General Discussion

Trump was the exact same Trump he was four years earlier: bombastic, mean, deflecting and rambling. Joe Biden was not the same Joe Biden from 2020. He looked weak, confused and struggled to even put a coherent argument on the table ("we finally beat Medicare!" ).

The problem is that the debate was the first time Biden had to answer questions in front of cameras in months. He was not helped by a team that kept him hidden for a bulk of the campaign. Biden rarely did interviews. He didn't do any press conferences after his February press conference when the Hurr report was released and he held zero townhalls leading up to the debate.

That only compounded his debate performance. It's sad fact: Biden's decline, at least in perception, looked much more significant to anyone who paid attention than Trump's.

Trump sounds the same as he did in 2020.

Biden does not.

I watched his most recent speech going over SS and attacking Trump and he struggled even reading it.