Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 1, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A10 A 10 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2020 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMNEWS I WORLD W ASHINGTON — After more than a year of cir-cling each other, Repub- lican U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden met on the debate stage Tuesday night in Ohio. The 74-year-old president and the 77-year-old former vice-president are similar in age, and they share a mu- tual dislike. But they differ starkly in style and substance. All of that was evident from the outset on the Cleve- land stage. Here are key takeaways from the first of three scheduled presidential debates before election day on Nov. 3. And in this corner Trump is no stranger to going on of- fence, but his pugilistic approach on stage left his Democratic opponent fighting to complete a sentence. Trailing in public and private polling, Trump advisers have pushed him to reframe the election away from a ref- erendum on his presidency to a choice between him and Biden. Trump, in- stead, commandeered the debate, try- ing to trip up Biden by interrupting and insulting him. In the process, Trump made the debate more about himself. “There’s nothing smart about you,” Trump said of Biden. “47 years you’ve done nothing.” While Trump played into his reputa- tion as a bully, it may have been effect- ive at breaking up the worst of Biden’s attacks — simply by talking over them. Trump aides believed before the de- bate that Biden would be unable to with- stand the withering offensive in style and substance from Trump, but Biden came with a few retorts of his own, calling Trump a “clown” and mocking Trump’s style by asking, “Will you shut up, man?” Trump’s supporters may have been cheered by his frontal assault. Whether undecided voters, who watched the de- bate to try to learn about the two candi- dates, were impressed is another matter. Moderator Chris Wallace was none too amused, delivering a pointed re- proach to Trump for his interruptions. “Frankly, you’ve been doing more in- terrupting,” Wallace said, appealing to Trump to let his opponent speak. Trump is fond of superlatives, but in the case of the debate there is little doubt that it was the most acrimonious since the forums have been televised. Trump can’t escape the virus Trump has wanted the election to be about anything but the coronavirus pandemic, but he couldn’t outrun real- ity on the debate stage. “It is what it is because you are who you are,” Biden told the president, echo- ing Trump’s own words and referring to his months of downplaying COVID-19 while he said privately he understood how deadly it is. But Trump didn’t take it quietly. He proceeded to blitz Biden with a mix of self-defence and counter-offensives. The 200,000 dead? Biden’s death toll would have been “millions,” Trump said. A rocky economy? Biden would’ve been worse. Biden wouldn’t have manu- factured enough masks or ventilators. The kicker: “There will be a vaccine very soon.” Biden fell back on his bottom line: “A lot of people died, and a lot more are go- ing to unless he gets a lot smarter.” For voters still undecided about who’d better handle the pandemic, the exchange may not have offered any- thing new. Racial reckoning Trump said Biden was the politician who helped put millions of Black Amer- icans in prison with the 1994 crime law. Biden called Trump “the racist” in the Oval Office. For a nation confronting a summer of racial unrest — and centuries of injus- tice — the debate was the latest cultural flashpoint. Biden was quiet as Trump blitzed him as a tool of the “radical left” and a weak figure who opposes “law and order.” He pressed Biden repeatedly to name any police union that’s endorsed him. He falsely accused Biden of wanting to “de- fund the police.” Biden didn’t capitalize when Trump refused to condemn armed militias and insisted, against the guidance of his own FBI director: “This is not a right-wing problem. This is a left-wing problem.” “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by,” Trump said when prompted on the far-right group. “But I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about antifa and the left.” The former vice-president tried to push back, but not until after Trump had made his arguments, including the misrepresentations. Biden regained some footing mock- ing the president’s warnings about sub- urbs, saying, “He wouldn’t know a sub- urb unless he took a wrong turn.” And perhaps revealing the thinking about allowing Trump the rhetorical upper hand, Biden said, “All these dog whis- tles and racism doesn’t work anymore.” Question about court, answer about health care Trump defended his decision to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court just weeks before elec- tion day, saying “elections have conse- quences.” Biden said he was “not opposed to the justice,” but said the “American people have a