Presidential debate megathread (debate 1: June 27, 9pm EDT, CNN)

[Red Velvet]

The discourse is interesting to me because everyone can agree Biden had an off night, but the levels are wildly all over the place.

Most of the people I know IRL who were posting about it were moreso of the "these are our candidates???" variety or sharing memes about them both being old, etc. There were some that were surprisingly calling out some of the stuff Trump said ("black jobs" was definitely one of them) - I don't think any of them thought Biden did a good job, but the reaction of that, given with the rather surprising results of the CNN undecided voter panel (honestly shocking to me) and the Univision panel as well of Hispanic voters, seems a bit divorced from the absolute freak out that the press is having right now.

I think there's certainly a delta between "yeah that wasn't a good night for Biden, but I already thought he was old and I already don't like Trump" versus the frankly insane coverage we're seeing from the DC press where you would've thought Biden was comatose on the floor for 90 minutes.

The hyperpartisans have larger anxiety about this stuff and if you’ve seen “Inside Out 2” you know that Anxiety always and only focuses on the most negative aspects, leading to self-sabotage.

In the end, democrats are simply projecting their OWN insecurities regarding their candidate, therefore weakening for something that isn’t even much of a big deal. That’s what cause Biden’s defeat, candidates can have literally ANY flaw as long as their following has their back (like, see Trump!), but the ugly truth is that democrat hyperpartisans DON’T LIKE Biden. Moderate independents simply don’t have the evil prejudices that people are exposing on here.

Not even in 2020 he had strength, he just won those primaries based on the Anti-Bernie movement being pushed and then the generals based on the Anti-Trump movement, never because of himself. And as the incumbent, you always rely ONLY on yourself, which is why he simply cannot win the 2024 election if his own base always hated him. Any other bland democrat that was pushed in 2020 would have the same unpopularity even if they were half a century younger!

[Storr]

"Marcus Aurelius was a great emperor but he screwed up his succession by passing the baton to his feckless son Commodus (He, from the Gladiator).
Whose disastrous rule started Rome's decline.
It's important to manage one's ride into the sunset." - Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski

https://twitter.com/radeksikorski/status/1806599340951023851

[Red Velvet]

"Marcus Aurelius was a great emperor but he screwed up his succession by passing the baton to his feckless son Commodus (He, from the Gladiator).
Whose disastrous rule started Rome's decline.
It's important to manage one's ride into the sunset." - Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski

https://twitter.com/radeksikorski/status/1806599340951023851

The average Bernie Sanders supporter vibes right now.

[Agafin]

The discourse is interesting to me because everyone can agree Biden had an off night, but the levels are wildly all over the place.

Most of the people I know IRL who were posting about it were moreso of the "these are our candidates???" variety or sharing memes about them both being old, etc. There were some that were surprisingly calling out some of the stuff Trump said ("black jobs" was definitely one of them) - I don't think any of them thought Biden did a good job, but the reaction of that, given with the rather surprising results of the CNN undecided voter panel (honestly shocking to me) and the Univision panel as well of Hispanic voters, seems a bit divorced from the absolute freak out that the press is having right now.

I think there's certainly a delta between "yeah that wasn't a good night for Biden, but I already thought he was old and I already don't like Trump" versus the frankly insane coverage we're seeing from the DC press where you would've thought Biden was comatose on the floor for 90 minutes.

The hyperpartisans have larger anxiety about this stuff and if you’ve seen “Inside Out 2” you know that Anxiety always and only focuses on the most negative aspects, leading to self-sabotage.

In the end, democrats are simply projecting their OWN insecurities regarding their candidate, therefore weakening for something that isn’t even much of a big deal. That’s what cause Biden’s defeat, candidates can have literally ANY flaw as long as their following has their back (like, see Trump!), but the ugly truth is that democrat hyperpartisans DON’T LIKE Biden. Moderate independents simply don’t have the evil prejudices that people are exposing on here.

Not even in 2020 he had strength, he just won those primaries based on the Anti-Bernie movement being pushed and then the generals based on the Anti-Trump movement, never because of himself. And as the incumbent, you always rely ONLY on yourself, which is why he simply cannot win the 2024 election if his own base always hated him. Any other bland democrat that was pushed in 2020 would have the same unpopularity even if they were half a century younger!

Did you see the Biden debate from 2020? It was waaaay better. That's why you can't single out excuses like his  stutter for example. He's had it for all his life yet was a strong debater in 2012 (against Ryan) and 2020 (against Trump). Old age just hit him hard and suddenly (or maybe the presidency made him faster than normal as is often the case) and I actually feel bad for him as it reminds me of my grandparents. You could tell he had several good points he wanted to make but just couldn't articulate them fast enough anymore.

I will say though, if one isn't a native or good english speaker and just reads the close captions with polished translations then Biden's performance will not be as bad since the content itself was more substantive than Trump's (the imagery of it all though is still bad with Biden's constantly gaping mouth and lost eyes). Maybe that's why the Univision panel of spanish speakers went better for Biden.

