(Cris magazine. Mónica Miller).
The above NBC News headline was typical of media reaction to the June 27, 2024, presidential debate between Joe Biden and Republican candidate Donald Trump. Indeed, it was a most humiliating and embarrassing moment for the 81-year-old president, who spoke incoherently and stumbled over his words before an audience of 50 million viewers. Now in a true panic, the Democratic Party is desperately trying to plug up the many holes the Biden debate debacle drilled into its political ship as it sails to a possible wreck come the November election. The debate itself was dominated by false statements from both sides: exaggerations, untrue claims, insults, and accusations—with the two candidates managing to speak the truth occasionally. However, on the issue of legalized abortion, and in particular the Roe v. Wade decision itself, both Biden and Trump got it wrong. Indeed, it is staggering just how wrong a sitting president and a former president were regarding the most important social issue of our time. Biden especially misrepresented what the 1973 Supreme Court decision actually said and what it actually permitted in terms of the legalization of abortion, and Trump seemed not to understand the goals of the pro-life movement.