
    He actually repeated the line the next day at a rally. It’s the way he thinks of minorities.
     
    You have got to stop. You have reached insane copium levels. NBC is not going to make up a story like this.
    No, you're the one who needs to read what's actually in front of you. I did not say NBC made up the story, quite the opposite. I said that NBC was factually accurate, but they made it sound like something it wasn't.

    Read what I quoted from the article and you'll see that there is nothing that says Biden is reconsidering his run. It says he's "expected" to talk about it with it his family. Full stop. That's it.

    Quote from the article that shows I'm in denial about what the article actually says versus what you think it says. I didn't just tell you what the article said, I showed you. Why don't you do the same if you're so sure I've reached insane copium levels. Show me.

    The sources are multiple insiders.
    Quote where it says that in the article.

    Those people aren't talking to NBC like that without the party's consent. The "Why" behind leaking this we can debate all day.
    Well you originally said Biden leaked it to let people know he was reconsidering his re-election. I'm glad to see you acknowledge that if Biden did leak it, we have no idea why.

    I refuse to have a discussion on if NBC is running a false story on this.
    So do I which is why I didn't say NBC was running a false story on this. I said that it was an overblown story and that it in no way supports the idea that Biden leaked a story to let people know that he's reconsidering his re-election campaign.

    You can huff that copium alone.
    And you can run around like your hairs on fire alone as well.
     
    I have no idea. It's strange to put this out there. It comes across like his camp is signaling a withdrawal.
    Not if you read the entire article. Everything after the first paragraph makes it very clear that every indication from Biden is that he's staying in and moving forward and that the Democrats will support him if he does.

    You're seeing what you want to see. And you say I'm the one in denial and huffing copium.

    Read the damned article again or for the first time.
     
    I am a Christian who tonight went to Sunday 6pm Worship Service. I took my niece and 2 nephews with me. They are/were first time visitors.
    So I am an Uncle who neglected his live in relatives today to post NUMEROUS posts. I posted MANY posts. Yet I MUST stay online all day and night? I must?
    I have living with me right now.... my wife's sister, her husband and their 3 children.
    I am driving all seven of us from Brick NJ to Niagara Falls NY on the USA side. Google Maps says 7 hours and 10 minutes. 444 miles. Leaving hopefully by 9:30AM tomorrow morning.
    Everyone's counting on me to be rested , organized, and a safe driver.
    So "What is the deal?" with certain people on here that think I live my life only to answer their questions? LOL... I'm not allowed to be with my family or go to church?
    Now I'm gonna sit down with me wife and our relatives and eat Salmon and Rice for dinner.
    IF....that's ok with you @brandon?
    I’m on a one-day family trip to New Orleans today. Met Dennis Allen today, in fact.

    And like @bdb13 I’m actually putting a new roof on my house this week, too.

    We’re all busy. This isn’t really about you posting all day every day. It’s more that you excuse yourself from a conversation every single time the going gets tough.

    And then you consistently use these situations as an excuse to avoid the real questions people are asking you.
     
    I’m on a one-day trip to New Orleans today. Met Dennis Allen today, in fact.

    And like @bdb13 I’m actually putting a new roof on my house this week, too.

    We’re all busy. This isn’t really about you posting all day every day. It’s more that you excuse yourself from a conversation every single time the going gets tough.

    And then you consistently use these situations as an excuse to avoid the real questions people are asking you.
    And possibly to convince he's actually living in America? There's only two reasons I can think of that someone would keep sharing more than generic details about their personal life that are unrelated to the discussion, one is to project an image of actually living in America as claimed, or because they're a bit deep on the NPD scale.

    What's weird is I only see Trump supporters do it on a habitual basis. It's just some thoughts I've had about it.
     
    From Robert Reich
    ==============
    If anyone were to doubt the menace of Donald Trump, they had only to watch his performance in Thursday night’s debate.

    His bullying lies were not just lies – they were frightening opposites of the truth, uttered with the vigor and certainty of someone who has now mastered the dark art of demagoguery.

    Joe Biden had good and often detailed answers to the questions put to him, but the debate was never going to be about the president’s answers. It was always going to be about his age.


    Sadly, Biden’s stiff, halting, withered delivery, coupled with his slack-jawed expression and frozen stare when not trying to form sentences, made him seem not just old but on the decline.

