The Week American Politics Turned Upside Down – “The Sunday Political Brunch”

Sunday, October 04, 2020

Mark Curtis, MINDSETTER™

 

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President Trump before he flew to Walter Reed

I don’t know where to begin. This has been a week like no other. Like many, I woke up Friday morning in shock to find that President Trump and First Lady Melania tested positive for COVID-19. To watch a clearly fatigued president being transported by Marine One to the Walter Reed Medical Center was just jarring. I remember the Kennedy assassination and remember President Reagan nearly dying from a similar attack. It’s just eerie and frightening to see any Commander-in-Chief in peril. Let’s “brunch” on that this week.

 

“It’s Okay to Pray” – As a Christian who is supportive and in-sync with other religions that believe in the power of prayer, I ask us all to pray for the president and first lady. Yes, we are in divisive times with a bitterly contested election, but we are all Americans and children of God, first and foremost. The stability and continuity of our country is essential. And yes, it is okay to pray for people we don’t like or agree with. When you see opponents such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Vice President Joe Biden come out to offer their prayers and good wishes for the Trumps, take them at their word. Our similarities are so much stronger than our differences.

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“WOW…What’s Next?" – How many times over the years have I said, “I hate to talk about political implications when people are dying, or there is a financial crisis?” Too many for me to count. But as I always say, politics does not operate in a vacuum. We just forge ahead. November 3rd is Election Day, and there will be implications. First and foremost, the next presidential debate is set for October 15 in Miami. Assuming the normal 14-day quarantine period, the president could not logically appear until the 16th, unless the Biden camp and debate organizers agreed. The bottom line, I doubt that the second debate will occur on time, if at all.

 

“Oh, By the Way, There Was a Debate!” – It so weird how the “shelf life” of a news story occurs. What is “freshly baked bread” one hour, can be a “soggy old loaf” in a heartbeat. I was anticipating doing a full critique on the first debate this week, but that has all turned on a dime. The debate, in my estimation, was a complete disaster. This is my 43rd year in TV, radio and internet news, mostly covering politics, and what I witnessed Tuesday night was a disgrace from several vantage points, and there is plenty of blame to go around.

 

“A Pox on All Houses” – To me it was the worst political debate, not just presidential debate, in my five decades of covering politics. At the starting gate moderator Chris Wallace simply let it spin completely out of control with Trump’s constant interruptions. The candidates agreed to a format where each would have two minutes to address the moderator’s question, and then the other candidate would have a minute to respond. It wasn’t until about 30 minutes into the debate where Wallace finally tried to stop the two men from interrupting each other. That was as useful as slamming the barn doors shut after the horses had already escaped.

 

“Trump’s Trumpet” – There were various network counts of interruptions. One news outlet said there were 70 in total, 51 for Trump, with 19 for Biden. That’s a about a 3-to-1 margin. While Trump may have been the leader on interruptions, Biden clearly won the name-calling award. At various times he referred to Trump as a “clown,” “fool,” and “unpresidential” and even asked the president, “will you shut up, man!” As the middle of seven children, I witnessed or was involved in, many childhood spats. Inevitably, when my mom or dad intervened, someone would shout, “he started it!” And the finger-pointing would begin. This debate was about as juvenile as that.

 

“Debate-us, Interrupt-us” – The morning after the debate, my news director asked me, “What did you learn about either of the candidates on any of the big issues?” After an uncomfortable pregnant-pause, I simply said, “Nothing!” It’s true. I knew going into the debate that Trump and Biden were at opposite ends on issues such as climate change and Obamacare. But I got no specifics or details from either side that were either informative, persuasive, or opinion changing. I was served a meal with empty calories and no nutritional value.

 

“How Do You Campaign?” – This weekend marks one month until Election Day. Of course, many states have early in-person voting, or mail-in and absentee ballot voting, which are already underway. People are voting. Decisions are already being made a month ahead of the traditional Election Day, which this year is November 3rd. Various polls I’ve seen indicate most people have already made up their minds, with perhaps only six or seven percent of voters still undecided.

 

“Supreme Court Vote?” – A lingering question now will be whether there will be a vote on Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett before the election. There are concerns the very public nomination event on Saturday September 26th, may have been, in fact, where the president was infected, and there might be a “spread” effect. My gut instinct suggests the Senate Judiciary Committee will forge on with the nomination of Judge Barrett full speed ahead before Election Day.

 

What are your thoughts on President Trump testing positive for COVID-19 and its political implications? And who won the debate? Add a comment.

 

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Mark Curtis, Ed.D., is Chief Political Reporter for the six Nexstar Media TV stations serving West Virginia, its five neighboring states and most of the Washington, DC media market.

 

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