'Never been more embarrassed to be an American'

First, the Herald will provide the local reaction before sharing the Associated Press’ story about the Presidential election debate between President Joe Biden and former President Trump.

From Travis Ricketts, chairman of the Pickaway County Republican Party:

Dozens of Pickaway County Republicans gathered at Gibby’s Eatery and Sports Bar in Circleville Thursday night to watch the first Presidential debate of the 2024 election.

The mood was apprehensive at first, with concerns how President Trump would respond to the unique debate format with no crowd and moderators ability to cut off the debaters microphones when they go too long.

However, once President Biden lost his train of thought, stumbled over his words, and was unable to finish his response to the very first debate question the room became electric with excitement. It was clear that the debate was going to be a disaster for Biden.

President Trump succeeded in appearing measured, strong, and ready to lead the country again. By all accounts this was a slam dunk performance for him.

This was in stark contrast to President Biden’s performance. He had to assure the country he wasn’t too old for the job … and he blew it. Liberal pundits can no longer deny what Republicans have been saying for years. Biden’s mental decline is obvious for all to see and a threat to our country.

President Trump won Pickaway County by 72% in 2020. After this debate an 80% win is clearly possible and the Pickaway GOP is working hard to make that happen.

From Carolyn Loxley, chairwoman of the Pickaway County Democratic Party:

There was no winner of the debate. But the American voters were the losers.

The zinger was President Biden to Trump, “You have the morals of an alley cat!”

I did not find any good points made by Trump as his comments were constant evasions of the questions being asked and bald faced lies about January 6, and the Charlottesville Nazi march and his comments about “good people on both sides.”

America and the world watched and heard these events real time, but he thinks he can gaslight us. Sadly, far too many people seem to be willing to accept those distortions rather than demonstrable facts.

After having single-handedly caused the scuttling of a bipartisan immigration bill negotiated by the Biden administration that would have strengthened our borders, it was frustrating to hear Trump hammering the issue of border security. He blocked a solution by mobilizing the US House majority, but uses the failure of the bill as a campaign message.

No one will be likely to change their vote on the basis of this unfortunate display. It is indeed a dark time in the US of A!

From Mike Agosta, a leading member of the Pickaway County Republican Party:

As with any debate the participants typically have an agenda. Former President Trump‘s agenda was to re-assure the people that he can successfully lead this country out of its economic and political woes while presenting himself as “Presidential”. President Biden wanted, and needed, to impress that he is a strong capable leader that has another four years left in him.

Former President Trump successfully tempered and toned himself down from his past, not resorting to name calling and belittling that often turns people off, he appeared “Presidential”. Trump did a good job of presenting his past accomplishments, low unemployment rates, high employment for minorities coupled with low inflation etc.

One issue I had with Trump’s debate points was he is a businessman and many of his points were based on dollar figures. These figures, billions and trillions are so large they are unrelatable to most Americans (I include myself in that). It would have been good for him to put into perspective how many college educations or houses can be bought with a billion dollars. Former President Trump did successfully point out the failings of the Biden Administration, namely the border crisis, high inflation rates, failure to maintain world peace and a lack of respect for the armed services.

President Biden failed in his attempt to come off as strong and capable but rather came off weak and frail. His debate was a roller coaster ride of missteps, searching for words or phrases, oftentimes leading the viewers confused and wondering what point he was trying to make.

As with many presidents whose administration is failing the fallback position is to blame their predecessor, President Biden took full advantage of that tactic. After blaming Trump for the current poor economic performance our country is presently experiencing, I expected him to give us his plan to fix it, that didn’t happen. President Biden tried to “look tough” by pointing his finger at Trump to either make his points or call him a liar but he just couldn’t pull it off, as they say down south “That dog won’t hunt”.

At one point I almost felt sorry for President Biden, but my real sorrow is for our country if he is elected to another term. His performance begs the question, even amongst Democrats, will he be able to make it another four years and is he the man we want running our country?

People posted their comments about the debate to the Herald’s Facebook page.