    In the wake of Biden’s performance, many Democrats are in a panic. Some believe it’s urgently necessary to replace Biden with another candidate.

    But there are many problems with trying to replace Biden at this point.

    For one, Biden would have to willingly give up the nomination in order to release delegates already pledged to him.

    I have a hard time seeing how this could happen, unless Jill Biden, along with others of his closest and most trusted advisors, and Barack Obama, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi and Hakeem Jeffries, all teamed up and told him he must exit the race.

    A second problem is the public doesn’t know any other Democrat nearly as well as they know Biden, and it would be difficult to introduce someone to the public at this late date without them being defined by Donald Trump, the Republicans and Fox News in the worst possible ways…….

    On Friday, at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, surrounded by cheering supporters, Biden nearly shouted:

    I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious. I don’t walk as easy as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to. But I know what I do know: I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. And I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done. And I know, like millions of Americans know, when you get knocked down you get back up.
    Watch the clip, if you can. In it, Biden shows the kind of energy and vitality he lacked in the debate. These are not the words or actions of a candidate contemplating an emergency exit from the race.

    But nor does Biden’s behavior in Raleigh explain what the hell happened in the debate. And frankly that’s what troubles me more than almost anything else.

    Biden is smart. He can show energy and vitality, as he did in Raleigh and at the State of the Union.……

     
    …….Earlier in the week, I spoke to multiple Biden campaign strategists and former Democratic operatives about how the president was preparing for the debate at Camp David. All of them described a punishing and rigorous process during which Biden would practise hitting back at various criticisms and insults expected from Trump on the night.

    Their strategy had one major flaw: it relied on memory – not the president’s strong point, at 81 years of age – and on the delivery of facts. Facts are all very well and good during a political campaign and, of course, are paramount for policy. But debates are about who you are. Trump knows that very well.

    Indeed, when my colleague Eric Garcia asked Democratic representatives in Congress what they thought Biden should remember on the stage ahead of Thursday night, they kept repeating one line: “Be himself.”

    Yet Biden had very little space to be himself among those pre-prepared lines. He was at his best when he was being extemporaneous during the debate (for there were good moments for the president, even if they were few and far between) rather than recalling minutiae. Where he could’ve projected personality, he instead exposed his own concerning downsides.


    Trump, in contrast, relied on being himself, and came out looking just fine. The supposed facts he often pulls out the air may be questionable, but that’s not what matters when the lights are on and the cameras are rolling……

     
    Imo it's probably as simple as: Biden chose to run again, the people around him have maintained the idea that there has been no cognitive decline, and no other big players in the party were willing to take on Biden in the primary and make his cognitive health an issue.. and so the party has strongly stuck with him until now when, on a national stage and split-screened next to Trump, he performed so poorly.

    I would wager he doesn't surround himself with yes men (unlike the other guy), and he was old already the first time he won, I would think there would/should have been a plan for succession so to speak [during the past 4 years] or at least last year [if] those in his sphere could see a significant decline compared to 4 years ago.
    I just think that those who were around him, and involved in politics (his cabinet/other in the party etc) would have been around him quite often, and would have acted before that debate if they were all that concerned... unless they had a case of hubris and assumed he would coast to an easy victory despite his decline. Who knows.
     
    I would wager he doesn't surround himself with yes men (unlike the other guy), and he was old already the first time he won, I would think there would/should have been a plan for succession so to speak [during the past 4 years] or at least last year [if] those in his sphere could see a significant decline compared to 4 years ago.
    I just think that those who were around him, and involved in politics (his cabinet/other in the party etc) would have been around him quite often, and would have acted before that debate if they were all that concerned... unless they had a case of hubris and assumed he would coast to an easy victory despite his decline. Who knows.
    I don't believe he's surrounded by yes men, certainly not in the way that Trump purposely intends to be the case.. from what I've read the circle seems to consist of a tight-knit group of people who've been around Biden for years.

    I think if Biden is at the point where it's up and down (which would be my observation)... like just earlier in the year where he still delivered an energetic State of Union speech juxtaposed to what he was like on Thursday.. you could get into the game where you know he's not what he was but yet you're hoping that he can have enough good days and good moments left to pull through.

    And if he himself wants to go on, it's difficult to convince that guy, the freaking President, that it's time.

    It's all just hypothetical bullshirt and suppositions of course.. but like anything it can be more complicated than it appears to be from the outside.
     

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