Former Vice President Joe Biden was in the spotlight on Thursday during the second debate between Democrats hoping to go up against Trump for the presidency next year… but Biden wasn’t the only one to gain some attention.
Biden intends to show voters that he can be a chance for Democrats to win over Donald Trump in the 2020 election. But is it really possible?
Biden had been the leading choice for Democrats up to the debate, where his opponents made significant gains.
Theses of the debate
Ten candidates participated in the debate, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator and Former California Prosecutor Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg, an Indiana mayor who is the first openly gay candidate in the US history.
Whereas the candidates in round one mostly avoided the elephant in the room, the second round was all about victory over President Donald Trump.
Among the attacks, Biden took on Trump’s wealth.
“Donald Trump thinks Wall Street built America. Ordinary middle-class Americans built America.”
He added that the current US president “put us all in a terrible situation,” further widening the gap between the rich and the poor.
If Donald Trump is re-elected for a second presidential term, NATO will cease to exist, Biden claimed, calling it “the most important alliance in US history.”
Bernie Sanders was more focused on social policy. Among his proposals, was canceling student debt and providing all citizens with free medical care.
Sanders took an even harder line against Trump, calling him a “pathological liar and a racist” who lied to the American people during his campaign.
Buttigieg’s unusual pro-migration arguments were made with constant reference to God.
The candidate’s had differing opinions on the issue of health insurance. Although many candidates, including Biden, say they believe in some version of Sanders’ Medicare for All proposal, Biden and Buttigieg still prefer private insurance.
Who won, who lost?
The mainstream media endlessly claimed that Kamala Harris had come out ahead.
After Buttigieg and Swalwell talked about the tragic precedent with the shooting of a black resident of South Bend, Harris took the initiative to attack. One of the most popular Youtube-videos after debates was the Harris-Biden battle about racism.
“I do not believe you are a racist,” Harris told Biden, but still had strong criticisms of his record on race-related issues. Biden answered this was a complete “mischaracterization” of his record.
Biden was considered to have been one of the least convincing participants by several American media outlets. Many noticed that his only lasting applause when he mentioned the name of former US President Barack Obama.
What are Biden’s chances?
Despite being older and not very charismatic, Biden at least has political experience (he was twice the vice-president, and has twice unsuccessfully tried to become president – in 1988 and 2008). This year, the so-called American “Swamp” relies on him – Biden will be easily manageable and predictable, unlike Trump. Biden is credited with the image of a “stronghold of stability,” which will restore the former globalist course of the United States and abolish Trump’s initiatives (in foreign and domestic policy).
Biden presents himself as a stable alternative to the unpredictable Trump, promising to restore deteriorated US relations with its allies.
Like most Democratic candidates, Biden insists on a more liberal approach to major issues, including health care, abortion, taxation and immigration.
However, several factors may play against him. First, is the fact that he is 78 years, 5 years older than Trump. Trump himself believes that Biden is not smart or energetic enough.
It is likely that the establishment will change its strategy and bet on Harris, but this depends on future debates and electoral campaigns. For the liberal world, Harris represents the perfect candidate: a black woman who emphasizes racism, segregation, emotions and migrants.
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As one expert said, “if Kamala Harris becomes president, it will be because of this moment.”
Threats to Trump
Not only are Democrats, liberals, feminists and pro-immigration forces opposing Trump, so are giant tech companies. The investigative group Project Veritas released tapes from a private meeting, where a Google executive can be heard openly discussing plans to mobilize the world’s largest search engine against the president. Similar statements have been made by Facebook.
Trump’s Reaction
Trump watched the first round of the Democratic debate on Wednesday on the way to the G20 summit in Osaka. The head of the White House described the debate in one word, all capital letters “BORING.”
BORING!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2019
All the Democrats raised their hands in favor of giving millions of illegal aliens healthcare access. “How about taking care of American Citizens first!? That’s the end of that race!” He wrote on Twitter.
All Democrats just raised their hands for giving millions of illegal aliens unlimited healthcare. How about taking care of American Citizens first!? That’s the end of that race!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 28, 2019
Conclusion
The Democratic Party is adopting more left-wing rhetoric (although, according to experts, the candidates didn’t clarify important topics like ecology, paying more attention to racism, immigration and social issues).
Trump’s early attacks on socialism were also a part of the conversation.
As Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper noted, a shift to the left on key policies would hurt Democrats’ quest to defeat Trump.
“If we don’t clearly define we are not socialists, the Republicans are going to come at us every way they can and call us socialists,” he warned.
But at the same time, there is no doubt that a split is growing within the ranks of the party which could drastically reduce their chances against Trump.