[:en]Here is the third episode of our column Night-night, America, the story of life in NYC of our member Alessandro Casiraghi.
Shit Show
The countdown is running at the bottom of the screen. There's just under half an hour left. The journalist from C-SPAN He interviews one of the directors of the first presidential debate. “Are you nervous?” they ask. “It’s a more important television moment than any other,” he replies. “Not just America, but the entire world is watching.”.
This isn't the usual debate. It's the first in a different world. Since February, it seems like an era has passed rather than a few months. The pandemic has infected the United States, doing more than 200 thousand victims. Unemployment and economic recession data have reached levels comparable to those of the Great Depression. In the cities the fires continue to spread protests against racism. The fires They devastate the forests of the East Coast, and the winds carry smoke from one ocean to the other. The polarization of political debate accentuates inequalities and exposes America's wounds.
Confirming that we live in a different world, the debate format also features a new twist: the candidates, when they meet on stage, will not be able to shake hands. This is for safety reasons, to prevent possible contagion. The option of greeting each other by touching elbows was discarded because it was considered arrogant, awkward, and inappropriate. Thus, after months in which America has been struggling through profound crises, the representatives of the two political parties vying for the presidency are not even touching.
Fox News anchor Chris Wallace enters the scene, acting as moderator. His voice cracks slightly as he calls the two candidates. On the right side, Joe Biden, 77 years old, Democratic Senator for the State of Delaware from 1973 to 2009 and then Vice President for the Obama administration from 2009 until 2017. On the left side Donald Trump, 74 years old, real estate entrepreneur, host of the television program “The Apprentice”, first Republican, then reformist, Democrat and finally Republican again, currently in office.
“How are you doing, man? – asks Biden. “Doing well” – replies Trump.
The debate lasts 90 minutes, organized into 6 thematic blocks of 15 minutes.
First block: Supreme Court. The body at the apex of the American judicial system and responsible for the authentic interpretation of the Constitution. Its nine justices are appointed for life. Ruth Bader Ginsburg – a champion of civil rights and women’s rights – died on September 18, and the issue of her succession burst into the electoral debate. The procedure for electing a new justice requires the US President to nominate a candidate, who must then be ratified by the Senate (currently Republican-majority). Institutional correctness dictates that the outgoing President leave the task to his successor. But the stakes are high, and Trump is anything but institutional. Thus, on the same day as Ginsburg’s funeral, Trump nominated Justice Ginsburg as his successor. Amy Coney Barrett, 48, a conservative and supported by the anti-abortion movement. Her confirmation would bring the number of justices appointed by Republican presidents to six, compared to the three appointed by Democratic presidents, shifting the balance of power on the Court. to the right. This means that the decisions passed in the coming years in America on abortion, gun ownership, immigration, healthcare, and other matters will most likely be conservative. Trump responds that the Republicans have won the White House and the Senate and have every right to proceed with the nomination. Biden warns that Judge Barrett has ruled that Obamacare (the law that allowed even the poorest to have health insurance) is unconstitutional, and 20 million people are at risk of losing their insurance coverage in the midst of a pandemic.
This is the only block I can follow with any attention. Then the madness sets in.
Apparently, in Trump's dictionary, the word "confrontation" literally means "to speak over your interlocutor's voice." For the remaining 75 minutes, Trump dominates the stage with an embarrassing confidence and an aggressiveness I believe has never been seen before in an American presidential debate. He provokes, he teases, he annoys. He tries to quickly end responses so as to quickly move on to personal attacks. "Did you say smart? Don't use that word, you who graduated with the lowest grades. There's nothing smart about you, Joe..." His behavior also puts Chris Wallace in a bind, who at one point intervenes, saying, "Mr. President, I'm the moderator of this debate, and I'd like you to let me finish the question, and then you can answer.".
For his part, Biden hesitates, smiles to stall, loses his composure, and barely manages to keep up with Trump's relentless bullying. Every time Trump presses him with a point or an insult, Biden stumbles and loses his train of thought. When the moderator intervenes once again to ask Trump to stop interrupting, Biden says, "No, he doesn't know how to do this. You picked the wrong man, the wrong night, and the wrong time." At other times, Biden appears to maintain a remarkably calm, as if imbued with a meditative spirit and a nonviolent protest approach. Every now and then, as Trump continues to rant in the background, Biden turns to the camera to appeal to the listeners.
I'm jolted back from a state of lethargic anxiety when the moderator asks the candidates if they will accept the election outcome. Biden confirms that yes, he will accept the outcome, whatever it may be. Trump, on the other hand, accuses mail-in votes of being rigged, that ballots are being scattered in torrents, that mail carriers are being sold. And he ends by chanting, "This Is Not Going To End Well." Twice. "This Is Not Going To End Well.".
At the end of this ordeal, the TV commentators take the floor: “The worst presidential debate ever.” “It wasn’t even a debate!” “It was a disgrace!” “That was a shit show!!!”.
At a time when America is crying out for answers and urgent change, the two candidates competing to govern it are panicking, each in their own way, and are inviting us to join them in a shitstorm that will never end well.
For further information: Full version of the debate on C-SPAN
Alessandro Casiraghi
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