As the controversy from last night’s first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden continues, much discussion has centered on the winners and losers. According to a report by CNN , the question should not only be focused on which of the candidates won the debate. Instead, senior producer James Griffiths believes China is winning this morning, emboldening its own stance on democracy.
Trump and Biden traded blows throughout the debate and often were at odds with one another. However, there was one area where some harmony existed between the two candidates — their opinion of the Chinese government.
The two attacked China, with both men accusing the other of going too easy on Beijing. As the United States continues to reel under a fraught political climate, the Chinese government is becoming increasingly buoyed.
Griffiths pointed out that China has been a long-time critic of democracy, especially the American style. For the authoritarian Chinese government, U.S. democracy bending under the strain of ideological divides emboldens its own stance.
For decades, groups within China have pushed for governmental reform and liberalization through democracy. China’s leaders, who can tout relative stability and economic growth, can now also point to the U.S. as a reason why democracy is not an ideal system. Democratic struggles currently observed in the U.S. could be used as a reason why their country shouldn’t adopt that form of politics.
This era of domestic politics is not the first time there has been distance between the perceived values of American democracy and what is really happening in Washington. But having a president who has been accused of practicing anti-democratic policymaking has created division. Griffiths argues China could point to a divided political system and divided country as a reason why its own authoritarian system works.
Controversy that has surrounded the current presidency was evident during the first deabte. As reported by The Inquisitr last night, many questions were left following the event. For example did FOX News anchor Chris Wallace lose control of proceedings?
These are all questions being asked, and as RealClear Politics reported, CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer suggested there could be no second presidential debate this year. Two more meetings between the candidates are scheduled for October 15 and October 22. The Inquisitr has a poll asking readers who they believe won the first event. Currently, people believe Trump had the better of Biden in what was a heated 90 minutes.