
<p>Make no mistake about it. President Trump had a “yuge” win in the presidential debate. It was due to two facts &#8212; that the former President tamped down the worst elements of his personality and that President Biden had the most disastrous performance in American presidential debate history. Perhaps more the latter than the former. Trump came across as confident and articulate, without being overly snarky – at least by his standards. </p>



<p>The main counterpunch from the Biden side was an attack on Trump’s veracity. ; For inexplicable reasons, Trump gave Team Biden enough fodder for the criticism. ; Importantly, however, was the fact that the pushback to Trump’s exaggerations and fibs did not come from Biden, but various spokespersons and media folks AFTER the debate. ;  ;For the 80-plus million who watch cross several platforms, Trump looked strong and confident against the weak and occasionally incoherent Biden.</p>



<p>For his part, Biden seemed incapable of engaging in the debate. ; Rather than counter Trump’s statements with facts, Biden settled for accusing Trump of lying, saying he had never heard so many lies &#8230; or malarky. ; But no specific corrections.</p>



<p>To the chagrin of many of the left-leaning pundits and panelists, the moderators – Jake Tapper and Dana Bash – did not offer up instant fact checking. ; That was by intent as part of the debate rules – and a good decision. (More on the genesis of the debate in a subsequent commentary).</p>



<p>CNN fact checker, Daniel Dale, called Trump out for 30 “lies” compared to 9 for Biden. ; MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” played CNN’s report on what they viewed as Trump’s lies, but not the report on Biden – and that came after co-host Mika Brzezinski claimed that their network is devoted to balanced reporting. ; (Unfortunately, we do not have a fact checker to expose media lies. But I digress.)</p>



<p>During the 2016 presidential campaign, I wrote a commentary describing Trump’s style as that of a political carnival barker – shouting out exaggerated claims about the events inside the tent. He did some of that to his own detriment.</p>



<p>Trump exaggerates even when the truth serves him better and would prevent the negative pushback. ; He claimed that people were paying four times more for groceries than in 2021 – the start of the Biden presidency. ; That is a gross exaggeration, but not completely off the point. ; Prices have gone up 20 percent. ; Trump did not have to exaggerate the point to make the point.</p>



<p>Some of Trump’s dubious claims added nothing beneficial for him in the debate. The claim that then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently admitted that the violence on January 6<sup>th</sup> was her fault was an issue of no consequence. There was no reason to allege that without clear and compelling evidence – and Trump provided none.</p>



<p>While Trump critics hammered Trump’s alleged lies to bring the results of the debate into some semblance of balance, they ignore the fact that Trump made a lot of good points. He had the advantage that voters tend to trust and believe him more on the major issues most important to them – immigration, crime, inflation, economy, drugs, etc.</p>



<p>Biden’s responses were weak, ineffective, incoherent or non-existent. ; That enabled Trump to “run the table” with both fact and fiction.</p>



<p>Trump won big because there was no challenge to his statements. ; What he said – accurate or inaccurate – went out to millions of viewers largely unchallenged.</p>



<p>Trump also won big because the pre-debate discussion made Trump’s behavior and Biden’s lucidity THE most important factors in the debate. Trump remained reserved and cogent, while Biden had an hour and a half “senior moment.” That is the only takeaway from the debate by the general public – those not carrying water for one side or the other.</p>



<p>While Trump clearly won the debate, we are yet to see what impact it will have on the race – short-term and long-term. It is hard to imagine that Biden’s polling numbers will improve. That leaves the only question of whether Trump’s will improve – and how much. And will the aftermath of the debate influence the long-term trajectory of the Trump campaign? </p>



<p>Trump came into the debate with a modest polling advantage – most within the margins of error. ; Will this be a breakaway moment for him? ; Have to wait and see.</p>



<p>And then there is the question as to whether Biden will now withdraw from the race. ; Most observers lean to “no” but not with any confidence. ; If Trump gets a more formidable opponent, his win may prove to be a Pyrrhic Victory.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

Trump wins debate despite peddling a lot of bs
