A video comparing the presidential debates between Joe Biden and Donald Trump with those of Mitt Romney and Barack Obama has gone viral.
Biden faced off against Trump in Atlanta for the first 2024 presidential debate on Thursday, which was aired on CNN.
Much has been said about the contest, including Biden’s faltering performance, which raised fresh questions about his age and mental agility. Trump, who repeated many falsehoods, is the first former president in U.S. history to be criminally convicted and he faces further charges.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
One user on X, formerly Twitter, went so far as to edit mash-up videos of Thursday’s debate with one in 2012 when the Republican nominee took on the incumbent Obama in the race to the White House.
“What a difference 12 years makes,” @Irishpatriot captioned the post.
The clips of Romney and Obama showed them talking clearly and even exchanging friendly jokes, while those of Thursday’s debate were edited to seem cartoonish.
The voices of Trump and Biden were altered to sound higher in pitch and their talking points, where they traded barbs, were spliced with moments from the 2012 debate, where those men agreed on certain points.
The video got 41 million views on X, and people shared their thoughts in the replies.
“People realising that USA has now become a circus is my fav thing on internet this weekend,” wrote @mujhaycryaraha.
“Unbelievable in retrospect that both of these candidates were considered extremists,” posted @corg_e.
And @balochsac commented: “Last night, we only saw two old men who badly hate eachother.”
Biden’s performance raised alarm bells for Democrats ahead of November, and some were displeased with Obama’s response after the debate.
Obama took to X to share his thoughts on the first of the three presidential face-offs.
“Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself,” he wrote on Friday.
“Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight — and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit,” the former president continued. “Last night didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November.”
Tim Miller, a political commentator and former communications director for 2016 GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush, responded to Obama’s post: “This would be a good tweet in 41 days. Not really helpful today.”
Freelance writer Louis Peitzman wrote: “It is completely f***ing insane that this is the party’s position.”
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.