Trump, Biden and the Debate That Never Was
By Arhon Strauss ’23
Debates have been a part of the American electoral cycle for almost two hundred years. Let’s begin with a bit of a history primer. They started in 1858, with a series of seven face-to-face debates between Abraham Lincoln and Senator Stephen A. Douglas—you probably have read some of their debates in history class. Their debates came to define the 1860 cycle and substantially move public discourse.
Debates, however, were not seen again until 1948, with a radio transmitted debate between Harry Truman and Thomas Dewey. But in came another lull. It was not until the 1960 televised debate between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy (which some credit for Kennedy’s close victory) that they finally became a mainstay in the election cycle.
A couple initial takeaways: (1) debates can substantially impact election results; and (2) they can and have changed platforms before. Now, in light of the current pandemic, the second presidential debate was supposed to face another change—a transition to Zoom.
The planned change of venues from an in-person debate to an online platform is fundamentally different from previous alterations, some argue. Past evolutions were always made to improve the quality of the debate—we went from closed audiences to radio to television, expanding accessibility with each platform shift. This one, however, was made for the safety of all involved parties: the viewers, the presenters and even the candidates. Some, unsurprisingly, weren’t keen on this change. But it’s not as if the change wasn’t justified—we are learning by the day that “safety first” is the right model. This should be obvious, but health is always an important factor in decision making.
Please remember, though—this change wasn’t just tangentially related to vague health concerns. Yes, COVID-19 rates in the U.S. are still some of the highest in the world, and we’re nowhere near flattening the curve. But that didn’t stop us from hosting the first debate with social distancing protocols in place. The deciding event here, of course, is that, after the debate, President Trump tested positive for COVID-19, and many rightly felt that in-person debates would be unsafe. Hosting a debate would quite literally mean gathering an in-person audience around a known positive case. It would be wildly dangerous.
A virtual debate is not optimal by any means. As anyone who’s ever taken Zoom classes knows, virtual platforms are plagued by issues from lag to audio failures to video failures. Additionally, it generally makes communication more difficult for all parties. In spite of their shortcomings, though, Zoom and other digital video calling platforms have proven themselves to be effective communication methods relevant to many facets of our everyday lives.
Nevertheless, President Trump refused to attend the online debate. His campaign said in a statement that they would not participate; he would supposedly be COVID negative by the time it would be held. They went on to say that an online format was unnecessary and suboptimal. On the contrary, the fact that President Trump would not be infected (an uncertain claim at that) does not eliminate the risk of COVID-19 spread.
Additionally, it is not as though President Trump cannot attend the Zoom debate; he simply does not want to attend because it is online—unless there’s a more sinister political motivation. His choice completely disregards his duties as a candidate in the modern election cycle: to share his positions on various issues to the American public.
As a candidate and a President, Trump has consistently ignored basic norms set to help bolster healthy public debate. He shuns the news, attacks his opponents viciously and has rejected virtually every precedent for candidates or elected officials. Refusing to come to the debate is simply another extension of his prior behaviour. He had an obligation to the American people—open discourse with his opponent—and failed to keep it. Sure, we have a “third” debate tonight, but I’m still waiting for the second.