 Well, that's it the last debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump is now over and we are in the home stretch There is less than two weeks until the election and did this debate move the needle in any direction To that I say Probably not probably not this debate Thankfully was much better than the last debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump And I will say that the moderator did a pretty good job I don't like that she framed almost every single question in this right-wing manner But I think that in terms of control She did what she needed to do and I will say the biggest thing that stood out to me is that Donald Trump was much More calm this time. He was much more restrained and you know, he didn't go full Trump like he did in that last debate In fact in that last debate he went full Trump and then he turned it up to Overdrive which it turned off a lot of people So now we know for sure that him Huffin and puffin about how he knows he just dominated that last debate He knows he lost Otherwise he wouldn't have changed his strategy because he definitely did change his strategy He was much more composed. He wanted to come off as a leader And I think that he definitely didn't turn off as much people. I don't think he did damage So he kind of had to walk that fine line and I think that he he did to an extent, but overall What he really needed as I stated in my debate preview was just To obliterate Joe Biden He needed not just a good performance himself a dominant performance where you keep Joe Biden on the defensive for the majority of the debate But he also needed Joe Biden something out of his control to face plans and The stars kind of had to align because when you're this close to an election when 50 million people have already voted You can't just move the needle incrementally in your direction you need a big shift in order to win and Trump really was bed betting on the hunter Biden story and corruption surrounding Joe Biden That did not land So he did not get what he needed And overall, I think that Joe Biden actually performed better than I expected him to so having said that I Do believe that Joe Biden is the winner of this debate, but I don't think this was a disaster for Donald Trump So anyone in Trump circles who saw that last debate and was really bracing for another disaster Thankfully for him. He didn't have that impact. I don't think anyways now I haven't seen any focus groups or polls yet So who knows but I think that Joe Biden won in what is for the most part a normal debate Now the reason why I say that Joe Biden won is because I think that Joe Biden did a better job this time Like the reason why I said that Joe Biden won the last debate is because I think was mostly because Donald Trump lost I didn't think that Joe Biden had a good performance in that first debate this time I do think that Joe Biden had a good performance He had a commanding performance and anything that Trump tried to throw at him Joe Biden actually was pretty effective at flipping it and putting Trump on the defensive Which is exactly what you want to do during these debates Now I'm not willing to say that Joe Biden's performance was as commanding as it was in that last debate between him and Bernie Sanders Because I think that was probably his best performance since you know the Paul Ryan debate or the Sarah Palin debate But this was a really good performance He actually as I stated he did better than I thought he would do and really all he needed to do was maintain He didn't have to win He just had to basically tie at a minimum and he'd be smooth sailing you're not gonna change the trajectory at this point in time But he did a good job. There were some lowlights for Joe Biden, of course Him hitting Trump from the right on North Korea That isn't going to land in the way that he thinks it's going to land I mean accusing Donald Trump of legitimizing North Korea when they're already a sovereign country That's not gonna persuade anyone. So that wasn't a great moment. You know him saying I Rule out a ban on fracking wasn't a good moment. And when it came to health care, he didn't do Especially bad. It's just that Donald Trump did a lot worse and in some ways Trump didn't realize it But he kind of made a case for Joe Biden Right because when you accuse someone of wanting socialized health care when you accuse Joe Biden of being to the left of an issue But actually he's not to the left on health care You're helping Joe Biden in a way because Joe Biden People voted for him if you remember if you look at exit polls in the Democratic Party primary because they thought he was more Electable but still even though they voted for Joe Biden they overwhelmingly support Medicare for all so by Trump saying oh He supports what Bernie supports You're helping him. You're getting Some of those holdouts who didn't want to support Joe Biden because health care is their number one issue to jump on board If they don't know any better, right? So on health care even where Joe Biden did an excel Trump kind of made the case for him and Joe Biden there were two moments where I think that He shined and this is why I say he had a commanding performance. The first is climate change So putting aside fracking because he faith planted on fracking. There were two moments on climate change that shocked