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NEW YORK.- Last week I had one of the best moments of my life at the delivery of the tony awards, where I had the opportunity to present a song from Suffs, the Broadway musical I co-produced about the suffragettes who fought for women’s right to vote. I was even more excited when Suffs took home the awards for best screenplay and best original score.
Whether it’s Suffs or Hamilton, I have always loved theatre that talks about politics. But not the other way around. Too often we approach pivotal moments, like this week’s debate between President Biden and Donald Trump, as if we were theater critics. But now we’re electing a president, not “best actor.”
I am the only person who has had to debate with both: with Trump in 2016, and with then-Senator Biden in 2008, during the Democratic primaries for the presidential election. I lived firsthand the crushing pressure What it means to get on that stage, and I know that when Trump participates it is practically impossible to focus on what is essential.
In our three debates in 2016, His torrent of insults, interruptions and lies overwhelmed moderators and hurt voters, who were in front of the screen to learn about our vision for the future of the country. And let’s not forget that the first of these debates set a record, with an audience of 84 million viewers.
Trying to refute Trump’s arguments as in a normal debate is a waste of time, simply because it is virtually impossible to identify what those arguments are. And in the years since then, it has only gotten much worse. I was not at all surprised that after a recent meeting, several CEOs said that Trump, as one journalist described him, “fails to sustain a line of reasoning” and “jumps from here to there.”
However, there is so little expected of him for this Thursday that unless catches fire Literally in front of the cameras, some will say that it was up to the level of the presidential inauguration.
Perhaps Trump rambles and rants to avoid having to respond directly to his most unpopular positions, such as restrictions on the right to abortion, tax breaks for mega-millionaires, or auctioning off our planet in exchange for campaign contributions from big oil companies. He interrupts and harasses—at one point he even chased me around the stage—because he wants to appear dominant and unbalance his opponent.
Those ploys will backfire if President Biden is as direct and forceful as he was in March, when he confronted Republican hecklers during his State of the Union address. The president is also assisted by facts and truth. He led America’s recovery from a historic health and economic crisis, creating more than 15 million jobs, raising incomes for working families, slowing inflation and soaring investment in clean energy and advanced manufacturing. Biden will win the debate if he can get that message across to people.
For the 2016 debates, I prepared intensely because I had to find a way to overcome Trump’s antics and help the American people understand what was really at stake. In 90-minute mock debates on a stage identical to the one that was to be used, I practiced staying calm in the face of tricky questions and outright lies about my history and character. In those rehearsals, Trump was played by one of my advisors, who did everything he could to provoke me, make me nervous, and get on my nerves. And it worked.
Unfortunately, Biden starts at a disadvantage, because he cannot dedicate as much time to preparing as I did eight years ago. Being president is not a 9 to 5 job: you have to be in everything and at the same time at the same time. That’s why the incumbent president’s performance in the first debate is historically weaker than that of his opponent. As spectators, we should try not to get caught up in the theatrics and focus on three important things.
First, pay attention to how candidates talk about people, not just their policies. In my third debate with Trump, he promised to appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade. I replied that this would have real consequences for real women. Trump had already said that women who have abortions should be punished by the courts. “You would have to meet some of the women I have met,” I replied. “I have been in countries where governments forced women to have abortions, as they used to do in China, or to have children, as they did in Romania. And I can tell you that The government does not have to interfere with the decisions that women make with their families, in accordance with their faith and medical advice.”
Trump will most likely say at the debate that he wants to leave abortion up to each state, hoping that will sound like a sign of moderation. But in reality that means he supports the most extreme abortion bans already imposed by many states, plus all the extreme restrictions to come.
Trump should be held accountable for the 12-year-old Mississippi girl who was raped and then forced to carry her pregnancy to term. That girl entered seventh grade with a newborn in her arms, due to Mississippi’s draconian abortion ban. It’s because of Trump that a Louisiana girl who couldn’t get an abortion arrived in the delivery room clutching her teddy bear. Studies show that Women living under abortion bans are up to three times more likely to die during pregnancy, childbirth or the postpartum period. Because of Trump, one in three women of reproductive age today lives with these restrictions.
Biden is one of the most empathetic leaders we have ever had. Just listen to how sincerely he is. talks about women’s rights, real working class problems, opportunities for people of color and the bravery of Ukrainian men and women who risk their lives for democracy. Trump can’t do the same because he only cares about himself.
Second, try to see beyond the bluster and focus on the fundamental things at stake. In 2016, Trump refused to say whether he would accept the election result. “I prefer to keep them in suspense,” Trump said. “Democracy doesn’t work like that,” I responded. “Be clear in what he is saying and what it means.” There is a straight line between that 2016 exchange and the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
This time, we can expect Trump to blame Biden for inflation, but avoid answering questions about your own plans for the economy. He is forced to deviate or lie, because his proposals—tax cuts for the super-rich, gutting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), deporting millions of workers, and imposing blanket import tariffs on basic goods—would exacerbate the inflation, would increase family spending and lead to a recession. And that prediction is not mine, but rather that of the Wall Street consulting firm Moody’s Analytics.
Experts at the independent Peterson Institute for International Economics estimated that Trump’s tariffs alone would mean a real tax increase of $1,700 a year or more for the average American family.
For his part, Biden will clearly be eager to talk about his plans to lower prices. The president has taken on the lobby of powerful pharmaceutical companies, capping the price of insulin and passing a law that for the first time allows Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices. During Thursday’s debate, keep an eye on his plans to tackle the pandemic. the abusive price increases of corporations and make gasoline, food and housing more affordable.
With federal student loans, Biden has already helped one in ten Americans get much-needed relief. He will likely come up with new ideas to help young people get off to a good start and be able to access a middle-class standard of living.
Third, when you see these two men side by side, think about the real choice that this choice entails: between chaos and fitness.
Trump has been found guilty of 34 serious criminal offences and responsible for sexual assault and fraud. He is a man who his entire life has put himself first. If he returns to the White House, there will be more inflation and less freedom. It will not be just a repeat of his first term. Since he lost in 2020, Trump has become more irascible and unhinged. His former defense secretary says he is “a threat to democracy,” and his former chief of staff says Trump “He has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution and the rule of law.” This Thursday let’s remember that when we listen to his string of complaints and his promises of revenge.
On the contrary, Biden is a wise and decent man who fights hard for working people. Yes, he is 81 years old. He is just three years older than Trump. And thanks to his experience and his life of public service, he can do things that strengthen our country and improve the lives of everyone, from reaching a consensus with Democrats and Republicans to maintain ruined roads and bridges to confronting Russian aggression.
This election is between a criminal convicted by Justice who seeks revenge and a president who delivers results for the people of the United States. Whatever happens in the debate, that choice is easy.
Translation of Jaime Arrambide
The New York Times
