That Was Good

Where has that Donald Trump been?

Last night’s presidential debate was an actual, factual, normal presidential debate. The President remembered his key messaging and focus. Joe Biden managed to speak uninterrupted for two minutes without coming off as an insane guy. The moderator moderated. She even asked about the Hunter Biden story.

President Trump and his team should be proud of his final lifetime presidential debate performance. That is, actually, pretty incredible when you think about it. We won’t see Donald Trump on a debate stage again.

The President made a targeted play to young black men and he remembered Pennsylvania and the swing states, going so far as to point out Joe Biden didn’t really grow up in Scranton.

He did what he had to do.

As I’ve mentioned to the chagrin of my readers and listeners, Joe Biden is ahead. But there are measurable trends in the President’s favor in several states, including places like Pennsylvania, that the President needed to capitalize on. He did last night.

We have seen in several states that numerous groups were waiting to see if the President could be president before they consolidate behind him. Even in places like South Carolina where the media has gleefully laughed about the President and Lindsay Graham’s polling, the reality is the stragglers have been conservatives who just couldn’t quite pull the trigger.

The President gave those conservatives every reason to pull the trigger last night.

It was a solid performance.

The Hunter Biden Story

I have several frustrations with the Hunter Biden story and I want to lay them out for you now.

First, the emails are verified and the media keeps saying they are not and that this is Russian disinformation. That is not true. The story is real and the emails are real even as we do not have confirmation on that damning text message about Joe Biden wanting all the money. But we have general confirmation on the veracity of the story and the media keeps screaming that it is Russian disinformation.

Just because a story hurts Joe Biden does not mean it is Russian disinformation.

Second, the story is a distraction at this point. We are less than two weeks from the election and the President is yet again going off on a message that distracts from the key message he wins on — the economy.

Over the past six months, we’ve gone from jobs to law and order to save the suburbs to stand up to China to have you seen the Hunter Biden emails. For a year, the President has one bright spot in the polling — most Americans think the President would do better rebuilding the American economy. Instead of focusing on that, we’re on an obscure story about Hunter Biden that will take a week to penetrate most people’s conscience and another week for them to process and by then we’ll be past Election Day.

The story will give Fox News a great line to pursue if Biden gets elected in eleven days. It gives the President’s team one more thing to talk about. But it also takes the President and his team off their winning message about making America great again.

Third, as you scream at your screen right now that this is about corruption and a really big deal and I just don’t get it, I do get it. What you don’t seem to get is that most Americans are already deeply cynical about the President’s character and business interests and all this does is suggest Biden and Trump are more similar than the media has shown. The story is legitimate, but also a distraction that does not give an advantage to the President.

Your Must Read

Lastly, go read this from John Piper. It is your must-read of the day. To the extent you dispute it, you probably need a well check for your soul.