There’s an American joke from a far less politically correct era that has a peculiar resonance today: “We select our beauty queens for their views on world peace, and we elect our Presidents for how they look on TV.” In the debate this morning (last night, in America) between incumbent Joe Biden and challenger Donald Trump — senior citizens, both of them — it was not a question of who looked better but rather, who appeared worse. And unfortunately, for the Democrats, there was a clear loser.
Of course, the ability to perform for television wasn’t always so central to who would lead the US. Most Americans do not and did not know if Abraham Lincoln’s arm quivered in private, or if George Washington had a mild stammer. In fact, Franklin D Roosevelt was re-elected even after polio caused him to use a wheelchair — he was propped up using leg braces for public appearances.
It was with the charismatic Democrat John F Kennedy in 1960 that screen presence began to become a necessary condition to be a contender for the White House. The handsome star outshone the old warhorse, then Vice-President Richard Nixon in the first televised debate. Nixon, huffing and sweaty, was no match for suave Kennedy.
Thirty years later, in 1980, B-movie actor Republican nominee Ronald Reagen pulled off an upset for the other side, with a rakish smirk and one-word answers against the more mild-mannered Jimmy Carter. Trump, of course, is made for and by television. He is a disruptor and ofte.