The influence of a presidential debate is a topic still discussed today, but really, what is so significant about these debates? Some say that the debate is more about the personality of the candidate rather than the actual debate conversations themselves since the event barely changes polling statistics. This idea was proven to be correct in the most recent presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, where neither did better than the other.
From start to finish, the entire debate resembled a roasting competition rather than a factual debate, and neither candidate managed to gain a significant number of voters. Trump had an advantage in the visual department due to the order of the questions and the mics being muted; he looked more calm and reassured in his position. On the other hand, his rebuttals and evidence mostly consisted of falsehoods, blaming, redirecting questions or even completely ignoring it. For example, Trump claimed that Democrats are radical and that they will willingly conduct infanticide, but this claim is false. President Biden wasn’t any better due to his stammering, confused looks, and slow reactions. When it came to rebuttals, he had many opportunities for a strong counter argument––but that didn’t happen. Unfortunately, both presidents seemed to answer the previous question more than the question at hand, sometimes they completely forgot the question asked. Overall, this debate was a let-down.
While the Republican Party didn’t suffer heavy losses, it’s safe to say that the aftermath of the debate was chaotic for the Democratic party. Biden’s performance was more than disappointing for the Democrats due to his slow speaking, confusing expressions, and his failure to call President Trump out on his 34 criminal court cases and the several falsehoods he claimed to be true. Democrats are on the edge of their seats, the party faces numerous challenges, and deadlines for finalizing the names on the voting ballot are looming. The question that remains: Is replacing Biden the correct choice?
Fortunately, we don’t have to wait long for an answer. On July 21, President Biden made the stunning decision to drop out of the presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee. It could be said that this decision was directly caused by how the presidential debate turned out. The next morning, Biden was ushered out of the White House campaign light and Harris took over. Democrats immediately rallied behind her and the campaign raised a total of $81 million in one day. Former President Barack Obama and Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced their support for Harris. Thankfully, most of the Democratic voters, especially the younger generation, supported the change. Most Democrats were skeptical of voting for Biden, but polls show they would most likely support Harris.
However, even with all the new support, Harris has her own challenges to face. She must choose her running-mate by August 8th, the first ballot deadline. Though she isn’t the Democratic nominee yet, she has gotten significant support, so that shouldn’t be a problem. In the history of the United States, however, there has not yet been a female president. Harris could also be the first Black woman and Asian American person to hold the highest office of the country.