Political science professors from Georgia who watched President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump debate Thursday night agreed that Biden’s performance didn’t help him.
Kennesaw State University’s political science professor Kerwin Swint said Biden left many voters uncertain about what’s next for Democrats. Above all, Swint said the debate raised questions about the 81-year-old president’s vitality, “Biden just didn’t look good. He looked old, he looked tired, and his voice was very weak.”
Yet, Trump’s missteps were not lost on Swint, from the former president’s rambling falsehoods throughout the debate to his framing of issues. The political science professor critiqued Trump’s response to abortion.
“Trump should have said what I heard him say in an interview the other day was that ‘I will not support a national abortion ban,’” he said.
Similarly, Emory political science professor Andra Gillespie said Trump’s softened tone, in part due to mic muting rules, was overshadowed by talk of Biden’s poor performance.
“The debate format certainly helped him appear more reasonable because he could say things in a more subdued tone,” Gillespie said. “But if you listened to what he said, a lot of it wasn’t true. Some of it was vague and he evaded answers that I actually think might undermine the idea that he empathizes or cares about people.”
Public affairs expert and University of Georgia professor Joseph Watson Jr. wasn’t surprised by how the debate unfolded .
“It was a poor performance by President Biden and a better-than-expected performance from Trump. So I think, in terms of the expectations game, certainly Trump won,” Watson said.
Watson was more surprised by Biden’s use of statistics. “It’s an hourlong debate. How in the weeds are you going to get?”
Presidential debates place less emphasis on facts and often end up more emotional, Swint said. People are looking for a confident figure that puts them at ease and Biden did not deliver, he said.
With the debate over, the academics agreed that the debate isn’t likely to sway voters from one side to the other and may discourage independents from voting.
“Both candidates presented or, in many ways, reinforced some of the problems about their candidates in ways that I think could be discouraging to voters who really don’t have a dog in the fight,” Gillespie said.
“I wouldn’t say Trump was a winner.” Yeah, But I think probably Joe Biden will suffer or after this,” Swint said.
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