Tag: debate

CNN's Zakaria says first debate with Trump will be 'make-or-break' for Biden's campaign

CNN host Fareed Zakaria argued that the upcoming first debate between President Biden and former President Trump might decide the current president’s chances at a second term.

“I think it‘s a big moment for Biden. I think it’s in some ways a make-or-break,” Zakaria said during a guest appearance on “CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta.” “He has a lot more to gain or lose from this.”  

CNN host Jim Acosta recalled Zakaria’s recent viral commentary, noting that the future of Biden’s presidency is in question as his polling drops against Trump. Acosta asked if Biden could “use these debates to turn that around.”

Zakaria said Biden “has to approach this as if he‘s the underdog, as if he‘s coming from behind, which is all true, but it‘s hard for the president of the United States to think that way. It‘s one of the reasons presidents have typically done badly in debates, particularly in the first debate.”

BIDEN ROASTED FOR ‘FREUDIAN SLIP’ REFERRING TO IMMIGRATION INFLUX OF ‘HISPANIC VOTERS’

Zakaria argued that when someone serves as president, they are surrounded by people who defer to their opinion, citing then-President Obama’s surprising first debate against Mitt Romney, now a GOP Utah senator.

“Obama — who‘s a very good orator — did very badly in the first debate against Romney because the president has been spending his time governing, he’s been spending his time with his Cabinet and his White House staff, all of whom defer to him. Every time he walks into the room, the Marine band plays, every time he walks under a tarmac, he‘s walking on Air Force One or Marine One. It‘s not an atmosphere conducive to recognizing that people can disagree with you,” Zakaria said. “You don‘t realize that you have to punch and counter-punch.”

BIDEN’S BORDER POLICY ISN’T INCOMPETENCE, IT’S BY DESIGN: EX-ICE CHIEF

“So Biden has to take this opportunity to be very feisty,” Zakaria argued. “The thing I pointed out in that commentary was he is really behind on the question of who is more competent, and I believe that there‘s a 25-point drop from the 2020 rates for Biden. That is about energy, that‘s about your ability to show that you‘re in command, you‘re in control, so it‘s a big moment for Biden.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

“I think it‘s a historic opportunity for him,” he concluded. “There‘s a great moment for CNN. I think this will be one of the most widely and closely watched debates in American history.” 

Former Ohio lawmaker ignites Twitter debate over jobs, need for 'side hustles': 'Does that mean I'm poor?'

Former Ohio lawmaker and left-wing activist Nina Turner sparked a Twitter debate about the job market after tweeting that “side hustles” shouldn’t need to exist.

“Side hustles shouldn’t need to exist,” Turner wrote Monday. “One job should be enough.” 

Several users replied with their explanations as to why one job is not always enough in the current U.S. economy.

TWITTER ERUPTS AFTER BEING ASKED TO DEFINE ‘WOKE’: ‘MARXIST OPPRESSION NARRATIVES’

“One job would be enough if the State didn’t take its undeserved cut from each and every paycheck,” the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania replied.

Others explained why they work multiple jobs, and suggested Turner’s argument was arrogant.

JOB OPENINGS REMAIN ELEVATED IN NOVEMBER DESPITE FED EFFORTS TO COOL LABOR MARKET

“People should be free to work and make as much as they want. It should not be up to government to shackle anyone to any specific job,” another user said.

Some, though, high-fived Turner’s argument. 

“Countries need to speed up their economic transformation. Side hustles and advances that come with getting good jobs for young people are evidence of a failed economy @ninaturner you so right,” one user said.

NOVEMBER JOBS REPORT WAS NOT A BLOWOUT, IT WAS A HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT

“Yes! I was talking to someone today about how messed up it is that needing more than one job to just meet living expenses is so normalized and how wrong that is. Imagine living in a country where no matter what job you have you have enough money to afford a 1br [1 bedroom] on your own,” comic artist Jason Piperberg wrote.

U.S. job growth rose faster than expected in November despite higher interest rates and soaring inflation. Employers added 263,000 jobs that month, according to the Labor Department.

But some analysts have argued it’s nothing to celebrate.

“The seemingly robust headline number of 263,000 jobs comes from the establishment survey of businesses, while the unemployment rate comes from the household survey,” The Heritage Foundation’s E.J. Antoni wrote. “But the household survey also has a measure of employment, and that fell by 138,000. In fact, the household survey has been flat since March of this year, with essentially no jobs added over that time.”

It’s not the first time Turner, the former co-chair for Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, ignited a Twitter debate. When she challenged Twitter CEO Elon Musk last month to define the word “woke,” she got several entertaining responses from social media users who took the opportunity to slam the progressive movement as being based on “Marxist oppression narratives,” or “radical socialism philosophy.”