ELECTION 2016
Trump’s Strengths in Debate (From 2016)
This article is in my “Political Analysis” section
I’m sure that plenty of people would say that Trump has no chance of reelection, given how COVID-19 has impacted the US economy. However, given that Biden is the presumptive Democratic nominee, I wouldn’t count Trump out just yet.
I want to look at how Trump’s debate style could be an asset against a candidate like Biden, using some of Trump’s debate clips from 2016. Keep in mind that I’m just focusing on style — I’m neither supporting nor opposing President Trump on a policy level in this article.
I also analyzed a debate clip between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders to examine the shortcomings in their debate styles. Check that out below:
Clip 1: Trump vs. Jeb Bush (GOP Primary Debate)
Here’s a clip of Trump roasting Jeb Bush at a GOP debate on CNN.
Many people would probably see this clip and say that Trump is acting like a teenager or something. And… they’re not wrong.
But honestly, that sometimes works. When Trump just shoots from the hip and says what’s on his mind, he sometimes says something that many others are thinking but are unwilling to say (often times he just rambles incoherently, but once in a while he hits a bullseye).
Here, when Trump sarcastically says, “yeah, you’re a tough guy, Jeb,” it does two things. First, it allows viewers to connect with Trump in a way that they can’t with others. I’m sure everyone is thinking this about Jeb Bush — the man oozes weakness. But because it’s not conventional to take personal shots at someone, candidates don’t do it. Because Jeb Bush acts “presidential,” other candidates wouldn’t insult him personally like that because he’s a part of the club (being a Bush and all). But Trump doesn’t care. He blurts out what everyone’s thinking, and it comes off as genuine (whether Trump is truly genuine — or what you think “genuine” means — is a separate conversation).
Second, it makes Jeb Bush shut up. What’s Jeb going to say that? He constantly resorts to vague platitudes and while scolding Trump for “insulting” people. Jeb is basically telling Trump that he’s a bully, but this isn’t elementary school. So Trump fires back by pointing out that Jeb is weak, which at this point is overwhelmingly obvious. It’s not in Jeb’s style to roast people back, so he really has nothing to say, causing him to implode here.
But what does Jeb say anyway? “You’re never gonna be President by insulting your way to the Presidency.” This is a standard establishment-politician line of attack — politicians operate under the assumption that you have to act with “civility and decorum,” and that acting this way earns a seat on Capitol Hill (even if your policies are horrendous). So what does Trump do? He shuts Bush down by saying “well I’m at 42 and you’re at 3 so I think I know what I’m doing better than you.”
This moment is great for a couple of reasons. First, once again Trump says what everyone else is thinking but no one is willing to say. He points out something so obvious that Jeb Bush has no response (he just says “that doesn’t matter,” which makes absolutely no sense).
Second, it bucks the narrative of establishment Republicans that Trump is extreme and crazy (again, this isn’t me talking, I’m just putting myself in the shoes of the Republican party). Trump’s Republican (and Democrat, for that matter) opponents often claim that he’s a loose cannon who’s unreliable (because of his brusque nature). Trump puts that in perspective by saying that he’s gaining lots of support — more than any other Republican. When he says “well, I’m at 42,” that implies that if you call Trump extreme and crazy, you’re effectively calling 42% of the Republican base crazy. Whether Trump was thinking about that when he said it, I don’t know (though I doubt it). But that is an effect of this comment, and it sets a trap for his Republican opponents.
Clip 2: Trump vs. Hillary Clinton (Presidential Debate #1)
Okay, so Hillary Clinton is definitely not as weak as Jeb Bush — she puts up a much better fight than Jeb. If you watch an entire debate between these two, they both get shots in, and neither one really emerges as a clear winner.
However, this one moment from the first Presidential debate of 2016 showcases (again) Trump’s strengths in a debate. Here, Trump relentlessly pressures Clinton on her record on trade, causing her to contradict her previous comments. Let’s break it down.
For some context, before this clip begins, Clinton was discussing how she wants to craft trade deals that help bring in American jobs and boost American wages. Trump’s response — which you see at the start — is “you’ve been in office for 30 years [as First Lady, then as a Senator, then as Secretary of State] and you haven’t done it.” Basically, Trump is saying one of two things: either Clinton doesn’t believe in saving US jobs as she claims, or she’s ineffective at enacting her policies. Either way, this makes Clinton look bad.
Then, Trump pressures Clinton for supporting NAFTA and states that Clinton is pushing the Trans-Pacific Partnership, TPP (a trade deal between the US and other Pacific-Rim countries). While Clinton tries to wiggle her way out of this (as TPP has a bad reputation), Trump continues attacking her. When Clinton says “well I opposed it when it was finally negotiated” (which is code for “yeah I basically supported it most of the time”), Trump calls her bluff and declares that Clinton called TPP the “gold standard of trade deals,” which is true. By the way, Clinton also pushed for TPP 45 times. (Just to be clear, I’m not personally expressing support nor dissent for NAFTA and TPP — I’m just saying that Clinton is inconsistent on her view and she’s not confident about her position, which hurt her).
Here, Trump doesn’t give Clinton an inch on an issue where she’s clearly not confident in her stance, as she attempts to back away from it. The result is that Clinton is backed into a corner — her response is some vague rhetoric about “wanting to bring back jobs,” but this is something that anyone could say. She doesn’t give specifics about her plan, and she doesn’t have any good zingers for Trump in this exchange (later she will, but that’s a separate conversation).
Trump’s stubborn nature is an asset here — because he refuses to play defense, he continues to pummel Clinton while ignoring her attempts to throw the attacks back at him, eventually backing her into a corner. Speaking of refusing to play defense…
Clip 3: Trump vs. Clinton (Again)
I’m sure you remember Trump’s Access Hollywood tapes (the “grab ’em by the pussy” stuff). Well, for a standard politician, that would have been the end of their career. But Trump managed to wriggle out of that hole within a day. Here’s how he did it:
Trump quickly apologizes for what he said to assuage people’s concerns. He then pivots the conversation to the allegations against Bill Clinton.
Jesus Christ. Who is this man?
The fact that Trump — almost shamelessly — deflects from his scandal to someone else’s (through the phrase “in my case it was just words, in his case it was action”) is what separates him from other politicians. He’s so shameless about his own problems that he can flip the problem back onto his opponent without batting an eye. By flipping the problem and going on the offense, Trump diverts the attention from his scandal to the scandal of his opponent. Never mind the fact that Trump has more sexual assault allegations than Clinton. He doesn’t care. Trump’s tactic is simply to divert attention and put the spotlight on his opponent in whatever cheap way is possible.
Conclusion
Am I saying that Trump is a foolproof debater and impossible to beat? No, far from it. He rambles incoherently, he’s flip-flopped repeatedly on several issues, and he doesn’t really understand much about policy issues. Not to mention that COVID-19 will definitely hurt Trump’s reelection chances.
But he knows how to read a room and say what the crowd wants to hear. Against someone like Biden — who’s also a melting-brain candidate who flip-flops on issues and isn’t sharp enough to hit Trump where it hurts — that could be a powerful asset.
If someone tells you that Trump has no chance, think carefully about Trump’s strengths, and remember to Stay Cynical.