[Obama24]

"Marcus Aurelius was a great emperor but he screwed up his succession by passing the baton to his feckless son Commodus (He, from the Gladiator).
Whose disastrous rule started Rome's decline.
It's important to manage one's ride into the sunset." - Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski

https://twitter.com/radeksikorski/status/1806599340951023851

These to me seem like signs like our allies now want him out too.

[wbrocks67]

Interesting that Shapiro seems to be taking the opposite route of many Ds right now:

https://twitter.com/Jemsinger/status/1806667027676799465

[wbrocks67]

This about sums it up:

https://twitter.com/StevenSingiser/status/1806540306784866492

[Storr]

"Marcus Aurelius was a great emperor but he screwed up his succession by passing the baton to his feckless son Commodus (He, from the Gladiator).
Whose disastrous rule started Rome's decline.
It's important to manage one's ride into the sunset." - Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski

https://twitter.com/radeksikorski/status/1806599340951023851

These to me seem like signs like our allies now want him out too.

I get the sense that European leaders know that Biden's noticeable decline is bringing us closer and closer to a second Trump Presidency. None of them are going to come out and say Biden needs to step down, which would be diplomatically uncouth. But leaders from countries that would be directly threatened if Putin succeeds in Ukraine, like Poland, care more about protecting European security than satisfying Biden's ego. After all, the focus on Joe Biden's aged performance is obscuring the fact (among other things he said) Trump shrugged when he was asked if he'd keep the United States in NATO.

[Cassius]

Who let Konstantin Chernenko out of the Kremlin Wall Necropolis?

[Arizona Iced Tea]

https://twitter.com/bensiegel/status/1806723097585659975

[jojoju1998]

Interesting that Shapiro seems to be taking the opposite route of many Ds right now:

https://twitter.com/Jemsinger/status/1806667027676799465

Midwestern democrats are more closer to the ground, the actual grassroots than the coastal democrats are.

[GAinDC]

https://twitter.com/ChiCyph80/status/1806513306590417188

[GAinDC]

https://x.com/Newsweek/status/1806707486340071563

[wbrocks67]

It's interesting how all of these voter groups are at best not satisfied with either candidates performance, and yet the lead here is "Questions are growing about Biden after debate performance..." even though they have nothing nice to say about Trump either. This is where it's a purposeful editorial choice to solely focus on Biden.

https://twitter.com/MSNBC_reports/status/1806721305045045318

[Holy Unifying Centrist]

https://x.com/Newsweek/status/1806707486340071563

I have a beachfront property in Kansas if you want to buy it

[Eraserhead]

https://twitter.com/bensiegel/status/1806723097585659975

What are the other potential strikes? lol.

[wbrocks67]

https://x.com/Newsweek/status/1806707486340071563

I have a beachfront property in Kansas if you want to buy it

it's from the Univision focus group that's been spoken about in this thread.

[Holy Unifying Centrist]

https://x.com/Newsweek/status/1806707486340071563

I have a beachfront property in Kansas if you want to buy it

it's from the Univision focus group that's been spoken about in this thread.

Like I said, I have a beachfront property in Kansas if you want to buy it

[Arizona Iced Tea]

https://x.com/Newsweek/status/1806707486340071563

I have a beachfront property in Kansas if you want to buy it

it's from the Univision focus group that's been spoken about in this thread.

Like I said, I have a beachfront property in Kansas if you want to buy it

The Univision is likely due to the translations. Anyway in 2020 Univision said Trump won the first debate iirc so it's kind of wonky.

[Horus]

Was expecting Biden to drop out by now. He's really gonna screw the country for his own ego, isn't he?

[wbrocks67]

Was expecting Biden to drop out by now. He's really gonna screw the country for his own ego, isn't he?

Wild how no one ever says this about Trump.

[Tekken_Guy]

Was expecting Biden to drop out by now. He's really gonna screw the country for his own ego, isn't he?

You were expecting it in less than a day?

[Horus]

Was expecting Biden to drop out by now. He's really gonna screw the country for his own ego, isn't he?

You were expecting it in less than a day?

It was that bad, yes. He's unfit.

[Horus]

Was expecting Biden to drop out by now. He's really gonna screw the country for his own ego, isn't he?

Wild how no one ever says this about Trump.

If we want to beat Trump, maybe the best course of action would be to nominate someone who doesn't sound like he's about to f***ing die.

[GAinDC]

Was expecting Biden to drop out by now. He's really gonna screw the country for his own ego, isn't he?

Wild how no one ever says this about Trump.

If we want to beat Trump, maybe the best course of action would be to nominate someone who doesn't sound like he's about to f***ing die.

I think you need to chill. Biden isn’t on death’s door. He’s just 81 and had an off night.