me I did not expect Joe Biden to say what he said on a national debate stage It's very uncharacteristic of Joe Biden because oftentimes he tries to you know, pander to the middle He tries to court Republicans But what he said on climate change was genuinely impressive Not only did he sound like a grown-up and you know when juxtaposed with Donald Trump who sounds like a blubbering buffoon on Climate change who talks about crystal clean water? Joe Biden out of the gate was swinging, you know, he says it's an existential threat on top of that You know, he talked about how climate change is an issue where we are running out of time on it Now that's just rhetoric right optically. It looks good But on a debate stage when you're comparing that with Donald Trump you look really great But what shocked me the most is when Joe Biden said not only that he wants to phase out Fossil fuels not fast enough But the fact that he said that and said that he wants to end subsidies for the oil oil and gas industry at that point I would actually bet that he got a lot more young people to come out and support and vote for him Just based on that alone. Now, it's funny because if you watch Donald Trump's face It seemed like that was the biggest scandal ever like he felt like oh, there it is. I just got him I just won this election No, because Donald Trump, he's too far in his right-wing bubble That plays really well with his base But not everyone is right-wingers a majority of the country believes that climate change is a serious issue that needs to be addressed So when you have Joe Biden, not just say that climate change is real But then say I actually want to end subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, which is what the left has been wanting. I Think he won over some new voters there Now whether you believe him or not is a different story But the fact that he said it on a national debate stage is impressive. He said what he needed to say that was good additionally when it comes to the minimum wage when this came up I I was bracing myself because you know out of the gate there was this right-wing framing and Donald Trump made it seem as if anyone who supports a minimum wage is so unreasonable and just you know with the way that Mike Pence and Donald Trump are able to get Democrats to think that fracking is bad when Fracking a ban on fracking is bad when it's not. I was afraid that Biden would fall into the trap that Donald Trump said for him. Sorry But he did not not only did Joe Biden say I support a minimum wage But he actually rebutted the misinformation that Donald Trump was espousing about the minimum wage It's not true that it hurts small businesses and economies where it has been done It has benefited small businesses when people have more purchasing power They give more money to small businesses. So one thing that worried me about Joe Biden is He always claimed that he supports a $15 minimum wage Which is good because Hillary only supported a $12 minimum wage and at this point We've been fighting for a minimum wage of $15 for so long We need to talk about a $25 an hour minimum wage or a $30 an hour minimum wage So if he would commit to a $15 minimum wage, you know My goal would be to hear him talk about it if he's serious about it and on a national debate stage. He did I have to tell you just based on how many minimum wage workers Around this country that I know just personally in my own social circle like my nieces and nephews Who work fast food who can barely survive can barely pay the rent can't rent an apartment Unless you have multiple roommates Just that benefit of getting a $15 an hour minimum wage that is life-changing It's not gonna solve all the issues that we have without our economy But it will immediately make a material impact on people's lives in a very concrete way The fact that Joe Biden on that debate stage did not back down. I Think like that's that's going to help him a lot because at this late stage If it comes down to a really close vote in those swing states You want everyone on board as much people as you can so, you know, it's relatively close in Pennsylvania It's pretty close in Florida So you really really needs to get every single holdout on board and what Joe Biden did was I think try to sweep up some of Those people who were still on the fence. I mean, they definitely weren't gonna support Trump But they were leading towards Biden, but he's not super progressive. Maybe they wanted Bernie Sanders Biden got some of those people tonight. I Have no doubt about that because he had a really good performance there Now there were a couple of moments where I think that Donald Trump actually did Do a good job at putting Joe Biden on the defensive The first is the crime bill He did good at first. The problem is that he brings up the crime bill and he doesn't necessarily explain why Joe Biden and His crime bill is problematic. What specifically it did he did better tonight than he did at that last debate But you know What Trump does is he'll say, oh, well you supported the crime bill and then he'll pivot to oh and you also said super predator Joe Biden did not say super predator Hillary Clinton said super predator But even if he did say super predator If you're talking about the crime bill you have to explain to the American people how that impacted them Especially