In the old days of presidential debates, three reporters or columnists were picked to question the candidates. In 1984, I covered national politics for the Baltimore Sun, and, as luck would have it, I was chosen as a questioner in the first debate between President Ronald Reagan and former Vice President Walter Mondale.
I well remember the stricken look on Reagan’s face when he stepped down from the elevated platform on which he and Mondale had stood. His debate performance had been terrible. Mondale’s had been dazzling. For Reagan, it was the low point in his illustrious career, and he knew it.
But compared with the show President Trump and Joe Biden put on in their first debate, Reagan, the Great Communicator, had been brilliant and inspiring.
This is what we’ve come to 26 years later: A clumsy, embarrassed Reagan, on a bad night, towers over Trump and Biden. Few could have guessed their debate would be historic — historically bad for both of them, but especially for Trump.
As president, Trump needed to reflect at least a modicum of presidential stature. He failed to do so. He acted like a street fighter, not a man who surprisingly has achieved real success as president. For 98 minutes, he was mean and unlikable.
It’s true that Trump often acts as if he is happy to be disliked. It’s part of a strategy to be seen as serious and tough, a politician you shouldn’t trifle with. But this time, it didn’t work. He came off simply as a horrible person.
This was a mistake. Trump has long since won over voters who find his seething, bully-boy side appealing. There are millions of them, but they don’t add up to a majority. He needs to attract centrist and conservative voters, especially in the suburbs, as he did in 2016. At the moment, though, he’s alienating millions of them.
A more gentle approach is required. One way for him to adopt it is to talk about foreign policy. Trump is neither an isolationist nor an interventionist. He’s dramatically changed the political landscape of the Middle East, helping to bring Israel together with Arab countries and isolating Iran.
But Trump is reluctant to tout how hostile his policy toward Russia really is. He’s lobbying Europe to oppose a new energy pipeline from Russia to Germany. Succeeding where Reagan failed earlier would give him bragging rights.
What about Biden? In the debate, he followed the old adage that you don’t get in trouble for what you don’t say. He dealt with some of Wallace’s questions by answering as if a different question had been asked. And his tack worked.
Biden may not be a presidential-level politician, but he is clever. He told plenty of untruths, especially about Republican healthcare policy, and got away with the most of them. That was Trump’s fault. His tirades undermined his ability to focus on Biden’s actual weaknesses effectively.
The most significant achievement in the debate for Biden was his survival, intact and ready to go, at least every other day. But Democrats and the liberal media aren’t taking any chances. They don’t trust Biden’s durability, nor should they. One debate with no lost moments or breakdowns in Biden’s scripted lines is as much as they could hope for. So, the drive to spare Biden more face-to-face slugfests with Trump has begun. And in all likelihood, it will succeed.
Where does all this leave Trump? The debate brought out a significant downside for him: The odds of his reelection have worsened. One might conclude this makes it easier for Biden to insist proudly on a second debate with a weakened foe. Don’t bet on it. Biden isn’t stupid.
Trump’s only option with a month left in the campaign is the high road. Democrats have a large problem on their hands. It’s the leftist insurrection that shows few signs of pausing until after Nov. 3. In dozens of cities, it’s the most alarming threat to normal life, one Democrats would like to ignore for another month.
National hysteria would be counterproductive, but a coolly organized effort by the Trump administration to quash the rebellions could work.
If Biden wins, don’t despair. He and the Democratic Left will feud, spurring a Republican comeback in Congress in 2022. Trump will be gone. So will the Never Trumpers.
Fred Barnes is a Washington Examiner senior columnist.
