Eric Boehlert: Call off the next two debates
https://pressrun.media/p/call-off-the-next-two-debates
Call off the next two debates
A Trump fiasco
Eric Boehlert
2 hr
Shedding all semblance of decency, let alone public civility, a desperate Trump turned Tuesdays presidential debate not only into a brawl, but also a national embarrassment. Behaving like a petulant teenager, Trump rolled his eyes, constantly interrupted, hectored, tried to pick fights, and
generally made a fool of himself as more than 80 million Americans tuned in, most of whom were likely thinking, What have we become as a nation?
It was clearly the worst presidential debate in American history, as Fox News moderator Chris Wallace got completely steamrolled by Trumps bullying ways. And it was a debacle that Trump pre-planned. Allergic to debate prep and still seething about the blockbuster revelation about his massive tax evasion practices, Trump arrived with one goal to make sure the debate was incomprehensible and that viewers learned as little as possible.
Thats why its time to call off the next two debates. Tuesdays car wreck was a complete waste of time.
snip//
Comically, Wallace told the New York Times he wanted to be invisible during the debate, meaning it was up to the candidates to engage each other. Commission officials actually thought Wallace would act as a facilitator, gently walking Trump through the evenings topics. That makes sense if you think Trump is a rational, sane person. But
Trumps a nihilistic actor. And the Beltways refusal to knowledge that to think that protocols like presidential debates could still be adhered to fueled last nights disaster.
It also lends credence to canceling the next two debates, because
its not possible to stage a two-person debate when one of them is a sociopath. The debate Commission can act quickly to try to save this format, by allowing Trumps mic to be cut. But anything short of that would be a waste of time. It would be a waste of Bidens time, and a waste of Americans time.
Trump has torn up so many norms and traditions with his radical behavior. So lets add another one to the list cancel the next two debates. Nobody will miss them.