The first presidential debate as Americans count down to the Nov 6, general elections held on Thursday. It was a much-improved debate in terms of its organization and the rules governing it. But its content was not as sparkling and intriguing as some previous editions left voters with too much to chew.

For the optics, former President Donald Trump did better than the incumbent Joe Biden. But the fact-checks have revealed an avalanche of lies and misleading reports or exaggerations on the part of both candidates with Donald Trump holding sway at a ratio of 39:5.

Debates only don’t decide the people’s votes. Multiple other factors do. No denying that they help shape perceptions and subsequent momentum in the campaigns. Admittedly, they help the independents or undecided voters to make up their minds in going right or left. The media both traditional and social have given Donald Trump the trophy as winner of the first presidential debate.

And, top Democrats are not disputing that verdict. According to former President Barack Obama: “Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself. Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight — and someone who lies through his teeth for his benefit. Last night didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November”.

True, Obama flopped in the first of the 2012 presidential debates with Mitt Romney but he responded resoundingly in the second debate, riding on the crest and momentum of the first black American to become President in a racially discriminatory society. He went on to win the elections convincingly because the Americans wanted to resolve a complex issue and bring down tension in society.

The 2024 presidential election presents a different challenge to the Americans. They are to choose between democracy and dictatorship. Biden is perceived as a democrat and Trump as a dictator. Trump misconstrues Biden’s embrace of tenets of democracy as a sign of weakness. Twice, Trump was impeached in his four-year tenure. Biden has successfully dealt with a parliament whose Congress is dominated by the opposition party and was able to get his bills passed. Biden’s biggest drawbacks in this election are his age and declining health.

Addressing a rally in North Carolina after his poor showing at the debate, President Biden said: “I know I’m not a young man. Debate is not an issue. I know what I know: I know how to tell the truth. I know how to finish it up. I know how to get things done”. That was to restore confidence in his ticket and a comparison between him and Trump. The energy with which he delivered the message shows that the debate didn’t diminish Biden’s confidence nor has it dampened the spirit in the Democrats’ camp.

During the debate, it could be seen that Biden was more factual though leaning more on exaggerations and embellishments in some instances rather than outright lies. But Trump confidently lied on many issues which he chose to see from his perspective as “Alternative facts” rather than what history and facts deposed to even in the court of law adduce. For instance, the attack and invasion of the Capitol on January 6, when the protesters occupied the hallowed chamber of the Congress, and some of them were seen on major television networks and videos occupying Congress’s seats including that of the Speaker, was described by Donald Trump “as a relatively small number of people who were ushered in by the Police”.

This is an absolute lie, as more than 1,400 people have been charged with crimes relating to the riots and invasion of the Capitol. More than 850 people have pleaded guilty and at least 200 people convicted after their trials. It will also be recalled that President Trump committed other crimes against American democracy like pressuring Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, to overturn the state’s presidential election result in a January 2021 phone call listened to by millions of Americans. Raffensperger was requested by Trump to “find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won this state.” The Georgia Secretary responded: “What I knew is that we didn’t have any votes to find. “That was an accurate count that had been certified.”

Other Issues from the Debate:

Abortion
Trump said during the debate: “The problem they (Democrats) have is they’re radical because they will take the life of a child in the eighth month, the ninth month, and even after birth, after birth.” That is misleading. Many people have argued that abortion can’t take place after a child is born. That is infanticide which is a criminal offence in every state in America. But Trump repeated this claim three times during the debate.

But abortion rights advocates have described terms like this and “late-term abortions” attempt to stigmatize abortions later in pregnancy. Abortions later in pregnancy are exceedingly rare. In 2020, less than 1% of abortions in the United States were performed at or after 21 weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Abortions later in pregnancy also are usually the result of serious complications, such as fetal anomalies, that put the life of the woman or fetus at risk, medical experts say.

COVID-19
President Biden alleged that Trump told Americans to “inject bleach” into their arms to treat COVID-19. That is an exaggeration. Rather, Trump asked whether it would be possible to inject disinfectant into the lungs. The context: During a press conference in April 2020 Trump sarcastically said “And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning, because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it’d be interesting to check that so that you’re going to have to use medical doctors with, but it sounds interesting to me. So, we’ll see, but the whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute. That’s pretty powerful.” That is what is on record that Trump said.

Migrants
Trump, referring to Biden said: “He’s the one that killed people with a bad border and flooding hundreds of thousands of people dying and also killing our citizens when they come in.” A mass influx of migrants coming into the U.S. illegally across the southern border has led to several false and misleading claims by Trump. For example, he regularly claims other countries are emptying their prisons and mental institutions to send to the U.S. There is no evidence to support that. He also argued repeatedly that the influx of immigrants is causing a crime surge in the U.S., but statistics show violent crime is on the way down under the Biden administration.

The elections are about five months away but many people are already apprehensive about its likely outcome. Many reckon this could be an election to determine if Americans will have future elections. For Biden, the age factor and his health condition are of concern to many Americans. For Trump, the maverick his unconventional and sometimes erratic approach to issues is of concern. There is also a conspiracy theory that President Biden is being propped up to contest, possibly win, and after that step down for his Vice President, Kamala Harris to emerge as the first female American President. Whatever it is the United States stands between the devil and the deep blue sea.The decision is for Americans to take on November 6, the presidential election date.