US Presidential Debate 2020: Trump Attacks India; Biden Says "Inshallah"

The first US presidential debate of Elections 2020 on September 29 was a very chaotic affair. It was characterized by constant interruptions by President Donald J. Trump and exchange of unprecedented insults with Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden. Chris Wallace, the Fox News anchor and moderator, found it impossible to bring order in spite of his best efforts. It resembled Pakistani Talk Shows with all the yelling, screaming, drama and insults. Trump attacked India twice during the debate. At one point, Biden said "Inshallah". 

Trump refused to denounce white supremacists and questioned the integrity of the elections.  Trump also attacked Biden’s intelligence at several points during the contentious debate. Biden called Trump a "clown" and told him to "shut up" at one point. 

Trump questioned India's coronavirus data while responding to Biden's accusation that his opponent has badly mishandled the pandemic. About 21 minutes into the debate, Trump said: "And, by the way, when you talk about numbers, you don’t know how many people died in China. You don’t know how many people died in Russia. You don’t know how many people died in India. They don’t exactly give you a straight count, just so you understand".  

Officially, North America (particularly US & Mexico) has suffered 303,600 coronavirus deaths, the highest COVID19 death toll in the world . It’s followed by SouthAmerica (248,700), Europe (220,600), Asia (189,900), Africa (35,200) as of Sept 28,2020, according to Axios.  US, with 200,000 deaths, accounts for two-thirds of all deaths in North America.  Asia accounts for about 60% of the global population.  India, with a death toll near 100,000, accounts for over half of all deaths in Asia. 

Global Coronavirus Deaths By Continents. Source: Axios

Talking about climate change, Trump accused India of being a leading polluter. About an hour into the debate, Trump said: "China sends up real dirt into the air. Russia does. India does. They all do". There are reports suggesting India has surpassed China as the world's top polluter. Images captured by the Dutch space instrument, Tropomi, show high concentrations pollutants like Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone and other pollutants produced by car traffic, industry and power stations in India, according to a Business Insider report.

India Top Polluter. Source: Business Inside

About 15 minutes into the debate, Biden used the word "Inshallah" while demanding Trump's tax returns.  Pressing Trump on when the American public would get to see his long-anticipated tax returns, Biden questioned: "When? Inshallah?" "Inshallah" is often considered as a non-committal response by some in the Muslim world. 

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US Democrats Score Hat Trick

With the recent Travis Childers' win in Mississippi, Democrats have won three US congressional seats in a row, seats that were considered safe and reliable for Republicans. Childers' victory came one week after Rep. Don Cazayoux won a House seat in the Baton Rouge, La., area that had been in Republican hands for three decades. Over the winter, Rep. Bill Foster won an election in Illinois to succeed former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who had been in Congress more than 20 years.

There is a rising tide of discontent against the Republican party in the United States after President George W. Bush's seven years of disastrous rule. In spite of vicious attacks against Childers and Cazayoux by linking them to Obama and his former pastor, the Republicans were unable to hold on to these seats. The smear tactics by Republicans against the Democrats have backfired.

With the 2006 take-over of US Congress by the Democrats and continuing wins recently,
Republican Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia wrote the leadership in a bluntly worded memo that "The political atmosphere ... is the worst since Watergate and far more toxic than the fall of 2006 when we lost 30 seats."

Contrary to the noises from the Republican spin doctors and their media friends, all the indications are that the Democratic nominee for the President is likely to win by a landslide this year in November. Barring any major terrorist attacks on US soil, the only thing that can hurt Democrats is their continuing in-fighting with the Democratic primaries becoming more nasty.