Political expert: Biden’s performance ‘disastrous’, Trump ‘fast and loose’ with facts

A local political expert called Thursday night’s presidential debate “disastrous.”

Mark Caleb Smith, director of the Center for Political Studies at Cedarville University, told News Center 7 that President Joe Biden’s performance in the debate could damage his chances for reelection.

“This was a really disastrous debate. I think for Joe Biden probably the worst presidential debate performance that I’ve ever seen. And I think the Democrats are rightly in a state of panic because of his performance this evening,” Smith said.

He added that former President Donald Trump’s performance was not great and he often relied on misinformation — but seemed more energized than Biden.

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“I don’t think Donald Trump had a good debate frankly, I think he often used misinformation and played fast and loose within with the facts. But in comparison, he seemed much more vital and much more ready to take on the presidency than Joe Biden,” Smith said.

Thursday night’s debate was a significant shift in the campaign, Smith said.

Ohio was mentioned by both candidates at least once during the debate, specifically surrounding the topic of access to a medical abortion.

“The discussion around Ohio at the debate was primarily about the abortion referendum that was passed, and they discuss it as sort of as an example of the evolving politics of abortion in our country,” Smith said.

Smith said Democrats’ chance of competing in Ohio for the presidential ticket took a “real blow” Thursday night.

“The Republicans are in relatively good shape and Ohio. I think Donald Trump has been very popular in the state. And so I’d be surprised if that changes significantly based on anything that we saw this evening,” he said.

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