Most people don’t know it but the presidential candidates always meet and do a mock debate before the real thing. I was fortunate to be able to listen to the debate, thanks to my friend in LA. Let me set the scene. It was a virtual debate.
President Trump was speaking from Kenosha, Wisconsin, at a hotel downtown. You could hear noises in the background. To start with, he was asked to turn his sound up.
Vice President Biden was broadcasting from his home in Wilmington, Delaware. You could hear his dog in the background. One of his assistants took care of that problem.
The debate was being controlled by television station KRAP in Los Angeles. Clarke Kent, the legendary reporter, was the moderator.
Here is what I heard.
They skipped the opening statements which was okay by me.
Kent came flying out of the gate with no holds barred.
“You’re up first Mr. Trump. We’ll start with a very important question. What are your plans on stopping the riots and unrest in our major cities?” the moderator started.
“I’m ready to help. Of course, the cities and states are the first line of defense. But we are there to back them up. So far, they don’t want us around. We did show up but was asked to leave.”
“Same basic question for you Mr. Biden. What is your favorite color and how would you use that to stop the unrest in some of the cities?” Kent asked.
“I’m glad you asked that. It’s blue, of course. Our party has the right approach to this problem. There is social injustice.”
“We need to get out there with these people. You know, get involved. Like the Mayor of New York City who sat down with his folks and came up with a plan. They painted Black Lives Matter letters in yellow paint on Fifth Avenue. That’s working together.”
“Heck, the New York Governor even reached out to his supporters. ‘You got to come back! We’ll go to dinner! I’ll buy you a drink! Come over, I’ll cook!’ We need more of that.”
“President Trump, let’s move to the economy. We are in the worst situation we have been in years. How did you let that happen? Will we ever recover?”
“A year ago, we had the greatest economy in the world. You know the best the world has ever seen. But the pandemic hit and the whole thing went to hell. The stock market is recovering now, and people are going back to work because of my leadership.”
“Vice President Biden, what’s your take on the economy?”
“Our group has some very good ideas. I like the potential of the Green New Deal. We must get rid of fracking, or what ever you call it, and at the same time get energy independent. We need to solve the high cost of medical. Obamacare is great but maybe we need to put everything in one basket. You know, Medicare for All. Bernie is the right guy for that.”
“President Trump, you are being criticized for picking Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court. Did you ever consider waiting until after the election to do the nomination?”
“Never once. I was elected to nominate someone if there was vacancy. And I did that.”
“Vice President, should the President have waited? Do you have someone in mind if Ms. Barrett is not confirmed?
“You
know Clarke, he should have waited and gave me a crack at it. My list of who I would have picked is confidential
“President Trump, you’re being criticized for the way you handled the virus. Where did you fail the country?”
“I didn’t fail anybody. I fought for our people. We got people together and they quickly decided that each part of the country would be different. You know, one size doesn’t fit all. We gave them guidelines to go by.”
“So, we moved the monitoring and medical response to the individual states. That was a mistake. They have no clue. For the most part, they didn’t use our guidelines.”
“Vice President Biden, how would you have handled the virus?”
“I would have had more tests for folks. I would have mandated everyone wear masks. You know, like being required. Oh, also, I would have made sure everyone had the equipment they needed.”
“Let’s move to taxes. That seems to be a marked difference between the two of you. President Trump, what is your stance on taxes?”
“I think the general taxes are in a good place. I would like to eliminate payroll taxes until the economy recovers. Besides that, we are good to go.”
“Same question to you Mr. Biden.”
“Would you repeat the question?”
“What is your stance on taxes?”, Kent asked.
“Here’s the deal. The wealthy must pay more taxes. I would raise the tax rate back to the level that Barack and I had it before Trump took over.”
“Okay, immigration is a hot topic. President Trump, what is your view on this and where is this going?”
“Illegal immigration has been a major objective of my administration. We need to reduce crime by stopping criminals from crossing the border. Also, we need to stop drugs from pouring in and, of course, stop human trafficking. Also, Clarke, our people are losing jobs to these people.”
“Vice President Biden, how would be handle immigration?”
“C’mon man! These are people. I think they deserve to be granted citizenship. Yeah, I know there’s a lot of them, but we have the resources to help them get a start on reaching their dream.”
“Also, this wall we have down there. On my first day in office, we will start cutting holes in the fence, every half mile or so. You know, big enough to drive a truck through.”
“Let’s go to administrations. There seems to be a lot of questions here. President Trump, you have had a large turnover. If you’re re-elected, what changes can we expect?”
“My people are incredible men and women. They give everything they have for the people of this country. They are amazing. They do a tremendous job. There may be some turnover but for the most part, those people just need a change.”
“Of course, I have a great backup, VP Mike Pence. He is a great guy. He could easily run this country. You know, keep our progress going.”
“Mr. Biden, what would your administration look like? Who will you lean on for advice? Also, will your son be a part of your management team?”
“You leave my son out of this.” Biden hesitated a couple of seconds. “I will have a great team behind me. You know when you have Nancy in your corner, you’re in the right place. Next to her, I have Bernie and Alexandria advising me. Oh, and of course, Harris will be my right-hand person.”
“If something would happen to me, VP Harris would be able to take over the reins. She would make some changes, for sure. But they all would be in the direction our country is moving.”
The debate continued for a while. Kent asked various other questions regarding law enforcement and other things. I think I detected some prerecorded answers by Mr. Biden, but it could have been the feed I had.
“Okay, one more question. Do you have a closing statement? You first, President Trump.”
“My first two tasks are to stop this pandemic and get our economy going. You know, back to what it was. The greatest in the world.”
“And you, Vice President Biden.”
“I want to thank you Clarke for having me. I could go on and on like this. I must admit, you wore me out.” Biden laughed. “And you made me miss my afternoon nap.”
Finally, Clarke Kent was off the air.
