President Trump did well for himself this week with a strong and focused debate performance against Democrat Joe Biden and wins with the Senate Judiciary Committee’s approval of Amy Coney Barrett as the next Supreme Court associate justice and the addition of Sudan to those endorsing the White House Middle East peace deal with Israel.
Democratic pollster and grader John Zogby said, “This is a close race, and the president did not hurt himself this week.” He graded Trump a B. Conservative analyst Jed Babbin agreed and graded a B+.
John Zogby
Grade B
Trump had his game on this Thursday night. He came to debate — not debase his opponent. He played by the rules, was briefed on the issues, cited enough facts to show he was on top of his own administration’s policies, and provided a defense for his actions.
Now, he wasn’t always factual, and sometimes, he slipped into the Trump we have come to know. But I have to hand it to him. He made it a real debate this time. I am not sure he scored any real points on the issues surrounding the former vice president’s son, Hunter, but he may have been the beneficiary of an unforced error when Biden said he would have the U.S. transition away from the oil industry. Of course, the former vice president was working to consolidate his support on the Left, and it probably will have little or no impact on his campaign — except for possibly tiny Bradford, Pennsylvania.
This is a close race, and the president did not hurt himself this week.
Jed Babbin
Grade B+
Trump had a very good week thanks to rapper 50 Cent, continued action on the SCOTUS nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, and his performance in the final debate with Biden.
Endorsing Trump and punching a big hole in Biden’s tax plans, 50 Cent scored the line of the week in saying that the result of Biden’s plan would turn him into “20 Cent.” Meanwhile, the Senate Judiciary Committee, despite a boycott of the meeting by committee Democrats, sent Barrett’s nomination to the Senate floor, where it’s likely that she’ll be confirmed on Monday and then sworn in before Election Day.
Trump won at the big Thursday night debate, the last of the campaign. Biden scored early in trashing Trump’s leadership in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, but from there on, it was all Trump. Though he didn’t land a haymaker even when Biden led with his chin, Trump clearly won. He attacked Biden repeatedly for having been in government for 47 years without accomplishing anything and being a typical politician who’s all talk and no action. When Biden said he’d “transition” the U.S. economy away from oil, which would cost at least $5 trillion and slash jobs, Trump attacked but didn’t land a knockout. Biden’s daffy proposal to rely on wind and solar power would gut our economy and make our energy supply weather-dependent. Biden promises thousands of charging stations for electric vehicles (which people don’t want to buy). Trump attacked Biden and his family for corruption regarding Ukraine and China. Biden tried to deflect Trump’s attacks by denying everything and saying the same things about Trump, which amounted to an “oh, yeah?”
Biden said that he’d rally our allies to resist Russia, China, and Iran but never said how. The NATO nations aren’t going to support any policies that confront any of the Big Three Bad Guys. Biden, a committed multilateralist, won’t act without their help, which means he won’t act at all.
With only about 10 days to go, this election is still too close to call. Unfortunately, we’ll probably not know the result for weeks after Election Day.
John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Poll and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His weekly podcast with son and partner Jeremy Zogby can be heard here. Follow him on Twitter @TheJohnZogby
Jed Babbin is a Washington Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in the administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Follow him on Twitter @jedbabbin
