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jordanlund Sep 10, 2024

Tuesday 9/10 Presidential Debate Megathread!

https://lemmy.world/post/19615812

Tuesday 9/10 Presidential Debate Megathread! - Lemmy.World

Was tempted to call this “Debate 2: Electric Boogaloo” but a) A lot of Lemmy won’t get the OG reference. [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakin%27_2:_Electric_Boogaloo] and 2) “Boogaloo” has been co-opted and carries an unfortunate connotation [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogaloo_movement] these days. Also, while it’s Trump’s 2nd debate of the season, it’s Harris’s first… It’s being run by ABC News at 9 PM Eastern time, 6 PM Pacific, I see MSNBC starts their coverage TWO HOURS EARLY. That’s a lot of air time to fill, guys. Good luck! Live updates, how and when to watch, debate rules, etc. here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/09/10/debate-trump-harris-2024-live-updates/75145043007/ [https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/09/10/debate-trump-harris-2024-live-updates/75145043007/]

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PhobosAnomaly Sep 10, 2024

Outside view from across the pond:

It appears from the outset that the Trump camp is tripping over it’s own feet and stepping on landmine after landmine. Literally all Harris seems to have to do is stay on message, bat off anything too controversial, and let the opposition’s trousers fall down by themselves.

It’ll be interesting either way. The only real surprise to me will be whether I’ll learn about key moments from news outlets or from mad memez first.

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jordanlund Sep 10, 2024

I can see where it looks that way, but you have to understand that Trump’s fanbase literally does not care.

Trump could start the debate by dropping trou and laying a turd live on stage and MAGA would go on about how he’s “owning ABC and the libs!”

The media would cut away and claim “Trump opened the debate by declaring his disdain for the process…”

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g0nz0li0 Sep 10, 2024

Agree, however if debates do have any impact on an election (Biden dropping out being an exception) it’s to sway disengaged and swing voters. So Trump just plays to his base I think that would qualify as a loss for him.

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jordanlund Sep 10, 2024

Disengaged voters aren’t watching the debate, similarly I don’t see how anyone is undecided between Trump and Harris. Maybe undecided between voting and not voting, but there’s no way someone looks at two radically different candidates and goes “You know, I could really vote for either one…”

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g0nz0li0

Disengaged voters aren’t watching the debate

They won’t watch, but the debate can attract the attention of people who don’t ordinarily think about politics but start to realize there’s an election coming up. It’s a broad group that I don’t think you can generalize as broadly as you are (unless you’re using the term “disengaged” to describe only the “refuse to participate in any way” camp).

Similarly, undecided is more likely to describe people who haven’t decided if they will vote or not - either side winning and otherwise forfeited vote is a good thing for their campaign. But I also think it’s incorrect to assume there’s people not still on the fence about the candidate - plenty of “I like Harris but I am not sure if she’s good for the economy” voters, etc.