black and brown communities, but the problem with this is for the entirety of the selection Trump has been trying to convince people that Joe Biden is weak on crime. He's not tough on crime He won't even say the words law and order, but all of a sudden at this debate We have this last-minute pivot to where you're saying you were too tough on crime We have actually freed nonviolent drug offenders Um, and that could have landed if Joe Biden didn't come prepared to respond Fortunately for him He had a pretty good response Now him admitting that you know, some of his old policies was a mistake I don't know how that's gonna land but showing some humility is an important first step But you know when when Trump said we freed nonviolent drug offenders Joe Biden says will you freed 20 we freed thousands literally? That's pretty persuasive when Joe Biden says I no longer want to lock up nonviolent drug offenders I want to require treatment. That's pretty pretty persuasive So there's no doubt about it. Trump is right that Joe Biden caused damage real harm to communities of color with the crime bill, but in a way by bringing this up Trump didn't push him enough to hurt Joe Biden and if anything Trump got Joe Biden to explain himself in a way that he hasn't really explained himself before Don't think that's gonna land. I think it's gonna end up helping Joe Biden as odd as that may be because throughout the course of this entire race I was expecting Trump to run to the left of Joe Biden when it comes to Criminal justice, but he hasn't he's been going off about law and order for most of of the election all of a sudden When you're trying to make this last minute pivot You've got to hope that your opponent isn't prepared. Joe Biden was prepared It didn't land now initially, you know, I said, I don't think that Trump did damage I don't think he turned a lot of people off like he did at that last debate because his demeanor his behavior was just It was insufferable. It made it really hard to watch the debate a lot of people couldn't couldn't take it Having said that though, he still may have turned a lot of people off even if he wasn't as abrasive and obnoxious as that last debate so I say that because he you know during the immigration portion Uh, I think he did get in a good shot at Joe Biden when Joe Biden talked about family separation He said look you built those cages You built those cages but you're not Trying to answer for your horrendous child separation policy. So, you know, it's it's I think it's a persuasive thing to say but at the same time You're only tying him right there. You're admitting that you're equally terrible on this issue And in a debate you want to make sure that you prove that you're better than your opponent Joe Biden had the edge and then Trump ended up hurting himself by saying Uh, I'm the least racist person in the room. Uh, but a few minutes earlier. What did he say? He made some weird comment about low IQ immigrants who would show up to their Court proceedings when they wanted asylum Um, and I think that Trump Even though he was confident in the immigration portion what he said about people, uh, with with regard to catch and release Was factually incorrect. Most people do show up to their court proceedings to make the case for political asylum Um, so he wasn't correct there and he ended up hurting himself Showing that he still does not know how to talk about race in america Whereas biden he may not be perfect when it comes to what the left wants He may not want to defend the police But at a minimum if you can't admit that institutional racism is a thing and speak competently About race in america for at least a minute or two You're not going to win anyone over now another moment that really Did not land well for donald trump was when he tried to bring up the hunter biden thing Uh, he just he would not stop like he really wanted this to be His gotcha moment his october surprise that landed Unfortunately for him. It's not persuasive and jill biden ended up weaponizing that entire segment because you know He had just as much ammunition if not more in fact, I would argue he did have more when it comes to corruption Because you know jill biden brought up, um trump paying taxes to china You know, he could have brought up ivanka trump making money while she works in the white house Um, so, you know, they could have gone tit for tat on this But I think that jill biden made the right decision to basically pivot away and say Look nobody cares about your family or my family. They care about their family This isn't about there's a reason why he's Bringing up all this malarkey There's a reason for it. He doesn't want to talk about the the substantive issues. It's not about his family and my family It's about your family and your family is hurting badly If you're making less than if you're a middle-class family, you're getting hurt badly right now You're sitting at the kitchen table this morning deciding Well, we can't get new tires of their ball because we have to wait another month or so Or are we going to be able to pay the mortgage or who's going to tell her? She can't go back to to community college They're the decisions you're making in the middle-class families like I grew up in scranton and claimant. They're in trouble We should be talking about your families, but that's the