right to have a say in who the Su- preme Court nominee is.” But rather than litigate Republicans’ 2016 blocking of Merrick Garland to the high court, Biden quickly pivoted to the issues that will potentially come before the court: health care and abortion. It’s an effort by the Democrat to refocus the all-but-certain confirmation fight for Trump’s third justice to the Su- preme Court into an assault on Trump and his record. Biden said Barrett, who would be the sixth justice on the nine-member court to be appointed by a Republican, would endanger the Affordable Care Act and tens of millions of Americans with pre- existing conditions, and would imperil legalized abortion. It was a reframing of the political debate to terms far more favourable to the Democrat, and one Trump played into. Trump said of the conservative Barrett, “You don’t know her view on Roe vs. Wade” and he de- fended his efforts to try to chip away at the popular Obama-era health law. Biden has tried to press Democrats to use the court confirmation fight as a rallying cry against Trump, and the debate discussion largely played out on his turf. ‘Invisible’ Wallace struggles to con- tain trump Debate moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News tried mightily to hold his ground Tuesday after saying before- hand that it was not his job to fact-check the candidates, especially Trump, in real time. But Wallace struggled to stop Trump from interrupting and at times seemed to lose control of the debate. “Mr. President, as the moderator, we are going to talk about COVID in the next segment,” Wallace said. Soon after: “I’m the moderator, and I’d like you to let me ask my question.” Minutes later: “I have to give you roughly equal time. Please let the vice- president talk.” And when Wallace noted that Trump hasn’t come up with his health-care plan in nearly four years, Trump turned the question back on Wallace. “First of all, I’m debating you and not him. That’s okay. I’m not surprised.” Wallace had said he wanted to be “in- visible.” Well, that was impossible. Family business As expected, Trump found a way to bring up Hunter Biden, the former vice- president’s son, and recycle allegations about the younger Biden’s internation- al business practices. Biden called Trump’s litany “discredited” and fired back, “I mean, his family we can talk about all night.” But Biden sidestepped any of the spe- cifics of Trump’s international business dealings and instead turned straight to the camera. “This is not about my family or his family,” Biden said as Trump tried to talk over him. “This is about your family.” In a later exchange, Trump inter- rupted Biden when he was talking about his late son, Beau Biden, who died of can- cer in 2015 after having served in Iraq. “I don’t know Beau, I know Hunter,” Trump said. — The Associated Press Moderator struggled to stop Trump interruptions, had trouble controlling debate An acrid tone from the opening minute PATRICK SEMANSKY / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The first debate between Republican U.S. President Donald Trump (left) and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden was the most acrimonious since the forums have been televised. WASHINGTON — U.S. President Don- ald Trump on Wednesday tried to walk back his refusal to outright condemn a far right fascist group during his de- bate with Democrat Joe Biden, but the inflammatory moment was far from the first time the president has failed to denounce white supremacists or has advanced racist ideas. Trump’s initial refusal to criticize the Proud Boys — instead saying the group should “stand back and stand by” — drew fierce blowback before he altered his message in a day-later effort to quell the firestorm. “I don’t know who Proud Boys are. But whoever they are they have to stand down, let law enforcement do their work,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a campaign stop in Minnesota. The new flareup over Trump’s mes- saging on race was playing out just weeks before the election, leaving the president to play defence on yet another issue when he’s already facing criti- cism of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and under new scrutiny over his taxes. And even after saying the Proud Boys should “stand down,” Trump went on to call out forces on the other end of the pol- itical spectrum and tried to attack Biden. It was an echo of the way he had blamed “both sides” for the 2017 violence be- tween white supremacists and anti-racist protesters in Charlottesville, Va. “Now antifa is a real problem,” Trump said. “The problem is on the left. And Biden refuses to talk about it.” In fact, FBI director Christopher Wray told a congressional panel last week that it was white supremacists and anti-government extremists who have been responsible for most of the recent deadly attacks by extremist groups in the U.S. Proud Boys leaders and supporters took to social media to celebrate the president’s comments