Summary and Key Points: The upcoming presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump is more about media narratives than meaningful discourse, with both sides likely to declare victory regardless of actual debate performance.

-This event highlights the deep political division in America and distracts from pressing issues like the economy and international relations.

-The debate serves as a spectacle rather than a serious discussion on the future of the country.

Should CNN Even Hold this Trump vs. Biden Debate? 

The forthcoming presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump is sure to be an amusing and annoying ride for all who dare to tune in. But let us not forget what is at stake: the future of the country. This year’s election is a fulcrum point in our nation’s history, and whoever wins will be the steward of our troubled country at its most important moment in this century. 

Yet, no one reading this should be fooled: neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump will truly “win” the debate. Because this debate is merely a formality. An exercise in competing media narratives designed to militate the followers of the two candidates against each other while dispiriting the other side. 

A Most Pointless Event

And who shall determine the victory? 

In the long run, you might say it will be those who show up to vote on Election Day.

Although, in the short run, who can say? 

Certainly, the Biden campaign and their allies in the media will declare that the forty-sixth president, despite whatever gaffes he may make during the debate, is the “lesser of two evils.” 

The Trump people will naturally claim victory all the meanwhile decrying the biased nature of the debate.

Left unsaid by the Trump team, of course, is that the forty-fifth president did not need to consent to this debate—let alone agree to all of CNN’s debate parameters. Then again, no one makes Trump share his innermost thoughts and feelings with the likes of Maggie Haberman or Jonathan Swan. 

He just does these things. Maybe it’ll all work out. Or, maybe these short-sighted moves by the former president will finally catch up to him.

You can guarantee, though, that Trump will not get a fair shake in the upcoming debate. Even if this debate were totally above-board—which it is not—the former president’s affect prevents him from having the time and space to flesh out his case on stage. He goes too long and is too bombastic for the moderators to handle. And Biden, good grief, he’s going to be staring blankly at the camera as Trump gesticulates and accuses Biden of all manner of transgressions.

And what of Biden? 

The Trump campaign is anticipating an entirely flat performance from him. On the one hand, the Republican side insists that this debate will highlight how mentally compromised the forty-sixth president has become over the last four years in office. 

All the polls indicate that most Americans, regardless of party, are concerned about Biden’s age. That’s hardly a decisive issue. If it was, Biden would not have won four years ago (or secured the support of the elite). 

Conspiracy Theories Galore

Trump has demanded that Biden give a urine sample 20 minutes before the debate so that the urine can be tested for amphetamines. I’d like to add here that, if we’re being conspiratorial, why not advise the former president not drink the water he’s going to be given while at the debate if he’s that concerned about Biden being dosed with something? 

If the powers that Trump often rages against really want Biden to look good by giving him something, they’ll probably want to make Trump look bad by dosing him with something, too.

Then there’s another theory (that I happen to buy) that says most of the Democratic Party’s leaders, despite what they say publicly, do not want Biden as president again. He’s too old and feeble in their view. Perhaps by putting him front-and-center, after all the missteps with his troubled son, Hunter, the Democrats can finally showcase that Biden is no longer capable of being president. 

And with what might be an embarrassing display, just maybe Democrat powerbrokers can force Biden to ultimately stand down come time for the Democratic National Convention, to step aside and allow for someone more competent to run in his stead.

Throughout all these cogitations, no one is actually talking about the issues. It’s all perennial jockeying all the time. And it’s over the stupidest, most banal things imaginable. 

America Looks Bad to the World

All this shows to the world is that we’re an unserious country in rapid decline. (Of our two frontrunners for president, the younger one is 78, and the older one is 81.) Biden comes across to many as mentally compromised and corrupt. Trump appears to others as insane and corrupt. At no point are we talking about the messages of the two candidates, their actual records, or what will happen to the country if they get another four years.

More frighteningly, few seem to really care. 

The United States is the most divided it has ever been. Democrats going into the debate are going to love Biden—even if he collapses mid-debate. Republicans watching the debate will hang on Trump’s every utterance, even if it is untampered and uneven. It’s red versus blue in America. Coke versus Pepsi. Lakers versus Celtics. 

We’ve gone totally tribal and no one gives a hoot about the implications. 

Tomorrow, after the debate, no one’s mind will be changed. But we will all have been endlessly entertained. In days past, American elections, while messy, were the hallmarks of an enlightened and egalitarian form of government. Now, sadly, they are a continual symbol to the rest of the world—notably the Global South—that democracy is the least virtuous and effective form of government. 

What a Real Debate Would Look Like

If we had a real democracy with a real debate, tomorrow, we would hear about how the international order has broken down under Joe Biden’s leadership and, thanks almost entirely to Joe Biden, the world is faced with the prospects of a nuclear world war three. 

Former President Trump would be made to account for his abysmal management of the COVID-19 crisis that did so much enduring damage to the country. 

We would all agree that, contrary to what Karine Jean-Pierre says, the U.S. economy is on the brink of a major crisis. And President Biden would be blamed for being one of the most divisive presidents in history (they’ll claim Trump was, but, in fact, Trump was divisive for simply existing whereas Biden has actually done things to divide us).

The two men would be able to present their distinct visions for the future, too. Again, that’s if we had a functioning democracy and a real debate on our hands. But that is not what we have. Most people understand that. More frighteningly, the rest of the world knows this—possibly better than those of us in the eye of the storm do.

Tomorrow’s debate will be another datapoint of America’s decline. It won’t matter who “won” because nothing will have been resolved. Even more frustratingly, almost no one will have their minds changed. It’s the total political balkanization of America. That’s the real tragedy here. 

In fact, I’ll go out on a limb here and say that CNN should cancel the debate and air reruns of Don Lemon from 2014 declaring the missing Malaysian Airlines flight fell into a black hole. Tomorrow will be a vile and painful reminder that America is done for. Sure, it’ll be entertaining—and I will be rooting for Trump completely—but it will be a truly sad affair.

Author Experience and Expertise: Brandon J. Weichert

Brandon J. Weichert, a National Interest national security analyst, is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, the Asia Times, and The-Pipeline. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His next book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine, is due October 22 from Encounter Books. Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.

All images are Creative Commons or Shutterstock. 

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