Newsletter: Will the first 2024 presidential debate be a cringefest?

Good morning. I’m Mariel Garza, and it is Wednesday, June 26. Let’s look at what’s happening in Opinion so far this week.

For politicos, this week is pretty much debate, debate, debate. That’s because the first presidential debate for the 2024 election is set for Thursday on CNN between President Biden and former President Trump. And it is fair to say that even with tighter rules to promote a more civil exchange, it may still be a cringefest.

That’s because the two men are the oldest major party presidential candidates in U.S. history, and their performance in the debate will be judged by, well, their performance.

The Trump campaign and its MAGA base are probably praying that their impetuous 78-year-old candidate doesn’t overdo the crazy. A little eccentricity may not bother his fans, but how will regular folks feel about responses filled with slurred words, mixed-up names or rambling tangents about sharks, whale-killing winds, or something equally ridiculous?

On the other side, the Biden campaign and supporters will be hoping their 81-year-old candidate won’t stumble, mumble or otherwise come across as frail. Videos have circulated that purportedly show Biden freezing up — at a fundraiser in Los Angeles last week and a Juneteenth celebration. Biden supporters say the clips, “cheap fakes,� were deceptively edited.

Nevertheless, you can be sure that people tuning in will do so in large part to check on Trump and Biden’s relative cognitive fitness and physical presence.

“Just about everyone, however, will be united in their focus: How do both men look, sound and perform? Biden and Trump are the oldest people ever to serve as president, and each has been credibly criticized as too old to do it again,� Jackie Calmes says in a recent column.

And what viewers see may decide the race, notes Jonah Goldberg, who says that “if Biden has a major malfunction, it will be an irreparable confirmation of voter concerns about his age. I would expect the whispers about replacing him on the ticket to become shouts almost overnight. But if Biden clears that very low hurdle, the stakes suddenly become higher for Trump. Most voters do not like the former president and pretty much never have.�

Meanwhile Doyle McManus suspects some viewers might watch the debate to see whether one — or both — of them crash and burn, sort of like a debate demolition derby.

In any case, happy debate watching! And don’t forget to visit to latimes.com on debate day for instant commentary, color and news from our stellar political reporters and columnists.

Lack of housing is pushing more seniors onto the streets. That’s on all of us. The proportion of homeless people 65 and older in the U.S., and Los Angeles, is expected to triple between 2017 and 2030. A new study offers some reasons why this might be happening. But, the Times’ editorial board says, the solution is simple: more affordable housing.

Overcoming America’s past is everyone’s responsibility. LZ Granderson writes that recognizing Juneteenth is a small yet important part of that overcoming. “Former president Donald Trump and current Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff couldn’t be further apart politically yet neither knew about Juneteenth until recently.�

Supreme Court should not approve Louisiana’s provocative Ten Commandments law. The new law has rekindled a culture war over the role of religion in public schools that should have been settled long ago, writes the editorial board. “Supporters of the law, and potential copycat proposals in other states, might hope that a U.S. Supreme Court that recently blurred the separation of church and state would ratify this statute and repudiate its own precedents. The court must disabuse them of this fantasy.�

As conservatives target same-sex marriage, its power is only getting clearer. Abbie E. Goldberg, a psychology professor at Clark University, worked with a team at the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law that surveyed nearly 500 married LGBTQ+ people about their relationships. “The big takeaway from this study is that same-sex couples have a lot on the line when it comes to the freedom to marry — and they’re going to do everything possible to ensure that future political shifts don’t interfere with their lives,� Goldberg writes.

More from this week in opinion

From our columnists

• Harry Litman: This is Judge Aileen Cannon’s big gamble in the Trump classified records case
• Robin Abcarian: Anthony Fauci has a right to savage Trump. His memoir takes a different and telling approach

From the Op-Ed desk

• Goodbye to La Mirada, my childhood home
• Abortion foes lost Round One on mifepristone. Here’s how their fight continues
• How the GI Bill widened the Black-white wealth gap

From the Editorial Board

• Los Angeles City Council may be on verge of bungling police accountability — again
• Why should a driver’s license be required for jobs that don’t involve driving?

Letters to the Editor

• I am 54, have been smoking weed for 33 years and feel great
• What is Kevin de León’s motivation for renaming Pershing Square after Biddy Mason?
• To overcome L.A.’s NIMBY opposition, build affordable housing here