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My takeaway from Thursday’s debate? Former President Donald Trump really doesn’t like immigrants. They are his personal bête noire, an animating force. The son—and husband—of immigrants, he is obsessed with the subject, repeatedly claiming that they are criminals (part of the “Biden migrant crime wave”), stealing jobs from Blacks and Latinos, turning our country into an uncivilized “rat’s nest” and sleeping in luxurious accommodations while veterans live on the streets (which must be especially galling to this luxury-class hotelier.)

The tone was set from the beginning. President Joe Biden entered tentatively. He seemed unsteady on his feet and weak. (It turns out he was suffering from a cold.) His voice was raspy, and he couldn’t stay on script or on topic. It was painful to watch.

By contrast, Trump strode onto the stage like the showman he is, his signature red tie ablaze and elaborately coiffed hair shining under the lights. He was ready for a fight but I don’t think even he expected to land such a stunning TKO.

And so it went for 90 long minutes. Time after time, Biden was offered opportunities to stress his achievements. To counter Trump’s lies (in the absence of actual fact checkers) and make a coherent, compelling case for re-election. Trump, as always, found his opponent’s weak spots and pounced over and over again. Was he truthful? Did he mis-represent reality? From Covid to the insurrection, America’s reputation abroad to prosperity at home, the truth was no match for the firehose of deception and projection that came out of his mouth.

As many pundits have pointed out, debating is not “presidenting.” Different skills for different jobs. The fact is, Biden has been a very good president, uniting NATO, restoring jobs, building markets and infrastructure all this after inheriting a nine-month-old pandemic. This debate set-up, even though approved by the Biden team, did not play to his strengths. And it showed.

In the end, a campaign is run with the candidates you have, not the ones you want. Trump is who he is, like it or not. He is nothing if not authentic. Biden was not who he wanted to be or what we needed him to be. On Thursday, he was fighting against a caricature, and he lost.

Sadly, so did the country.

Please participate in our snap poll. Simply place your responses as a comment to this article.

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Opinion: The Debate … Code Blue