last thing he wants to talk about That's gonna land That is going to land um now As I expected the worst part of the debate for donald trump was covid 19 Which took place at the beginning when most people will be watching and whenever trump is asked about covid 19 and his response to covid 19 You can you can basically predict exactly what he's going to say every time china I uh, I did the travel ban to china you called it zennifer, but you didn't support it again You keep saying this and you're not persuading any more people So you've got to change it up got to change it up and furthermore I wish joe biden would say yeah, but I didn't support the ban to china because I wasn't privy to the information That you were privy to you admitted to bob woodward that this was way more serious than the flu It was airborne none of us knew that so of course We were saying that you know A china ban was a little bit of an overreaction and that you're just being your usual xenophobic self if he said that I think it would have landed more But honestly, I think that joe biden's strategy of just letting trump have enough rope to hang himself That's all you need. Uh trump also It's honestly astonishing that he keeps bringing this up. He brought up swine flu h1 and one All you do when you bring up swine flu Is you remind people that the last administration That joe biden was part of is much more competent at handling contagious viruses So for him to continuously bring this up whoever is advising him Or maybe they're advising against this and he's just not listening. It's honestly shocking that he brings this up You don't bring up a strength of your opponent and pretend as if it's a weakness because there has to be at least Some way that you can gaslight the american people around this issue and get them to think that joe biden and obama handled h1 and one poorly But we can all remember I don't remember a shutdown during h1 and one swine flu. I was in college at the time Didn't have to stay home from school. I don't remember being worried that a family member would die because it wasn't as lethal Uh, you just remind us that Our lives weren't as uprooted as it is now during covet 19 You remind us that hey, maybe that guy should be in charge if he handled that Shocking, uh, the weirdest thing you said that was uh, he said that the vaccine's coming soon in weeks I don't know about that. I think at the timeline of late Mid 2021 is probably more more accurate in terms of at least when it's going to be widely available But he says that the military is going to be distributing the vaccine What does that look like? How how is that going to persuade us? Are they going to like Fly the vaccine in to every single city? Like what is why why should I be convinced that the military delivering the vaccine to people Is going to be like the thing that makes a difference Really what we're worrying about is like manufacturing So are you saying that like the military is going to maybe manufacture the vaccine? Are we going to teach them how to you have to explain yourself because it sounds All right at first until you just think a little bit about it And it's not like this new thing that's going to persuade anyone you're just going to raise more questions So overall to put a bow on this entire package and close out my debate coverage of the 2020 election cycle I think that this last debate Probably isn't going to be enough to move the needle Uh, I don't think trump did as much damage Uh, I I don't think he hurt himself More than he usually does. I'll we'll put it that way. This wasn't the last debate Having said that though, he needed a big victory He didn't get that in my opinion now. This is subjective So you can argue that maybe he did enough to maybe start to shift it But even if you make that case Did he shift it in a way where it's going to move fast enough before november 3rd? That's what you've got to pay attention to and focus on uh because the numbers Aren't looking good for donald trump now. Yeah, it is it is true that you know The polls are much closer in swing states But still you need to do a lot to turn it around And I don't think that donald trump did that and even putting that aside like examining this debate in a vacuum Who won just putting aside like who needed to win who won I do think it was joe biden Because joe biden finally gave the left what they've been needing Some tangibles some concessions Reaffirming his support for the $15 an hour minimum wage I think joe biden won this he won this debate And I just don't think that donald trump did enough to move that needle either way I think that the influence of this debate overall on the race I don't think it's going to be that big because I think that most people at this point in time Have already made up their minds. There's far less undecided voters in 2020 than there were in 2016 But we'll have to wait and see this election is not over yet Uh, you know, it's it's not a foregone conclusion that joe biden will win But in terms of did trump help himself in this debate I don't think he did I think joe biden helped himself more than trump helped himself And I think that joe biden did a better job at defending himself and keeping trump on The offensive For the majority of the night and for that. I think joe biden did a good job So yeah, let's know what you think