On Wednesday Mark returned to the ratings phenomenon "Tucker Carlson Tonight" to discuss, inevitably, the presidential debate:
Steyn noted that Trump should have provided more "pithy responses" during the debate and just let Joe Biden "exhaust himself" trying to explain his policy position on "environmentally-friendly window treatments."
"Nobody's voting on climate change, it's 37th on people's list of priorities, it wasn't on the list of original topics for debate which has to be issued three weeks in advance for some reason and [Trump] should've just said 'there's a pandemic, there's a lockdown, there's looting and burning on the streets of American cities — nobody cares about climate change.'"
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If you're one of that small brave band who enjoy Steyn on camera, you can catch him in a brand new documentary from Marc Morano and Kevin Sorbo on that last pressing debate topic of "climate change". Because most movie theaters around the planet are closed right now, Climate Hustle 2 is available for streaming. Tickets are $14.99 and available here.
Here's the promo - including a half-a-dozen words or so from Steyn:
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Maybe we should be asking how the CCP got to Hope Hicks, in order to get to Trump.
Several near misses...
The 'flu goes around, P. Nothing stops that, or ever has. Even Ex-vice-president Biden, who is evidently fed by pushing unleavened bread under his cellar door and strains it into his cake-hole though his mask, won't be able to hide from it forever.
Ha! Wonderful! Made me chuckle.
Biden would not be drug-tested for the "debate" but he has been tested for the Wuhan virus.
If they had mandatory drug testing for members of Congress these last 30 years, they would have discovered that the apple falls close to the tree.
With Trump and Ivanka being the next ones with the Wu Flu, what more has to happen for something to happen to China? If two hundred thousand in the US and millions worldwide isn't enough for this to be considered a declaration of war, what about the fact world leaders are getting it and yet there seems to be no action. Is China too strong to confront alone or has the world order that bows to China complicit in the carnage, hoping that the virus will take out their enemies? What say you Mark?
These debates are never going to be in good faith or fair if the moderator is going to censor Trump as if he's on Twitter. The only topics discussed that weren't about COVID were about left leaning issues and if that's the case, the debate might as well have been on Twitter where the administrators can fact check or ban Trump whenever he says something true. Any further debate needs to be done by a conservative that will allow a harsh back and forth. The nation needs to see Biden under pressure for once in his life and hold his own without the ref stopping the fight whenever Trump has the upper hand and threatening to disqualify him if he continues to dominate.
Structured debates needn't be boring. I remember Mark taking Simon Schama and a couple of other ponces apart in a structured debate on the "refugee" "crisis". It was better than anything those wimpy emperors ever staged at the Coliseum.
PS about Biden's claim that "antifa" is an "idea" not an organisation. It reminded me of Mark's satire about whether terrorists belonged to a recognised Chapter of the Amalgamated Society of Terrorists. One day Project Veritas or someone like that will actually get hold of an official Antifa photo ID membership card with name, member number and barcode to be swiped to get a discount at participating violence, arson and vandalism merchandise stores, and the "progressives" will still be in denial, claiming that it's really just the ID for a new entry-level tier of membership at the Melbourne Cricket Club - nothing to do with wanton destruction of lives, livelihoods and property.
Well, this may all be moot as Trump has tested positive for Covid-19.
This just in -- I was talking to a good friend tonight, a man who has been a Trump supporter, and he shocked me by saying, "I don't think I'm voting for Trump. I don't think I can vote for Trump. No way in Hell, I'd vote for Biden or any Democrat, but I may vote 3rd party or just not vote for president, but Trump lost me in that debate."
So there's a real world, totally anecdotal look at how the debate was seen by one guy who I thought was a sure Trump vote. Take it for what it's worth, but I didn't make it up.
I've seen something similar among some of my rural friends. A cooling of enthusiasm, after all, there is no wall and ChiCom-19 has cost a lot of jobs and the incumbent gets the blame.
Re: Trump testing positive for ChiCom-19. I have my fingers crossed he has a mild case. You can bet he is loaded up with hydroxychloroquine sulfate, zinc, Z-pack and Vitamin D. If Trump can carry on at even a reduced pace it will strike a powerful message that testing positive is not a death sentence and that we should re-open the economy, send the kids back to school and start living our lives again. Yes, the most protected man on the planet got it but if he can cruise through it it would be great. Vaccine? I don't no stinkin' vaccine.
If he and Melania pull through standby for charges that he doesn't really have ChiCom-19 and it is all a trick.
On the other hand if Trump goes to the hospital and is put on oxygen like Boris, then Western civilization is over. High stakes.
Telling insight, S. Thanks for sharing.
I watched one of these "debates" once, in a pub across from Harvard. Probably it was 2004. It was a turgid affair.
"Steyn noted that Trump should have..."
