By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire

Forget alternative facts and political spin: the first presidential debate of 2024 was an overwhelming flood of falsehoods.

The twice-impeached and 34-times convicted felon former President Donald Trump unleashed a torrent of misinformation on topics ranging from terrorism to taxes during the first debate of the 2024 general election.

Poorly moderated to the point of farce by two CNN anchors, the debate will likely go down in history for the sheer volume of lies broadcast to the American people.

Trump, who boasted that he could grab women by their private parts and later was found responsible for sexually assaulting a woman, lied about everything from the economy to racism and having sex with an adult film star.

“I spent 90 minutes debating on a stage with a guy who has all the morals of an alley cat. I mean, did you see Donald Trump last night? He must have set a new record for the number of lies ever told in a single debate,” President Joe Biden said after the June 27 debate.

“He lied about what a great economy he created when we all remember the pandemic. He lied about how great he was for veterans when we can recall how he called veterans who had given their lives for this country ‘suckers’ and ‘losers.’

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And he even lied about how he had nothing to do with January 6,” Biden asserted.

Biden reminded debate viewers that they had all witnessed a Trump-supporting mob attack the U.S. Capitol, including assaults on police officers. “The Capitol was ransacked,” Biden said. “Folks, for all of Trump’s lies, we did learn some important truths. We learned he is still proud of being the person who killed Roe v. Wade. Donald Trump showed us who he is last night. We have to believe him.”

The litany of key questions Trump refused to answer on the debate stage further highlighted his evasion and dishonesty. Instead, Trump deflected, blamed others, and continued his pattern of misinformation.

He also made racially charged claims about immigrants taking jobs from Black and Hispanic Americans. “They’re taking Black jobs now, and it could be 18, it could be 19, and even 20 million people,” Trump said, showing just how racist he can be. “They’re taking Black jobs, and they’re taking Hispanic jobs, and you haven’t seen it yet, but you’re going to see something that’s going to be the worst in our history.”

Derrick Johnson, CEO of the NAACP, responded succinctly, “There’s no such thing as a Black job or a white job.”

Although Biden received poor marks and criticism for his performance, backlash against Trump also proved swift and severe. Democratic Party of Virginia Chair Susan Swecker; Army veteran Terron Sims II, chair of the DNC Veterans and Military Families Council; and Air Force veteran Sean Monteiro, chair of the Virginia Beach Democratic Committee, all called out Trump for his long record of disrespecting Americans in uniform.

They criticized his efforts with MAGA GOP extremists to cut veterans’ benefits, which would have a significant impact on the Hampton Roads area — home to nearly 120,000 active-duty military members and 220,000 veterans.

“Donald Trump’s record, rhetoric, and actions have all proved that he is against everything that our military stands for and works to protect,” Swecker stated.

“There is only one man on the ballot in November who has stood up for veterans time and again.” Swecker said. “That man is Joe Biden, a father who knows what it feels like to have a son fighting for his country, and a president who has delivered the most significant expansion of benefits and services for veterans.”

President Biden and Democrats are working to protect freedom and defend democracy, standing up against aggression abroad and hate at home,” said Monteiro.

“Donald Trump only cares about himself – and, with the backing of his MAGA Republican allies, he’s willing to insult service members and destroy the very ideals of democracy in his own pursuit of personal power, revenge, and retribution,” Monteiro said. “We have to defeat Trump and MAGA Republicans once and for all — so he doesn’t have a chance to do any more damage to our democracy and our values as a country.”

The debate has revealed the stark choice facing American voters. On one side is Biden, 81, who has spent four years cleaning up his predecessor’s misdeeds. Biden has worked tirelessly to rebuild the economy, navigate the country through a devastating pandemic, and restore America’s global reputation.

He has fought for healthcare, veterans’ rights, and the middle class, as well as relieving tens of millions of dollars of student debt.

On the other side stands Trump, 78, whose presidency nearly decimated the economy, whose inaction during the pandemic allowed countless people to die, who spews hate, racism, and violent rhetoric, and who all but ruined America’s standing in the world.

“For over a century, the NAACP has worked tirelessly to ensure Black voices are heard in every election,” Johnson stated. “This year is no different. We need candidates who are going to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion, not attempt to mischaracterize Black workers as anything but American workers.”

