The first of the three scheduled presidential debates in the 2020 election season is likely to go down as one the most combative in history.
Unsurprisingly, President Trump pulled no punches, as he attempted to force Joe Biden to take a stand on many of the issues that he has evaded answering for weeks.
Perhaps the most pressing subject that voters deserve to know where Joe stands on is the matter of packing the U.S. Supreme Court. Since the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the subsequent nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to replace her on the nation’s highest court, the topic of court-packing has vaulted to the forefront of the campaign.
For weeks, Biden has shirked answering whether he would pack the court. Like the well-seasoned politician he is, Biden has dodged and weaved the question like Muhammed Ali eluded jabs in his heyday.
Yet, Biden could not avoid the inevitable during the debate: Would he or wouldn’t he pack the Supreme Court, should he win the 2020 election?
When asked by moderator Chris Wallace about his potential support court-packing, Biden answered with, “Whatever position I take on that, that’ll become the issue. The issue is the American people should speak. You should go out and vote. You’re in voting, now vote and let your senators know how strongly you feel. But vote now.”
That is politician-speak for, “I don’t want to answer the question because I am afraid if I do so, I will alienate potential voters.”
When pressed by Trump with this even more straight-forward form of the question, “Are you going to pack the court?,” Biden waffled again. “I’m not going to answer the question, because the question is, the question is, the question is,” Biden mumbled.
Then, Trump asked him a similar question, one that is surely on the minds of voters with the election just over a month away. “Who is on your list, Joe? Who is on your list?,” Trump asked, referring to the fact that Biden has also refused to release a list of potential justices that we would nominate to the Supreme Court, if he is victorious in November.
Once again, Biden refused to answer. Instead, Biden muttered a few slurs directed at President Trump.
The tense exchange ended when President Trump took the gloves off and simply stated, “The people understand, Joe. In 47 years, you’ve done nothing. They understand.”
What the people understand is that Joe Biden is unwilling to answer questions that Americans have the right to know before they cast votes in one of the most monumental elections in American history.
Although the first debate quickly devolved into a debacle, the American people still deserve to know what a Biden administration would do if Joe wins on November 3. Say what you will about Trump’s lack of civility during the debate, but one thing no one can tarnish Trump with is that he avoids questions.
On the contrary, President Trump answered any and all questions directed his way, and he did so in his plain-spoken manner, which is one of the main reasons he was elected in the first place.
Although Trump’s performance during the first debate of 2020 will not go down in the annals of history as one of the most eloquent, he certainly will be remembered for his straight talk.
Biden, on the other hand, avoided questions all night long. This begs the question: Why is Joe Biden so unwilling to tell voters what he would do if he were to be elected president?
On the issue of court-packing, Biden is in a no-win situation. If he comes out and declares that he supports it, he can say good riddance to most moderates and independents. Only 45 percent of Democrats and 29 percent of independents support this radical position.
No doubt, Biden knows it would be political suicide if he were to openly support court-packing.
But, Biden is also trying to court the far left, which vocally promotes court-packing. This is the rub. If Biden emerges victorious in the upcoming election, the odds of him standing up to the far-left radicals who now run his party is probably less likely than Biden answering any question from now to Election Day with a straight answer.
Because Biden went to such great pains during the first debate (and in many interviews over the past couple of weeks or so) to not answer the simple question of whether he would support court-packing, one can (and should) infer that by not answering, he actually did provide his response. Biden will very likely support court-packing–after the election, of course. We wouldn’t want to upset voters with the truth before they cast their ballots. Right, Joe?
Chris Talgo ([email protected]) is the editorial director and a research fellow at The Heartland Institute, as well as a researcher and contributing editor at StoppingSocialism.com.
