US Presidential Debate Unable To Envision a Tomorrow for US

Published in Tokyo Shimbun
(Japan) on 1 October 2020
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Dorothy Phoenix. Edited by Helaine Schweitzer.
Sadly, there was more mud-slinging than I expected. I am referring to the U.S. presidential candidate debate. How do the candidates plan to build a tomorrow for the U.S.? I could not understand any of the major arguments among a pointless war of words.

In the U.S., the COVID-19 death toll has surpassed 200,000. The Democratic presidential challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, blasted President Donald Trump for lacking any plan, something which has increased the damage.

Regarding news that Trump evaded taxes, Biden pointed out that the president pays less in taxes than a school teacher does on the money a school teacher makes, and urged Trump to make his tax records public.

During the Democratic primaries, Biden turned in a lackluster performance during televised debates. For that reason alone, there was concern that a direct showdown with Trump would be a significant hurdle, but in general, Biden's gestures and language have conveyed a sense of stability. We could see that he looked directly at the television camera as he spoke, conveying his message to the viewing public.

Trump, on the other hand, was generally forced to defend himself throughout the debate. Regarding his handling of COVID-19, Trump sang his own praises, stating that specialists and other "people that would not be necessarily on my side said that, 'President Trump did a phenomenal job.'"

Trump argued that he "paid millions of dollars in taxes," but returned to his recent position on releasing his tax returns, saying that the public would "see it as soon as it's finished."

When the debate moved to the protests against racial discrimination turning into riots, Trump went on the counteroffensive. He claimed that the Democratic Party was responsible for the rioting in cities that had Democratic mayors. Trump criticized Biden for being "wrapped around their finger."

The debate was extremely chaotic. Throughout the event, Trump repeatedly interrupted Biden, and both candidates often spoke at the same time.

Trump is lagging behind Biden in approval ratings. His disorderly speech and heckling of Biden made him appear impatient.

The candidates' repeated attacks on each other were intense. While Biden denounced Trump as "the worst president America has ever had," Trump said Biden was incompetent and had done "done nothing" during 47 years in politics.

The U.S. has many problems to tackle, including overcoming the COVID-19 crisis, societal divisions, and its diminishing influence in the international community.

Nevertheless, the debate was argumentative and failed to address any of the issues in depth. There are two more debates before Election Day on Nov. 3. Hopefully they will be more constructive.*

Editor’s note: The Commission on Presidential Debates canceled the second presidential debate originally scheduled for Oct. 15.


大統領選討論会 米国の明日が見えぬ

予想以上の泥仕合になったのは嘆かわしい。米大統領選の候補者討論会である。両候補は明日の米国をどう築いていくつもりなのか−。不毛な舌戦からは肝心のことが分からなかった。

 米国は新型コロナウイルスの死者が二十万人を超える。挑戦者である民主党候補のバイデン前副大統領は、トランプ大統領の無策が被害を拡大させたと批判した。

 トランプ氏の納税逃れ報道についても「(報道された)七百五十ドルという連邦所得税の納税額は、学校の教師よりも少ない」と指摘し、納税申告書の公表を迫った。

 民主党の候補者選びの段階で行われたテレビ討論会で、バイデン氏は精彩を欠いた。それだけにトランプ氏との直接対決は大きな関門だったが、全般的には安定感のある話しぶりだった。テレビカメラを見据えて発言し、カメラの向こう側の国民に伝えようという姿勢がうかがえた。

 一方のトランプ氏は総じて防戦を強いられた。コロナ対策では「専門家も『大統領はよくやっている』と称賛している」と自画自賛した。

 納税逃れ報道では「数百万ドルの税金を払った」と反論したが、その証明となる納税申告書の公表については「税務調査が終わり次第公表する」と従来の姿勢を繰り返すだけだった。

 トランプ氏が反撃にでたのは、人種差別デモが一部暴徒化した問題に議論が移った時だ。民主党市長の都市で暴徒化したと民主党の責任を指摘。「バイデン氏は極左集団の言いなりだ」と批判した。

 討論会は混乱を極めた。トランプ氏が再三にわたりバイデン氏の発言を遮ったり、両者が同時に発言したりする場面も多かった。

 トランプ氏は支持率でバイデン氏に後れを取る。討論会での不規則発言やヤジは焦りの表れという印象を与えた。
 非難合戦も激しかった。バイデン氏がトランプ氏に「米国史上最悪の大統領だ」と毒づけば、トランプ氏はバイデン氏を「(中央政界での)四十七年間、何もしてこなかった」と無能呼ばわりした。

 コロナ禍からの脱却、社会分断、国際社会での影響力低下など、米国は多くの課題を抱えている。

 だが、討論会は荒れる一方で、議論が深まることはなかった。十一月三日の投票まで両候補による討論会はまだ二回ある。建設的な議論を重ねてほしい。
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