Our Take: The First Presidential Debate
More like a food fight.
That’s what many Americans were saying last night (among other things).
OUR TAKE: Anyone expecting a knockout punch was left disappointed. Trump was his own worst enemy. Too many times, he bailed out Biden by interrupting him. And his aggressive posture early on allowed Biden to duck several key issues — or outright lie. The second half was a ridiculous 2-on-1 free-for-all with moderator Chris Wallace openly debating the President, while Biden did his own unchecked interrupting.
The verdict: a big missed opportunity — both candidates lost.
Now that the dust has settled, here are some things we did learn last night:
- Joe Biden and Kamala Harris continue to outright refuse to answer the question of whether they would pack the Supreme Court. Not taking a position is a position. They are hoping to hide this deeply unpopular and radical plan from voters. Call it the “we have to pass the bill (win the election), before we can tell you what’s in it” plan.
- Joe Biden claimed he does not support the Green New Deal or “Medicare for All” — two giant left-wing priorities. When pressed, he shouted back “I am the Democratic Party!” AOC and Bernie Sanders voters cannot be pleased.
- Joe Biden refused to condemn Antifa. In a sharp exchange, President Trump said he would be happy to condemn white supremacy, but that most of the violence he sees is from left-wing groups. When Trump called on Biden to condemn Antifa, Biden replied that Antifa is an “idea,” not an organization. So white supremacists are responsible for the violence in our streets? Really? Tell that to the families with businesses in Kenosha.
- What did Biden prioritize? In the first 5 minutes of the debate the former Veep said “Roe v. Wade is on the ballot,” before correcting himself saying the Supreme Court and therefore Roe is at stake. Allow us to translate: I’m the abortion candidate. Vote for me.
LET’S BE HONEST: Debates represent opportunities to shake up the race. They are opportunities for the candidate trailing to make up some ground. Mitt Romney won the first debate of 2012 hands down, only to go on to lose. In 2016, nearly every commentator declared Hillary the victor of the first debate. And we all know how that turned out. One debate doesn’t decide an election. This race is now a game of very small numbers, with only a sliver of the electorate still undecided.
The good news?
We know where these voters are. And a huge chunk of them are Catholic.
Our national team is working harder than ever in six key battleground states. We’ve now recruited nearly 2,500 field volunteers and have made over 550,000 individual calls to Catholic voters in these states. And the numbers are climbing…
In addition, we launched two new ads in the past 48 hours, including this new ad to awaken Hispanic Catholics to what’s at stake. With your help, this ad will be delivered to approximately 250,000 Hispanic Catholic voters in the coming days.
Last night isn’t slowing us down.
I’m urging our team to keep focused, stay positive, and execute on our plan.
Also yesterday? Amy Coney Barrett met with senators to begin her confirmation process.
As always, please keep our work in your prayers.
We need all the prayers and support you can send our way!