Trump tantrumed and even quit a debate with Joe Biden in 2020, but now he's even more emotionally volatile

Trump tantrumed and even quit a debate with Joe Biden in 2020, but now he’s even more emotionally volatile

Donald Trump has tried to taunt President Joe Biden by claiming he’s ready for a presidential debate “anytime, anywhere.” The gambit left him little choice but to immediately accept when the Biden campaign offered debate dates in June and September, and terms like not having an audience and allowing real journalists to moderate. But within mere hours it became clear that Trump and the rest of the GOP already regretted the decision.

Pretty quickly, Trump tried to change the terms of the debate, pretending that it will be held on Oct. 2 on Fox News. The Biden campaign swiftly rejected this lie, accusing Trump of “playing games,” and pointing out that Trump frequently talks big but then ends up "pulling out at the last minute, or not showing up at all."

It’s true, of course. Trump has a habit of promising that he’ll do bold things and then backing out, whether it’s his empty promises to testify at his various trials or his false claims he’ll release policy proposals in a week or two. (It’s been over a month of silence, for instance, since he promised he would release an abortion platform in “14 days.”) In 2020, still burned by his terrible first debate with Biden, Trump refused to show up at the second and held an ego-flattering rally instead.

  • NineMileTower@lemmy.world
    1001·
    6 months ago

    Trump: My team will play football only if it’s a home game and I get to pick the referees. Also, your team doesn’t get to to play, only my team does. And if you don’t agree then I’m not showing up and your team is to blame.

  • randon31415@lemmy.world
    91·
    6 months ago

    Biden should just invite RFK to take Trump’s place if he doesn’t show up. RFK would then draw from Trump voters, splitting the anti-Biden vote.

  • OpenStars@discuss.onlineEnglish
    612·
    6 months ago

    Idea 💡: Biden tells people he will show up for a speech, with or without Trump present.

    Say that Trump will refuse to show up, bc he’s too weak and pathetic. Use those exact words.

    Trump doesn’t show = profit.

    Or if Trump does show, doing his usual falling asleep during talky talk, then profit even moar!

    Most likely Trump will try to do the identical thing in reverse, but everyone would see that Biden did it first.

    • KISSmyOSFeddit@lemmy.world
      401·
      6 months ago

      everyone would see that Biden did it first.

      Where have you been the past 10 years? Half the country just sees what Fox “News” tells them.

      • OpenStars@discuss.onlineEnglish
        171·
        6 months ago

        Everyone who matters™

        The Magats are a lost cause, but the like 2-3 centrists in the Midwest who control our entire nation at this point due to the Electoral College system (and Dems refusal to do anything once elected) might be persuaded this way?

        Also, now I just want to see it done regardless of utility. 😎

        img

        • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
          38·
          6 months ago

          but the like 2-3 centrists in the Midwest who control our entire nation at this point due to the Electoral College system (and Dems refusal to do anything once elected) might be persuaded this way?

          Those people are fictional, just a narrative neoliberals make up to try to excuse their abject refusal to let the Democrats move left to actually get more votes.

          • OpenStars@discuss.onlineEnglish
            2·
            6 months ago

            The way I see it, which would be dumber: if they existed, or not? So yeah, they probably exist:-P. And they are needlessly used as excuses.

            But the main excuse ofc is that is simply how the game is played. It seems like it would be wise for us to wake up and realize that, but we are all too self-absorbed as a society.

    • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world
      7·
      6 months ago

      Nah he’d get drugs for that. Someone pointed out the Adderall shortage lines up with Trump’s sudden constant non ability to stay awake. He might have to resort to cocaine though, so we may get some random rants about wanting to have sex with his daughter again

  • eugene171@lemmy.world
    40·
    6 months ago

    I encourage everyone to take a look at Fox News’s front page when political stories like this hit.

    The debate’s basically not there, other than the occasional opinion piece about how CNN is too biased to have a fair moderator. Yesterday there was an article where some Trump stooge was saying the debate conditions were designed to make it impossible for Trunk to win.

    People who already support Trump get their media from places that will make his skipping this debate into a masterful gambit and a great victory. He won’t lose votes over this.

    • Delusional@lemmy.world
      271·
      6 months ago

      Of course he won’t lose votes over this. The guy is a deplorable menace and anyone who still supports him is a lost cause as a human being.

      I remember the past debates where trump made a fool of himself like he usually does and the next day, conservative opinion stations declared that trump won the debate for absolutely no reason instead of telling the truth.

      The conservative propaganda machine has done immense damage to this country and they’re still attacking it on a daily basis without anyone stopping them. Nothing will get better until the misinformation machine is stopped and Americans start getting factual news again.

    • ArtVandelay@lemmy.worldEnglish
      8·
      6 months ago

      If by alpha you mean a broken, unstable mess unsuitable for production, then yes, Trump is an alpha.