at the debate, with more than 5,000 of the group’s members posting “Stand Back” and “Stand By” above and below the group’s logo. And when Trump was directly asked Wednesday if he “would welcome white supremacist support,” he ignored the question and again stressed the need for “law and order.” Trump built his political career on the back of the racist lie of birtherism — the false claim that Barack Obama was not born in the United States — and his business and political lives have long featured racial rhetoric and inflammatory actions. The president has rarely condemned white suprema- cists when not pressed to do so, and his refusal to criticize the fascist group was denounced by Democrats on Wed- nesday. “My message to the Proud Boys and every other white supremacist group is cease and desist,” Biden said during a post-debate train tour through Ohio and Pennsylvania. “That’s not who we are. That’s not who we are as Americans.” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer pressed his Republican col- leagues: “How are you not embarrassed that President Trump represents your party? How can you possibly, possibly, support anyone who behaves this way?” In an ugly debate marked by angry interruptions and bitter asides, Trump’s remarks about the Proud Boys stood out. He was asked by moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News if he would “be willing tonight to condemn white supremacists and militia groups” and demand that they “stand down” and not add to the violence that has erupted in places like Portland, Ore., and Kenosha, Wis. The president said “sure,” but did not offer any actual words of condemna- tion, instead pivoting to blame the vio- lence on left-wing radicals like antifa supporters. When pushed by Wallace, Trump asked for the name of a group to condemn — and Biden suggested Proud Boys. “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by,” Trump said. Few Republicans publicly commented upon the president’s remarks and fewer still criticized them. GOP House leader Kevin McCarthy insisted Trump did agree when asked if he would condemn the groups, and the California Republican sought to equate the white nationalist groups and the KKK with extremists like antifa. GOP Sen. Mike Rounds, S.D., went only go so far as to say, “I was hoping for more clarity.” Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only Black Republican in the Senate, said he believed Trump “misspoke.” “He should correct it,” Scott added. “If he doesn’t correct it, I guess he didn’t misspeak.” Biden called Trump a “racist” dur- ing the debate. It’s a charge that has dogged Trump since his early days as a developer, when he called for the death penalty for the Central Park Five — a group of Black men accused of rape but later cleared — and when he fought charges of bias against Blacks seeking to rent at his family-owned apartment complexes. He became a star in the Republican field after promoting the racist idea that Obama wasn’t born in the U.S. And earlier this year, he briefly wondered if Biden running mate Sen. Kamala Har- ris, whose mother was Indian and fath- er is Jamaican, was eligible to serve as vice-president. There have been any number of other troublesome moments in recent years: In his first moments as a presidential candidate, Trump suggested Mexicans were “rapists.” He proposed temporar- ily banning Muslims from the United States. He retweeted posts from ac- counts that appeared to have ties to white nationalist groups. He was slow to reject the endorsement of former KKK leader David Duke. And, perhaps most notably, he blamed “both sides” for the violence in Charlottesville that left an anti-racist demonstrator dead. The debate left some Black Amer- icans dismayed. “I think he has continued to embold- en white supremacists,” said Anne Su- sen, a 60-year-old out-of-work antiques dealer who lives just outside Charlottes- ville. “He just wants to sow the seeds of division in this country.” Tori Silver, 22, said there was “no ex- cuse” for Trump not immediately dis- avowing white supremacist groups. “It’s kind of like, wow, what is that saying to me as a Black man?” Silver said outside the Albemarle County, Va., office where he voted early Wednesday for Biden. Proud Boys members are ardent Trump supporters known for their vio- lent confrontations with anti-fascists and other ideological opponents at pro- tests, often drawing the largest crowds in the Pacific Northwest. Members have been spotted at various Trump rallies, including earlier this month in Nevada. In 2018, police arrested several Proud Boys members and associates who brawled with anti-fascists after the group’s founder, Gavin McInnes, deliv- ered a speech at New York’s Metropol- itan Republican Club. — The Associated Press Trump Proud Boys remark latest in long history of racist behaviour JONATHAN LEMIRE, MICHAEL KUNZELMAN AND MARY CLARE JALONICK BILL BARROW AND ZEKE MILLER A_14_Oct-01-20_FP_01.indd A10 2020-09-30 10:34 PM ;