Tag: mute button

A Tale of Two Uncles

By Michelle Naranjo

The 2020 presidential candidates have become known as virtual “uncles” to many. 

Biden is known as Uncle Joe, while since 2015, Trump is the humorous, albeit a Chrome browser plugin, your drunk uncle at Thanksgiving.

The welcome final chapter of this election debate saga was lower-key, revealing a more subdued pair of uncles, and some absolute clarity about where each candidate stands on some of the issues facing Americans, increasingly exhausted by both the election and the pandammit. 

Both candidates appeared to have a more reined-in edition of their personalities this round. But the new debate “mute button” wasn’t entirely successful. 

Trump appeared to have been schooled by his handlers on how to behave better. He appeared as the uncle who was asked not to be drunk at Thanksgiving. Still, like a willful child (or a dry drunk), he came across as trying to stifle a temper tantrum, declaring that he is not a racist and yet referred to border refugees as having “the lowest IQ.”

Most of what Trump tried to impart was arcane stories that are the fodder of social media but have little context or meaning to most voters. There were unsubstantial sound bites: accusing Biden of harming the Black community with a crime bill from 1994, accepting foreign money, and of course, trying to drag Biden’s son Hunter into the mix.

Biden exercised adult-like stoicism and ironic approach, more akin to a caring uncle who has been around his share of unruly kids. He explained to Trump that it was a Republican Congress that delayed and even killed much of the eight years of the Obama/Biden team efforts. He apologized for the widely accepted yet long-gone crime bill, refusing to engage in unfounded claims proved to be untrue.

There was only a momentary blip of an angry Uncle Joe. And, not falling too far into the bickering, Biden elevated the conversation from pithy rumors to stating directly to viewers, “It’s not about his family and my family. It’s about your family.” 

When he wasn’t swatting away the foul balls, Biden presented sincere plans on what he called “Bidencare” and social and economic equity for all Americans while still giving short retorts to the salacious accusations.

Trump only offered that he has plans, but it sounded more like musing on a grand cruise based on seeing an ad on TV.

Some people enjoy having that one crass, rabble-rousing uncle at the table once for a few hours and then sending him away, so they can go on with their lives. 

Most people want an uncle who will take an interest, care, and be proactive with family when they are sick and hurting.

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Debate Audience Wins as Trump and Biden Mind the Mute Button

By Charles Dervarics

Voters claimed at least a small victory Thursday night when the major party presidential candidates had to accept a tool familiar to anyone working in remote video meetings during the pandemic – the all-important mute button.

Both President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden had to follow this new rule, which significantly reduced interruptions during their final debate in Nashville. The president showed occasional frustration at having to wait for an open microphone, but the new guideline kept shouting to a minimum and gave viewers a chance to hear the candidates’ views on key issues.

During the 90-minute debate moderated by NBC’s Kristen Welker, the two candidates sparred over every issue from COVID-19 and race relations to China, North Korea, immigration and climate change.

On COVID-19, Trump laid blame primarily on China and said that “we’re rounding the corner” on the virus with a vaccine announcement likely within weeks. “We can’t close up our nation or we won’t have a nation,” he said. Biden countered that the president’s performance has fallen far short with 220,000 Americans dead from the disease. “Anyone responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of the United States,” he said.

The former vice president also said he planned to implement “Bidencare,” with Affordable Care Act improvements such as lower premiums and drug prices and the ability of low-income individuals to opt into Medicaid. Trump criticized this plan, saying it would lead to socialized medicine and a loss of private insurance for 180 million Americans. 

An extended segment on race relations saw the candidates approach the issue from different directions. Trump touted his administration’s passage of criminal justice reform and more funding for historically Black colleges, saying the Obama-Biden administration failed on these and other issues. “I ran because of you,” he said. “If I thought you did a good job, I would’ve never run.”

For his part, Biden said he regretted past support for minimum sentencing laws and promised to give states $20 billion to eliminate these standards and create drug courts so offenders go to treatment rather than prison. “We should fundamentally change the system, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

Some of the most heated moments came when Trump challenged Biden over alleged misdeeds by his son in gaining international business and whether the former vice president benefitted from deals in China and Ukraine. Biden denied any wrongdoing and the debate turned to Trump’s own international business dealings, bank accounts and unseen tax returns. At one point, Biden turned to the camera and noted that the election is “not about his family or my family. It’s about your family, and your family’s hurting badly.”

With the debates now complete, both candidates head into the final 11 days of campaigning. Nearly 50 million Americans already have cast early votes, with Election Day set for Nov. 3.

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