No.
Trump is the first president or presidential candidate of the mass-media age to be himself and to say what he thinks. Most Americans think the way Trump talks, and for the man to put himself up as the target for this charade is good enough for me.
The dishonesty of Wallace was visible to all that choose to see it, and them that don't were never going to vote Trump.
Strong point, P. As long as President Trump presents himself as the voice of the voiceless (although to many, including me, he is actually the voice of people who have never had to learn how to check what impression they're making), it is important that he sound and feel like the voiceless. I surmise that he achieved that, and won a great deal of sympathy. I think that his tongue-tied, brain-locked opponent seemed to be the glib, seasoned and rehearsed politician in the room, which is quite an accomplishment. Like you, I thought he did himself no substantial harm in the eyes of his supporters. That cannot be said of his opponent, who alienated his left wing, for instance by repudiating the "green new deal" (actually, the Greens' old deal), and his right, for instance by pretending that Antifa and their fruits (I choose my words advisedly) are a figment of deranged imaginations.
That said, I'd have to say that, if President Trump has said what he thinks, then, normally, I would have wished that he'd think some more, and that I'd normally have wished for a higher standard of debate from a Republican candidate. On the other hand, I remember Senator Biden baiting, interrupting and jeering at Paul Ryan when they debated for the post of vice-president, and guess who got the job? I don't think that my preferences and wishes count for a great deal. So, it was a mudfight, and the president's supporters would not have been surprised or disappointed. Turned out that there was no adult in the room. There wasn't going in, but Ex-vice-president Biden had aspirations in that direction and his supporters had expectations. I think (and hope) that President Trump has raised a great deal of doubt over the notion that his opponent was going to be the adult in the room. That's good.
Yes, President Trump should be himself.
The most disgusting point of dishonesty that really stood out was when he asked Biden about what Trump said regarding "fine people on both sides."
My overall impression of the proceedings was that Trump was the strongest and most moral force in the room. Donald Trump and only Donald Trump said clearly that rioting, looting and arson are wrong and should be stopped.
Biden says he is the leader of the Democrat party but he can't tell any of the governors/mayors to stop the riots? A real leader doesn't have to wait to be elected to influence others for good. Look at how much Martin Luther King Jr. managed to do.
Trump did with Biden and Chris Wallace what Romney should have done with Obama and Candy Crowley.
Once again the Democrats have won big on the selection of host moderators. Chris Wallace was the token conservative the Democrats allowed. Chris is a first class journalist beyond any doubt but he's not a conservative by any stretch. Next we get Steve Scully of C-Span who once served as an intern for Joe Biden - no issues there right? Worst of all debate 3 will feature NBC While House correspondent Kristen Welker. In subtle ways I felt Wallace was more critical of Trump but I don't claim to be objective. The most important question thrown at Biden was would he pack the Supreme Court. He simply dodged it and Wallace let it slide. Trump didn't receive any such favors from Wallace. All in all I was disappointed in Trump. A guest last evening
on Fox News made a great point that by constantly interrupting Biden he saved him from running on and losing his train of thought as we've seen so often lately. I doubt the debate changed many minds given how far apart the two parties are in 2020. Given this, how could any intelligent voter still be undecided? Hard to fathom.
My guess is that you'll get your wish, R., and that measures will be taken to prevent President Trump from interrupting in subsequent debates. Then Ex-vice-president Biden will deliver his rehearsed, fine-tuned sententiae, and he'll please everybody. I feel able to guarantee that not a single question will surprise him and he'll never need to say an unrehearsed word. I cannot see President Trump looking better than his opponent under those circumstances, but what do I know? I look forward to being amazed.
I resonate strongly with your observation: "I doubt the debate changed many minds given how far apart the two parties are in 2020." I think that's dead right. At most, the debates will help to bring voters out. Voter turnout in America is notoriously low, and even moderate success in bringing voters out could make all the difference. If the low voter turnout reflects disengagement, the effectiveness of the debates will, as I see it, be largely determined by the sympathy which they garner, and not by intellectual content.
Worse luck, that, but there it is.
Why is anyone on the left still carping about climate change? ChiCom19 has already accomplished most of the green agenda:
An economy in ruins
Restricted/regulated travel
It's only a matter of time before Newsom, Cuomo, De Blasio, et al figure out how to use ChiCom19 to abolish private property.
That's the sum of it, K. Still, they'll scream for more until they die, dry up and blow away.
President Trump should insist that Mark Steyn be the moderator of the next debate.
The progressive news media were scared by the debate, so scared that they have screamed that the debates have to end. That means they saw Biden losing big time, and have no confidence that he will do any better in following debates.
So, any chance we can get you Mark Steyn to do debate prep with Trump for the next 2 ...
