Author’s note: This is the analysis of one round of the 2024 Presidential debate between Biden and Trump. It is linked from a more comprehensive article.
Question: (To Biden) How do you address concerns about your capability to handle the toughest job in the world well into your 80s?
BIDEN: …This guy’s three years younger and a lot less competent. I think that just look at the record. Look what I’ve done. Look how I’ve turned around the horrible situation he left me…
TRUMP: Well, I took two tests, cognitive tests. I aced them, both of them, as you know. We made it public. He took none. I’d like to see him take one, just one, a real easy one. Like go through the first five questions, he couldn’t do it. But I took two cognitive tests. I took physical exams every year. And, you know, we knock on wood, wherever we may have wood, that I’m in very good health. I just won two club championships, not even senior, two regular club championships. To do that, you have to be quite smart and you have to be able to hit the ball a long way. And I do it. He doesn’t do it. He can’t hit a ball 50 yards. He challenged me to a golf match. He can’t hit a ball 50 yards.
I think I’m a very good shape. I feel that I’m in as good a shape as I was 25, 30 years ago. Actually, I’m probably a little bit lighter. But I’m in as good a shape as I was years ago. I feel very good. I feel the same.
But I took – I was willing to take a cognitive test. And you know what, if I didn’t do well – I aced them. Dr. Ronny Jackson, who’s a great guy, when he was White House doctor. And then I took another one, a similar one, and both – one of them said they’d never seen anybody ace them.
The cognitive tests are a red Herring. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment is a low bar for mental competence as it was designed to detect dementia. It doesn’t help that he can’t remember what was on the test.
Irrelevant. Golf ability is no test for political competence. And he has a reputation for cheating at golf.
Overall health claims can’t be verified as he continues to hidehis medical records.
BASH: To you, a specific concern that voters have about you. Will you pledge tonight that once all legal challenges have been exhausted that you will accept the results of this election regardless of who wins and you will say right now that political violence in any form is unacceptable?
TRUMP: Well, I shouldn’t have to say that, but, of course, I believe that. It’s totally unacceptable.
TRUMP: And if you would see my statements that I made on Twitter at the time, and also my statement that I made in the Rose Garden, you would say it’s one of the strongest statements you’ve ever seen.
In addition to the speech I made, in front of, I believe, the largest crowd I’ve ever spoken to, and I will tell you, nobody ever talks about that. They talk about a relatively small number of people that went to the Capitol. And in many cases were ushered in by the police.
And as Nancy Pelosi said, it was her responsibility, not mine. She said that loud and clear.
But the answer is, if the election is fair free, and I want that more than anybody.
Non-responsive. Saying he will accept the results of a free and fair election is meaningless when he repeatedly claims elections are rigged.
Repeats claim that Pelosi was responsible for Jan 6. Proven false.
Repeats claim he called for peace. Proven false.
Trump claims about crowd size are exaggerated.
The crowd size of the Jan 6 riot is a red herring. It was still a riot.
The claim that police ushered rioters into the Capitol is absolutely false.
And I’ll tell you something – I wish he was a great president because I wouldn’t be here right now. I’d be at one of my many places enjoying myself. I wouldn’t be under indictment because I wouldn’t have been his political appoint – you know, opponent. Because he indicted me because I was his opponent.
I wish he was a great president. I would rather have that.
I wouldn’t be here. I don’t mind being here, but the only reason I’m here is he’s so bad as a president that I’m going to make America great again. We’re going to make America great again.
We’re a failing nation right now. We’re a seriously failing nation. And we’re a failing nation because of him.
His policies are so bad. His military policies are insane. They’re insane.
These are wars that will never end with him. He will drive us into World War Three and we’re closer to World War Three than anybody can imagine. We are very, very close to World War Three, and he’s driving us there.
And Kim Jong-Un, and President Xi of China – Kim Jong-Un of North Korea, all of these – Putin – they don’t respect him. They don’t fear him. They have nothing going with this gentleman and he’s going to drive us into World War Three.
Repeated false claim: Biden ordered my prosecution.
A litany of ad hominems:
We’re a failing nation thanks to him
His military policies are insane
He’s driving us to World War III
World leaders don’t fear him
World War Three is another argument from fear and a gross exaggeration.
“Wars won’t end with Biden” is a given. No President has ever ended wars, including Trump.
Begs the question. Even if world leaders don’t fear Biden, that doesn’t mean they fear Trump.
Suggestion that he’s running only because of Biden’s incompetence seems disingenuous given that he announced in the second year of Biden’s term.
Self-serving.
BASH: President Trump…the question was, will you accept the results of this election regardless of who wins?
TRUMP: Just to finish what he said, if I might, Russia – they took a lot of land from Bush. They took a lot of land from Obama and Biden. They took no land, nothing from Trump, nothing.
He knew not to do it. He’s not going to play games with me. He knew that. I got along with him very well, but he knew not to play games.
He took nothing from me, but now, he’s going to take the whole thing from this man right here.
That’s a war that should have never started. It would’ve never started ever with me. And he’s going to take Ukraine and, you know, you asked me a question before, would you do this with – he’s got us in such a bad position right now with Ukraine and Russia because Ukraine’s not winning that war.
He said, I will never settle until such time – they’re running out of people, they’re running out of soldiers, they’ve lost so many people. It’s so sad.
They’ve lost so many people and they’ve lost those gorgeous cities with the golden domes that are 1,000-years-old, all because of him and stupid decisions.
Russia would’ve never attacked if I were president.
Repeat argument
A long litany of irrelevancies. This is a capsulation of the debate. Trump throws claims at his audience like he throws spaghetti at the Mar-A-Lago walls.
The timing of the Ukraine invasion begs the question. John Bolton, Trump’s National Security Advisor suggests Putin believed Trump would have withdrawn from NATO giving himfree access to Ukraine.
Other experts believe Russia invaded because Trump had already weakened NATO.
BASH: President Trump, the question was, will you accept the results of the election regardless of who wins? Yes or no, please?
TRUMP: If it’s a fair and legal and good election – absolutely. I would have much rather accepted these but the fraud and everything else was ridiculous that if you want, we’ll have a news conference on it in a week or we’ll have another one of these on – in a week.
But I will absolutely – there’s nothing I’d rather do. It would be much easier for me to do that than I’m running again. I wasn’t really going to run until I saw the horrible job he did. He’s destroying our country.
I would be very happy to be someplace else, in a nice location someplace. And again, no indictments, no political opponent’s stuff, because it’s the only way he thinks he can win.
But unfortunately, it’s driven up by numbers and driven it up to a very high level, because the people understand it.
The last sentence is a total brain fart.
Once again self-serving
Once again non-responsive.