Just after the October 22 presidential debate concluded, First Lady Melania Trump and Dr. Jill Biden joined their respective spouses on stage for the traditional photo op. While Dr. Biden immediately hugged her husband, it quickly became obvious there was tension with the First Couple.
Tag Archives: presidential debates
Stupidest Quotes of the Week – October 24, 2020
“He’ll listen to the scientists. If I listened totally to the scientists, we would right now have a country that would be in a massive depression instead – we’re like a rocket ship. Take a look at the numbers.”
– President Donald Trump, at a rally in Carson City, Nevada, on Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s pending response to the COVID-19 pandemic
“Who do these people think they are? Debate commission will mute the mics? Can you imagine if they’d-a told Abraham Lincoln we’re gonna mute the microphone if you don’t shut up, sir?
“Abe Lincoln would say, why do you think people are gonna be there? To watch you hit the mute button? Who do these people think they are?
“You know, if I didn’t know better, I would swear that the debate commission is trying to get Trump to pull out of this. I think they’re goading Trump. I think they’re trying to provoke him into pulling out of this thing by announcing they’re going to mute microphones.
“Look, I understand when these people — and these are tiny people compared to Donald Trump, folks. Whoever’s on this debate commission, they are tiny people. Now, they think that they are the country’s elite — and, hell, they may be.
“I mean, given the definition of elite and who these people that think they run the country are. But they are tiny people compared to the giant that is Donald Trump.
“Donald Trump is a giant of achievement, a giant of personality, a giant of appetite, a giant of energy. There isn’t a single person in American politics that can hold a candle to Donald Trump.
“There’s not a person that can keep up with him energy-wise. There isn’t a person with his drive. There isn’t anybody close to his ambition at his age.
That’s who they are. So they come along and they threaten to mute his microphone. I don’t think these people want Biden taking a risk of looking like a deer in the headlights when confronted with his treason.
“The treason that involves these deals between his son Hunter and Hunter’s buddies and Biden’s family members that resulted in the massive enrichment of the Biden family.
“Donald Trump, however he has earned his money, he has not done it via corruption of the United States government. Donald Trump has not enriched himself by sticking his hand into the U.S. Treasury like all of these other government players do.”
– Rush Limbaugh, on his radio show, criticizing microphone muting rules for the October 22 presidential debate
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Most Ironic Quotes of the Week – October 3, 2020
“Don’t ever use the word smart with me.”
“I wear a mask when needed, when needed I wear masks. I don’t wear a mask like him. Every time you see him he’s got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away and he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve ever seen.”
– Donald Trump, to Joe Biden during Tuesday night’s debate
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Worst Quote of the Week – October 3, 2020
“Proud Boys, stand back and stand by, but I’ll tell you what, somebody’s gotta do something about antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem. This is a left-wing problem.”
– President Donald Trump., at Tuesday night’s presidential debate, when asked by debate moderator Chris Wallace to disavow White supremacy.
Wallace asked if Trump would urge White supremacist groups that incited violence at nationwide protests to “stand down.” Trump said to “give me a name” when asked to denounce a specific group, and former Vice-President Joe Biden called out the Proud Boys – a violent hate group that believes, among many things, that women are subject to men and that Hitler didn’t kill enough Jews. Ironically, the group is led by a dark-skinned Hispanic man.
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Best Quote of the Week – October 3, 2020
“Will you shut up, man.”
– Joe Biden, to President Donald Trump during the first presidential debate
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How the World Reacted to the First 2020 U.S. Presidential Candidate Debate
“That was a shit show.” – Dana Bash, CNN, Tuesday, September 29
Be careful what you do and say, as someone may be watching and listening. When one lives a public life, such…say, politicians, caution must always be front and center. For some people like Donald Trump, caution is a folly. Last Tuesday night’s debate between Trump and Joe Biden was the most raucous and incoherent political event I’ve ever seen in my adult life. I’ve never witnessed such discord and antagonism among political figures. Trump and Biden sounded less like political opponents and more like two cranky old neighbors arguing about leaves being blown into one another’s yards.
But, after the feud in which absolutely nothing was accomplished, I pondered the viewpoints of our allies and certainly our adversaries. While many Americans don’t care what other nations think of us, I am concerned how our standing as the beacon of democracy across the globe is after that mess.
Here are just a few.
“Most Canadians are going to feel grateful that they live in this country.” – Don Abelson, an expert in Canada-U.S. relations at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
“Chaotic, childish, grueling.” – Libération, France.
“The clearest loser from the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden was America.” – The Times, U.K.
“Never had American politics sunk so low.” – La Repubblica, Italy, which also described the debate as “chaotic, rowdy, and based on mutual contempt.”
“The US embarrassed itself before the world for 100 minutes.”– AajTak, Hindi-language news channel.
“The rivals kept interrupting each other and instead of a balanced discussion they chose the path of mutual insults.” – NTV, Russia.
“[Trump and Biden] “obviously did not show an exemplary role to American people on how to engage in debates.” – Hu Xijin, editor of China’s Global Times. Xijin added: “Such a chaos at the top of U.S. politics reflects division, anxiety of U.S. society and the accelerating loss of advantages of the U.S. political system.”
“Debate? What debate? The event was not intended to change minds or elucidate issues. It was only a form of entertainment which did credit to neither the incumbent nor the challenger. It encapsulates all that has gone wrong with American politics.” – Bilahari Kausikan, a former ambassador in Singapore.
“If the president says that, everyone takes it as natural. But for a decent man like Biden to say that is a bit of a surprise.” – Ichiro Fujisaki, a former Japanese ambassador to the U.S., regarding Joe Biden’s “shut up, man” comment to Trump.
“It was very depressing.” – Marietje Schaake, a Dutch former member of the European Parliament who now serves as international policy director at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center. She also warned: “The U.S. can go down a lot further, even if people think it’s already intense.”
“The comments I’ve seen from various European press (outlets) is basically: ‘I’m happy I’m not an American voter this year.’ It’s just a mess.” – Jussi Hanhimaki, a Finnish-Swiss professor of International History at the Graduate Institute in Geneva.
“This debate would be sheer comedy if it wasn’t such a pitiful and tragic advertisement for U.S. dysfunction.” – Kenyan commentator Patrick Gathara on Twitter
In the Middle East, the largely domestic debate drew raised eyebrows when Biden at one point said “inshallah” as Trump hedged on saying when he would release his tax returns. “Inshallah” in Arabic means “God willing.” It also can be used in a way to suggest something won’t ever happen. Both Al-Arabiya, a Saudi-owned satellite channel based in Dubai, and The National, a newspaper in Abu Dhabi, published articles noting Biden’s use of the word.
“How did America reach this level of political decline?” – Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, Emirati political scientist, on Twitter, adding that he saw the debate as a “tumultuous verbal battle.”
“Interruptions and arguments were allowed to fill way too much time.” – Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Facebook. She also asked for feedback from voters about how to soften public debate, and stated, “Fortunately, it’s not like that in Denmark.”
“The first debate between would-be leaders of the free world was better suited to the Colosseum of ancient Rome or a cage fight in Las Vegas.” – The Australian.
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Chief Writing Wolf 