There were many firsts attending Thursday night’s mud wrestle between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

It was the earliest presidential debate in history. The first between two candidates of such a ripe age. The only one ever pitting the occupant of the Oval Office against the man he ousted.

But for anyone who’s paid even passing attention to politics over the last four ill-tempered years, the spite-filled session in Atlanta had the familiar, unhappy feel of a nagging injury.

The bombast. The insults. The obvious, abundant contempt between two men who couldn’t even bring themselves to shake hands.

“You have the morals of an alley cat,” Biden told the former president.

“We’re a seriously failing nation,” Trump said of the current president, “and we’re failing because of him.”

There are train wrecks that offer more inspiration and uplift.

It was Biden, sagging in polls and looking to energize his campaign, who threw out the debate challenge, landing the two rivals on an unusually early summer stage.

It may go down as one of the great political miscalculations of modern times.

Though he rallied in the second half of the program, Biden’s performance did nothing to dispel concerns about his fitness at age 81, which poses arguably the greatest threat to his shot at a second term. If anything, the president compounded those doubts.

Biden looked stricken when he didn’t appear vacant or lost. At times, he seemed to grip the lectern as though he might topple if he let go. His complexion was waxy. His papery voice trailed into silence or incoherence.

“I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence,” Trump said in one gibe. “I don’t think he knows what he said either.”

Presidents are often rusty in their first debates, losing their fighting edge after four years cossetted in the White House. Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama both stumbled in their initial return to the debate stage.

But neither performed as badly as Biden, whose wan delivery took much of the sting — “I’ve never heard so much foolishness,” “He has no idea what the hell he’s talking about” — out of his attacks.

The facts might have been on Biden’s side. The U.S. economy, inflation aside, is the envy of the world. He’s done more than any president in history to address the crisis posed by climate change. He’s rallied an international coalition to push back on Russia’s dangerous hegemonic designs.

But those were lost in Biden’s curlicue responses and halting verbal shuffle.

Trump, for his part, lied and exaggerated with characteristic abandon.

He blamed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol that he brought on. He claimed to have presided over the greatest economic performance in American history. He claimed that millions of people entering the country illegally are not only being enrolled in the Social Security and Medicare programs, but also living in luxury hotels at government expense.

He wrongly claimed Biden engineered his serial criminal indictments and continued pushing wrongful claims undermining the integrity of the 2020 election he lost — the Big Lie that’s eroding our democracy.

Fact-checkers immediately went into overdrive, but over the years they’ve proved no match for Trump’s rat-a-tat of falsehoods. Give him his due: He may spew never-ending fabrications, but Trump does so unabashedly and with a powerful certitude.

The overwhelming majority of Americans may be locked into their preferences for November, leaving a relatively scant number open to persuasion. That said, those voters could make the difference if the election is close, as polls have been suggesting.

Perhaps they learned something new Thursday night. (Trump never did explain his claim that Biden is a sleeper agent bought and paid for by the Chinese government. That seemed to come from left field.)

For many, the 90-plus minutes probably reaffirmed what they thought at the start of the session at CNN’s Atlanta studio. Biden haters saw an enfeebled geriatric with only fleeting moments of lucidity. (Even some Biden supporters would agree with that assessment.) Trump bashers saw an overbearing, congenitally lying ogre.

Those with little use for either candidate might be wishing even more for a viable alternative not named Robert F. Kennedy Jr., serving up his witch’s brew of conspiracy theories, or some other third-party candidate with absolutely no chance of winning.

It will be at least several days before the impact of Thursday night’s confrontation is known. Snap polls do little more than register gut reactions. Views can change after voters have time to digest the voluminous content, hear post-debate analyses and watch the snippets highlighted on TV and the viral videos ricocheting across social media.

But after Biden’s wretched performance, the nervousness among Democrats turned into full-fledged panic, with renewed talk of replacing the president ahead of Democrats’ August convention.

And given the presidential face-plant, we may have just witnessed the last debate of the 2024 presidential campaign, with Biden strategists finding some excuse to pull out of a scheduled follow-up in September.

After the display put on Thursday night — “Sucker!” “Loser!” — that cancellation might not be such a bad thing.