Is Boring Biden Making Trump Nervous?

It was not Joe Biden’s almost boring tone that kept Donald Trump’s energy at bay, but the negative opinion polls. The Republican candidate had to listen to his advisers and control his violent loquacity to show presidential manners during most of the debate.

Although we saw the best version of the eccentric Trump last night, it is unclear if that will be enough to shorten the gap. Both candidates targeted their electoral bases, and those who are already convinced found arguments to argue that their candidate had won the debate. A CNN poll of an audience which hosted an equal number of Republicans, Democrats and undecided voters showed that Democrats are ahead 53% to 39%. Despite the fact that he is losing, Trump did better this time in relation to the previous debate, in which he monopolized the discussion by making threats, only to end up losing 60% to 28%.

In spite of keeping a lower profile and maintaining self-control, with the exception of making faces and mimicking Biden’s voice, Trump was once again played the leading man in the debate, although, this time, he was not the only one.

Trump once again dropped his egomaniacal bombshells when he claimed that, except for Abraham Lincoln, he had been, perhaps, the president that had done the most for the African American community, speaking in defense against accusations of racism.

Biden took advantage of Trump’s self-congratulation, responding, ironically that Trump did not seem to understand history, something which amused liberal pundits. “Abraham Lincoln here is one of the most racist presidents we’ve had in modern history,” said Biden, Barack Obama’s former vice president. This was the one moment that Trump lost the momentum in the debate, and he reiterated without hesitating that he deserved a place in history next to Lincoln.

Nevertheless, Trump was repeatedly wrong about racism and he claimed to be the least racist person in the room. It is worth noting that the moderator of the debate was an African American woman.

But we must observe an important detail about the phrase “least racist.” It is not necessary to know about semiotics to understand that this phrase is not a rejection of racism, since it does not involve a negation, but an affirmation of some lesser amount. In other words: “I am racist, but the least so in the room.”

Clearly saying “I am not racist” would have been enough, but Trump was already on the defensive and tried to justify his attacks against the Black Lives Matter movement. As psychologists say, the unconscious takes shape in language.

The candidates were unusually unambiguous about climate change. Biden promised to return to the Paris climate agreement, and transform the oil and fracking industries in due time. Trump was quick to tell the voters from Texas and other states — voters who that are vital for an Electoral College victory — to remember Biden’s attack on the oil industry.

The topic of immigration and the brutal separation of children from their parents when trying to enter the United States revealed the difference between the candidates. Biden showed greater sympathy for human rights. However, Trump’s reaction was unusual in that he did not wave the flag of law and order as vehemently this time as he did in the first debate.

Russia, China and North Korea were not addressed as matters of international policy, but as unwanted company, and both candidates accused each other of working with them against the interest of the U.S.

On a positive note, as seen from the Southern hemisphere, Biden insisted on using international law to settle the disputes with Russia, China and North Korea, and also emphasized the need to cultivate relationships with traditional American allies, such as the European Union. There is still hope for multilateralism and international law.

Although Trump tried to avoid playing “the politician,” he was not the anti-establishment candidate this time. Trump is an incumbent who will be judged based on his performance over the last four years and on how he handled the COVID-19 economic and health crisis. In this context, will Trump’s theatricality give him an advantage? Or has the time come for a boring, albeit predictable, president who will save the U.S. from neopopulism and bring back the international liberalism that both Democrats and Republicans managed to build? We will learn the answer soon enough.