    • orbitz@lemmy.ca
      93·
      6 months ago

      As an person who takes medication for ADD, wonder if it’s cause he’s not taking them these days (least as much as he used to) he’s pretty much confirmed taking them and before I knew I had it I’d knod off in meetings, much as I tried not to. Mostly get to two the head knod stage and jerk more awake.

      Also I’d knod off on car rides even while on work trips, they were longer and boring, like a couple hours. For those that may think they have it as well but may need further proof of signs, those were some signs to it previously that I didn’t know. Before reading up on it I had no idea getting sleepy in certain situations was a flag for it.

      Of course if I’ve misread these signs in articles incorrectly please correct me in comments, I don’t want to give false information, I just sort of take my meds and deal with it these days.

  • mozz@mbin.grits.dev
    332·
    6 months ago

    The gambit left him little choice but to immediately accept when the Biden campaign offered debate dates in June and September

    I think this is vastly understating how prominently placed is total transparent bullshit, in the Trump mental model, and how willing his followers are to it

    He can simply pretend that October 2nd is the real debate, and Biden is the one trying to back out because he’s too old and scared to debate Trump. If his followers also watched news with some connection to reality, and cross checked Trump’s pretenses against it, then they’d see the lie, but they don’t and they won’t.

    • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
      7·
      6 months ago

      Nah, that doesn’t give Trump any advantage. He can just go on Fox any time he wants and have a “pretend debate” with no one. There are still rules to the reality Trump supporters have in their heads.

      Basically, Trump supporters want to see him as better than someone else. So that other person has to play along. If you notice, the Republicans who support Trump have to pretend that he’s better than them when they give speeches. It’s just a modern monarchy (a conservative form of government).

      Biden doesn’t play along, so he actually doesn’t look weak. Trump was begging for a debate and was ignored (looks weak). Biden said “let’s debate” and Trump accepted. No one ever accepted Trump’s debate on Fox, so rejecting it actually makes Biden look more powerful.

      • someguy3@lemmy.world
        91·
        6 months ago

        Pretty sure what the guy above is saying is that no one (on the right) cares about what was accepted. He’s saying Trump can just say it was Oct 2 and everyone will eat it up. And if Biden doesn’t show up, Trump will say “Biden weak” and everyone will eat it up. No one (on the right) will care that Trump just made up a new date and terms.

      • Optional@lemmy.world
        4·
        6 months ago

        There are still rules to the reality Trump supporters have in their heads.

        Mmmmmmmm . . . are there?

        • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
          4·
          6 months ago

          Yesssssss. It’s about looking powerful. These are people who drive big trucks and don’t use them. A powerful image is important to them.

          They value hierarchy and rules that don’t apply to them. Without anyone who plays along, they don’t feel good. They need someone to be upset at their giant Trump flag or there’s no point to it.

  • inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world
    245·
    6 months ago

    I mean are they though?

    Recent NYT poll had Trump leading in the several battleground states and let’s fucking face it, the American voting populace is dumb AF.

    A bad performance from Trump I don’t think will do much of anything because Americans are just too stupid to remember or care.

    • orbitz@lemmy.ca
      211·
      6 months ago

      NYT is carrying enough water for Trump they may as well be an aqua duct. Mean the polls may be accurate but it’s hard to believe much of what they put out between Biden and Trump. I’m sure I could read the methods but I rarely get to read NYT due to paywall.

    • EatATaco@lemm.eeEnglish
      81·
      6 months ago

      The article makes a pretty convincing argument that the right wing spin sphere is already out in full force trying to downplay the debates.

  • someguy3@lemmy.world
    202·
    6 months ago

    Does anyone think auto cut off of the mic is warranted? “You have 60 seconds and then the mic cuts off”.

    • teejay@lemmy.worldEnglish
      7·
      6 months ago

      Have you watched any of the presidential debates in the last decade or two? How is this even a question at this point?

      I won’t watch any more debates until they do this.

      • AlligatorBlizzard@sh.itjust.works
        3·
        6 months ago

        If one of these debates actually happens, I may try turning it into a drinking game, taking a shot every time one of them gets cut off.

        Alcohol poisoning sounds like a more fun way to die than whatever is in store for me from another Trump presidency.

  • FuryMaker@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12·
    6 months ago

    As much as I want to watch him fail in a debate, I feel like the MAGA group will double down, and just love him even more.

    • neclimdul@lemmy.world
      16·
      6 months ago

      It’s not the maga group Biden needs to convince. Doubling down when they’re already all in doesn’t mean much.

      He’s trying to win an election so it’s the various “I don’t want to vote for Biden so I’ll vote for trump or not vote” in swing states people he needs to be moving. To those people, Trump trying to go on an unhinged Twitter tirade at a debate could be persuasive. At least that’s what a lot of Dems, and according to this GOP, think is going to happen.