Tom Dichter wasn’t quite sure he wanted to watch the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Between his aversion to the outgoing president and his “Nervousness” to see his candidate, the Democrat, miss this key moment in the campaign, the retired anthropologist feared for a moment ” annoying “. He didn’t think so well put it.
After an hour and a half of chaotic exchanges, Tom and his wife, Susan, are dismayed by the poor quality of the services and the image they give of American democracy. But these former supporters of Elizabeth Warren, candidate for the left of Joe Biden during the Democratic primaries, are on the other hand a little reassured by the honorable performance of the former vice-president. “Sure, he’s not an Obama, he stammered a bit but he did pretty well. “
In their residential Washington neighborhood, where gardens are dotted with pro-Biden signs, they can’t be the only ones feeling relieved. The blunders, which have marked the career of the Democrat, have been avoided and fears about the intellectual liveliness of the 77-year-old man have been swept aside.
But, overall, Tom and Susan’s verdict is harsh: “We have never seen a presidential debate of this level”, launch together the two septuagenarians, stunned by “The lack of politeness, civility, reasonable arguments”. “Trump has just shown what he has been criticized for four years: he has been wicked, a liar and a manipulator, trying to take on the role of the alpha male”, Tom insists, uncompromisingly.
“We feel ripped off”
From the first minutes of the debate, the couple took offense at “Lies” of the American president, then laughs at his delaying answers on paying his taxes. An investigation by New York Times revealed on Sunday, September 27, that Mr. Trump had only paid $ 750 in taxes in 2016 and 2017. “As recently as today, we spent forty-five minutes on the phone with the tax department to resolve a problem. We pay 36 times more taxes than the president and we feel ripped off by his frauds. “ The Dichters are convinced that this tax business will leave its mark on “real people”.
Annoyed by the hubbub on the set, Susan applauds when the moderator, Chris Wallace, manages, by dint of interruptions and clarifications, to ask a specific question on health insurance, climate change or the violence of the supremacists . But the answers leave them a little hungry. Like many Americans, the Dichters would have liked specific commitments on health coverage, the management of the Covid-19 pandemic or the electoral system. They were entitled to statements that were sometimes difficult to discern under the invectives and the interruptions.
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