Paula lugones
09/29/2020 - 16:00
Clarín.com
World
With almost a month to go before the presidential elections in the United States, Donald Trump and Joe Biden
face each other in their first televised debate
tonight starting at 22 (Argentine time), amid a climate of tension and strong mutual accusations.
The whole country is in suspense
because it is estimated that the scene will be a battlefield.
Bars in Washington already offer special places to go head-to-head on the big screen over a drink, with social distance.
It will be 90 minutes without commercial breaks, broadcast live from Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, a state that is always key to winning the election.
The moderator will be journalist
Chris Wallace
, from the conservative FoxNews network.
The topics of this debate,
which will be the first of three
before the presidential elections on November 3, will be the past experiences of Trump and Biden, the Supreme Court, Covid-19, the economy, the racial question and violence. in the cities, as well as the integrity of the elections.
There will be 15-minute blocks to discuss each issue and it is also expected that there will be crossovers, which could end in strong personal attacks given the tone that the campaign has had so far.
Polls of support for Donald Trump and Joe Biden in 6 key states, ahead of the elections in the United States.
AFP
Biden is ranked higher in the polls
, with a 6.1% lead over Trump nationally and 3.6% in the decisive states, according to the average of RealClearPolitics polls.
But nothing is final yet because a similar lead was Hillary Clinton in 2016 and ended up losing.
The presidential debates
are the most watched events on television after the Superbowl
, the American football final.
Experience indicates that they tend to boost the confidence of the vote of those who already have a candidate elected, but it can be important for the undecided.
In an extremely polarized society, 3% say they don't know who to vote for, according to a Monmouth University poll.
But just a few votes can be vital in states like Ohio or Florida, where Trump and Biden are tied in the polls.
In 2016, for example, the tycoon triumphed in Michigan and Florida by a few thousand votes and that paved the way for him to reach the White House.
The tax bomb
This first debate comes shortly after an explosive scoop from the
New York Times
, which on Sunday published part of Trump's tax returns from recent decades, documents the president refused to release, thus breaking a tradition of several decades of White House bosses.
It became known that Trump
had paid only $ 750
in taxes in 2016 and 2017 and nothing for more than 10 years because, according to what he declared, his companies had lost.
The theme will surely bring strong crosses in the meeting.
Biden already highlighted that middle-class Americans paid far more taxes than Trump.
In addition, the novelty
hits hard on the image of the president,
who has always boasted of being a successful millionaire businessman and a skilled negotiator.
Details on the first television debate between US President Donald Trump and Joe Biden, on September 29.
AFP
Quick to reflect, hours before the debate Biden and his running mate
Kamala Harris
released their tax returns from last year and called on Trump to do the same.
Trump, for his part, lashed out at Biden's mental agility, demanding that the 77-year-old former vice president
take a drug test
before or after the debate.
“His performances in the debates have been UNEQUAL at record levels, to put it mildly.
Only drugs could have caused this discrepancy ??? "Trump tweeted, saying that he should undergo drug testing and that he was willing to do so too.
It is known that beyond exposing their ideas, the important thing about the debates
is how the candidates
appear, if they look presidential, aggressive, nervous or insecure, or if they make mistakes.
Trump, 74, seeks to portray Biden as an old man, lacking energy and with altered mental capacities.
It is also estimated that he will attack him on the role of his son Hunter Biden, whom the president has accused of "corruption" when he worked for a gas company in Ukraine while his father was vice president of the United States and of lobbying in favor. of Chinese companies.
AFP
Trump's strategy has its risks
: Biden has been a stutterer and, although he has generally overcome that difficulty, he sometimes gets stuck on words and produces uncomfortable phrases or silences that seem like problems of another kind.
Making fun of this can backfire on the president.
Furthermore, having set such a low bar for the Democrat, only a "correct" debate from Biden could become a success.
Biden has been preparing for tonight for weeks
.
The candidate spent several months almost without appearing in public and this exhibition can be important for millions of potential voters to see him live.
Trump, on the other hand, says that he does not need to prepare especially and relies on his qualities as a shrewd television showman, who is capable of delivering a stiletto to his rival, although sometimes his statements are based on falsehoods.
The Cleveland appointment will be the first of three debates.
The next one is scheduled for October 15 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida, and will be moderated by Steve Scully of C-Span;
and the third and final one is scheduled for the 22nd of next month at Belmont University in Nashville.
PB
Look also
Presidential debate in the United States: seven facts to pay attention
Presidential debate in the United States: what effect it has on voters