I'm surprised you'd recommend a less structured debate. I recall your appearance at the Munk Debates with Nigel Farage four and a half years ago, and, while it was highly structured and carefully moderated, it was far from boring. Perhaps that doesn't apply to a presidential debate where every subject is introduced and concluded in 7 minutes as opposed to 90 minutes dedicated to a single topic.
Let's put the timer on the moderator/s: They have ten seconds to ask a question and have to keep quiet until the individual debaters have had their allotted time.
Suggestions for the Trump campaign, and I wish I could put these on billboards across the nation:
"Do you really want to be governed by people who are obsessed with racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, white privilege, white supremacy?"
"Do you really want to listen to this nonsense non-stop from the Democrats and the media for the next four years?"
And a question for Biden: " Do you think America is a racist country?" He'll have a tough time with that one.
I actually wish Trump would say that. Maybe not in those exact words, but he could make a case to the American people along the lines of, "I know there are things about me you don't like, but what's the alternative? Totalitarian socialism?" (Actually, socialism is what they have in Europe. It's really Marxism/Communism). Trouble is, we've had 4 years of Trump yet we still constantly hear about the "isms" and phobias non-stop. It's because the Left controls the media, including social media. It will be a long climb back up the hill for conservatives to counter that in an effective way.
J.C. Good questions. Of course, the answer to your first question is :"if you do, why not move to Canada?" That's what we have in the Senior Dominion.
After the way Biden intimidated, sniggered and scowled through the Bork, Thomas, and Ryan episodes, the superannuated popinjay merely got what was coming to him in the debate with the President. No reason to feel sorry for him.
The issue that should dominate the debates is this: The left (progressives) no longer sees the value of tolerating dissenting attitudes, values, beliefs, behavior, or viewpoints. If it wins, the mob is coming for dissenters from leftism across the United States and subsequently elsewhere. With a packed Supreme Court, the Constitution will mean little.
Some progressive publications gave the game away by pretending that if Trump wins - but only then - the mobs will be out of control. Perhaps, but that moment will be brief.
The mobs will be empowered long term if the Dems win. As some suburbanites and restaurant-goers are already learning, anyone can become the mob's prey. And local governments who owe their position in part to mob support must look virtuously skyward and cast the non-mob adrift.
However the election turns out, Americans of the sort who read Mark Steyn will need to live with the fact that many of their neighbours voted for mob rule. Perhaps those neighbours assume that they will somehow be spared. After all, the tens of millions murdered in past progressive coups were always Somebody Else, right?
Yes, I think it's a kind of blackmail by the Left - you want more riots, looting and mayhem? If not, elect Biden. However, many forget that the BLM got off the ground and into the national spotlight during the Obama administration. That's when it all started, the protests followed by violence and the emergence of Antifa as an accomplice. That's when it was open season on cops as several were killed as they were out there protecting the protesters. And Obama nor Hillary never condemned any of it, in fact, Obama invited BLM to the White House, if I recall.
Good points, AlyM. It's worth noting that Rome was brought down in part by the urban mob, which eventually everybody had to cater to and no one could control.
That is not an inevitable fate. A strong voter turnout against the mob - strong enough to rise above ballot fraud - is the first (and maybe the only) step in preventing unstoppable decline.
Does anyone else but Mark leave Tucker at a loss for words? All due respect, but he looked like a gaffed fish. As for the role of temper in debates, look up "righteous anger, use of". Takes you straight to the Munk Debate where Mark gelded Simon Schama. Who was asking for it—and got it good and hard.
The jacket! The shirt!! The tie!!!
How can we park Mark's brain inside President Trump's for the next debate? As Tucker said: "That's brilliant!"
Josh, I recalled the exact same thing when Mark said "righteous anger". In the Munk Debate when Schama made the comment about how "obsessed with sex" Mark and Nigel are, and then Mark swatted it back up their arses, the clapping seals in the audience were reduced to silence. And Schama and Arbour looked like school children who had been caught red-handed after pulling some prank they thought they would get away with. I love pulling it up and watching it again and again.
Are you kidding, Robert? Mark's riposte is my mobile ring tone! Sometimes I call myself just to listen to it.
Some kind of implant seems indispensable, F.
All the same, we knew that before the debate began. I'm sure Republicans' blood ran cold at the thought of what President Trump might say in his quest for a rake upon which to tread, and that Democrats' blood ran cold at the thought both that Ex-vice-president Biden's frail cognitive gears might slip and that he would wander of into one of his mendacious and embarrassing digressions. It seemed that he too couldn't cope without an implant.
Both still need implants, to be sure. I contemplate the next debate with the same dismay as I did the first, but remain relieved that the first didn't go much worse for the Republican and disappointed that it didn't go much worse for the Democrat. It easily could have. I'll think of it as a win in that light.