James McKnight: Biden is a joke

Andrew David: Never been more embarrassed to be an American

To which Rodgenia Saxour responded: Andrew David it’s always the lesser of 2 evils. You can’t deny our borders was safer with Trump and Inflation was down.

Christina Wine: They both squabbled like children and neglected to answer the questions because they were too busy arguing. It was ridiculous and the US should be embarrassed. How sad is it that this is our choices?!

Mac McLaughlin: Biden’s incompetence, dishonesty and, lies showed big time tonight!

Craig Lovelace: Approximately 1,336 days between early November 2020 and yesterday, and one of the candidates has successfully lied each day.

Annette Price: I can’t see Biden being the nominee after tonight

Mark Swepston: Trump’s still lying like a rug. Oh, BTW, he’s a convicted felon. Who’s the law and order president?

Here’s the Associated Press’ story:

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden strained to quell Democratic anxieties over his unsteady showing in his debate with former President Donald Trump, as each candidate on Friday sought to expand his appeal in states he lost four years ago.

Thursday night’s faceoff appeared set to reinforce the public’s deep-seated concerns about both men before perhaps the largest audience they will garner before ballots are cast.

Biden’s halting delivery and meandering comments, particularly early in the debate, fueled concerns from even members of his own party that at age 81 he’s not up for the task of leading the country for another four years. And Trump’s attacks and policy falsehoods served as a reminder of the daily turbulence of his presidency.

Biden was greeted early Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina, by throngs of supporters invited by his campaign to watch Air Force One carry him from the debate in Atlanta, where he brushed aside Democratic concerns with his showing that he should consider stepping aside, saying, “No, it’s hard to debate a liar.”

The Democrat was scheduled to hold what his campaign is billing as the largest-yet rally of his reelection bid in the state Trump carried by the narrowest margin in 2020. He’ll then travel to New York for a weekend of big-dollar fundraisers that his campaign now needs more than ever, as it looks to stave off Trump.

Vice President Kamala Harris, whom the Biden campaign sent out to defend his performance as was set to travel to Las Vegas, Nevada. She told CNN hours after the debate, “There was a slow start, but there was a strong finish.”

Biden and his allies are looking to brush aside concerns about his delivery to keep the focus on the choice for voters this November. They seized on Trump’s equivocations on whether he would accept the will of voters this time around, his refusal to condemn the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, trying to overturn his 2020 loss to Biden, and his embrace of the conservative-leaning Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade that had legalized abortion nationwide.

Trump’s comments, Biden’s team insisted, are out of step with the majority of voters and will serve as fodder for the barrage of ads that they will see through Election Day.

Still, they did little to quell the concerns about Biden’s fitness among members of his party. Rep. Tom Souzzi, a Democrat in a New York swing district, said, “We all would’ve liked a better performance by the president but regardless of what happens, I’m going to fight for my district.”

Asked if he thinks Biden should step down, he said, “That’s beyond my pay grade.”

Rep. Pete Aguilar, the third-ranking lawmaker in House Democratic leadership, was terse when reporters asked whether Biden should withdraw.

“Joe Biden is the Democratic nominee for president,” he stated after being followed for several minutes by reporters

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat frequently mentioned as a 2028 contender and speculated about as a potential replacement for Biden on the ticket should he step aside, released a statement backing him on Friday.

“The difference between Joe Biden’s vision for making sure everyone in America has a fair shot and Donald Trump’s dangerous, self-serving plans will only get sharper as we head toward November,” she said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom also dismissed questions on whether he would consider stepping in for Biden, telling reporters after the debate, “I will never turn my back on him.”

Under current Democratic Party rules, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to replace Biden as the party’s nominee without his cooperation or without party officials being willing to rewrite the rules at the August national convention.

Trump, meanwhile, flew to his golf club in Virginia, a onetime battleground that has shifted toward Democrats in recent years but that his aides believe can flip toward the Republican in November. He was set to hold at rally in Chesapeake Friday afternoon.

Zeke Miller reported from Washington and Michelle Price reported from Norfolk, Virginia. AP reporters Stephen Groves and Farnoush Amiri in Washington and AP National Political Writer Steve Peoples in Atlanta contributed as did Darlene Superville.