Did the final presidential debate change the trajectory of the race? Doubtful. Was Joe Biden crisp and cogent enough to keep his voters happy – those who have yet to cast ballots, as well as the tens of millions who already have? Yup. Did Donald Trump at least reassure his cultists and calm the fears of down-ballot Republicans simply by behaving this time (most of the time) like a semi-functioning adult? Yup.
But last night, one particular moment clearly framed the character chasm – the moral decency chasm – that separates these two guys. It came when Trump was asked to defend his policy of separating migrant children from their parents at the southern border.
That issue was a major human rights scandal when it surfaced in 2018, but it had largely slipped under the public radar these past two years; regrettably, but understandably, most exhausted Americans have been hard-pressed to track all of Trump’s horrific deeds, much less muster 24/7 outrage. So kudos to debate moderator Kristen Welker for putting it front and center:
“Mr. President, your administration separated children from their parents at the border. (Today) the United States can’t locate the parents of more than 500 children. So how will these families ever be reunited?”
Good question. Thanks to Trump, 545 children have been involuntarily orphaned. According to federal court filings, many were just babies when they were taken from the parents they’ve never known. A normal president – someone who wasn’t a sociopath – would instinctively voice at least a smidgen of sympathy for the plight of these kids. But Trump wouldn’t know about that. Here’s how he replied:
“These children are brought here by coyotes, by lots of bad people, by cartels, and they used to use them to get into our country. We now have as strong a border as we’ve ever had. Four hundred miles of brand new wall. You’ve seen the numbers.”
So, instead of answering the question, he lied twice, either on purpose or because he doesn’t have a clue: (1) The migrant children at issue were brought to the border by their parents, not by “coyotes” or “bad people” or “cartels,” and (2) Roughly 370 miles of wall have been built – to replace or repair old wall. Care to guess how many miles of “brand new wall” have been built – new wall where none previously existed? Five.
Anyway, Welker tried again: “But how will you reunite these kids with their families, Mr. President?”
This time, instead of answering the question, he blamed Guess Who: “They used to say I built the cages…Then it was determined they were built in 2014. That was him.” Trump was referring, of course, to President Obama – who, unlike Trump, never separated children from their parents as a matter of policy and practice.
Welker tried a third time: “Do you have a plan to reunite the kids?”
Trump’s reply: “Yes, we’re working on it very – we’re trying very hard. But a lot of these kids come out without the parents. They come with cartels and coyotes and gangs.”
So. Besides repeating his previous lie, he lied anew when he said “we’re trying very hard.” No they’re not. The Trump regime has long obstructed the civil liberties lawyers who’ve been trying to get government info about those 545 separated kids – and the regime’s stonewalling has made it even harder to track down family members.
Then it was Biden’s turn. Take it away, Joe:
“‘Coyotes’ didn’t bring them over. Their parents were with them. They got separated from their parents. And it makes us a laughingstock and violates every notion of who we are as a nation…Those kids are alone. Nowhere to go. Nowhere to go. It’s criminal. It’s criminal…You have 525 kids not knowing where in God’s name they’re going to be, and lost their parents.”
Trump (who never did answer the original question), said these incarcerated kids are doing just fine. This was perhaps the line of the night:
“They are so well taken care of. They’re in facilities that were so clean.”
The kids are “well taken care of”? In “clean” facilities? That’s a weird claim, because it was just last year when the press learned that kids still in custody, lacking soap and toothpaste, were being exposed to illness and disease in unsanitary cells for weeks longer than legally allowed. According to one report from the border, “Children as young as 7 and 8, many of them wearing clothes caked with snot and tears, are caring for infants they’ve just met…Toddlers without diapers are relieving themselves in their pants.”
It’s bad enough that Trump lies with each breath. It’s especially repugnant when he lies at the expense of kids without parents.
When migrants seek asylum in the U.S., they’re entitled to plead their case in an immigration court. In the alternative world that lives in Trump’s head, virtually none of these migrants ever show up for their hearings. He said: “Less than 1 percent of the people come back (for their hearings)…They don’t come back, Joe. They never come back. Only the really – I hate to say this, but those with the lowest IQ, they might come back, but there are very, very few.”
Well, that’s interesting, because according to Trump’s own Justice Department, it’s a lie that “less than 1 percent” come back for their hearings. The true figure is 75 percent. (And you had to love Trump’s off-the-cuff claim that only people “with the lowest IQ” obey the law.)
And so on. I could easily have focused on the debate exchanges when Biden eviscerated Trump for screwing up the pandemic (my favorite Trump line: “I take full responsibility. It’s not my fault.”) but you’ve heard all that before. What this election is all about is what Biden framed so well, in one of his best moments. He addressed the viewers at home:
“You know who I am. You know who he is. You know his character, you know my character. You know our reputations for honor and telling the truth. I am anxious to have this race. I’m anxious to see this take place. The character of the country is on the ballot. Our characters (are) on the ballot. Look at us closely.”
My confident take is that people have already seen enough.