One of the most satisfying political moments in the last 3 1/2 years happened this past Tuesday night in Philadelphia. After all the bluster, bullying and swaggering, the would-be emperor who lives on Black Lives Matter Plaza had to answer to voters who he could not bully and belittle. For those who are capable of watching objectively, they had to have seen how out of his depth President Trump was in talking to average voters. The question is now whether it will really matter in November. If people have any ability to relate to human concerns left in them it should.

Those who are familiar with political history may remember the time in 1988 where George H.W. Bush killed his comeback chances with one glance at his watch. Down "bigly" to Bill Clinton in the polls, Bush was on his way back and within striking distance for reelection. However, at a town hall debate, he looked down at his wristwatch. Bush also took a hit for not knowing how the checkout scanner worked at the supermarket. Both of these moments cemented his image as out of touch and incapable of understanding voters. The result was a sizable loss in November.

Bluster and Bragging Do Not Wear Well When Dealing with Angry Voters

For those who thought that Bush failed his face-to-face interactions with voters, it was nothing compared to President Trump's performance at the town hall with undecided voters. For the first time in perhaps his entire presidency, Trump was forced to take questions from people who he could not attack and bully. It was pleasant to watch and see Trump have to sit there and take it from frustrated voters. Even Demented Donald knows enough to know that arguing with and attacking voters is a bad look. As a result, he had to at least try to provide answers to questions.

Of course, Trump tried his best to talk over the questioners because he is incapable of listening. This is why it was so refreshing to see a Black woman tell him to stop interrupting her and to listen. Suddenly, the Trump who leans forward on the lectern with his entire body weight when growling at reporters seemed small. He tried his best to lie, obfuscate and brag, but his responses to these questions completely missed the mark. Nonetheless, it was great to see him out of his bubble, being forced to take questions from people who he could not belittle.

Biden Gets His Own Turn in Front of the Voters Soon

The other great thing about this town hall was that it comes two days before Biden's turn in front of the voters. The Biden Campaign played this one well, deciding to go after Trump in front of Anderson Cooper, who may end up being a sympathetic moderator. People will be able to draw and immediate and ready comparison between the two. Everything that Biden does will be checked against how Trump handled the situation on Tuesday. There is no way that Biden will not win this comparison hands down. It will give him some momentum heading into the crucial first debate in two weeks.

One thing is for certain. When a questioner gets emotional and tells Biden that a family member died of cancer, Biden will actually take the time to listen to the question. When it was Trump's turn, he thought he heard "COVID" and drew an entire scenario based on his misunderstanding. This should be no surprise because this is exactly how Trump does foreign policy. He hears what he wants to hear and constructs fictions based on his own ignorance.

The problem is that, at this point, human elements and interactions of politics matter very little to most voters. Social media and the news cycle have taken human emotion out of many things beyond anger. Voters may not care as much about the candidate who understands them the best. They may simply be looking for a candidate who validates how they feel about themselves. In that regard, Biden's empathy edge may be overrated and overvalued. Had this been 1988, moments like those that happened on Tuesday night would have permanently crippled the Trump Presidency. Of course, if this were 1988, Trump would still be where he belongs in the tabloid section of the National Enquirer as opposed to holding the highest office in the land.