For many watching Republicans, it was the debate they wanted to see the first time around.
Then, President Trump hectored and harried Democratic nominee Joe Biden in a performance that did nothing to close a gaping poll deficit.
This time, when the final debate ended in Nashville, Tennessee, they welcomed a more restrained tone and a more conventional style that landed precise blows on Biden’s record in government and plans for the future.
Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said it was a commanding performance.
“Instead of interrupting, he let Joe Biden answer, which allowed him to pounce on a number of different issues, from taxes to the economy to healthcare, energy, and crime,” he said.
And it provided one of the moments that many advisers had wanted to see: a clean, clear takedown of Biden’s long career in Washington and a reminder of the choice facing voters.
It came after Trump listened patiently for Biden to answer a question on race in America by describing “the talk,” when black parents warn their children of the dangers of dealing with the police.
Then the president unloaded.
“He’s been in government 47 years, he never did a thing,” he said.
It was a powerful line but also attracted criticism that he avoided answering the question about whether he understood why black parents have to have “the talk.”
He deployed a similar sentiment moments later when Biden said drug users should be sent to treatment centers, not jail.
“Why didn’t you get it done? You had eight years with Obama,” he said, warming to the theme. “You know why, Joe? Because you’re all talk and no action.”
Campaign manager Bill Stepien summed up the strategy afterward. “This was the businessman versus the career politician, the outsider versus the Washington insider, the reformer against the swamp,” he said.
Trump was always expected to come out swinging. Lagging Biden in national polls by almost 8 points, according to a rolling average maintained by RealClearPolitics, he cut an increasingly angry figure in the week leading up to the debate.
But observers also sensed that Trump, who famously says he does not need to prepare for debates, had listened to his advisers and taken the time to rehearse. His more measured approach meant he could deploy the tricks of more seasoned debaters, such as pivoting to questions that he wanted to address rather than answering the questions he was dealt.
Along with the much-talked-about muted microphones, it made for a more civilized debate. At one point, Trump even sought permission to interject, asking: “I think we have to respond, if I might?”
By letting Biden talk, Trump was better able to find his target and land blows, said his supporters.
“Trump destroyed him,” said Sam Nunberg, an adviser to Trump’s 2016 campaign. “Cut Biden up piece by piece and chewed him out.”
The early section of the night saw Trump on the defensive over his handling of the coronavirus. But he managed to use one of his pivots amid questions on national security and entanglements with foreign governments to switch from defense to attack and launch a personal assault on the Biden family.
He repeated his accusations that Biden and his son Hunter engaged in unethical practices in China and Ukraine, although no evidence of wrongdoing has emerged.
“They were paying you a lot of money, and they probably still are, but now, with what came out today,” he said referring to a cache of emails and WhatsApp messages released by a former associate of Biden’s son, “it’s even worse.”
Strategists had cautioned the president to stay away from his opponent’s troubled son. His history of drug abuse and attempts to trade on his father’s name have been a staple of Trump rally speeches, but advisers believe they have less purchase with undecided voters and independents.
But during the day, campaign officials said the president would use the new cache of communications from Tony Bobulinski, who was among the guests invited by Trump to sit in the audience, to attack Biden. They said it was a way to project the issue to a big TV audience.
Whether or not it worked will become clear in the next few days. Biden’s response was to dismiss it as “malarkey” and address viewers at home.
“It’s not about his family and my family,” he said. “It’s about your family.”
