This debate is for the undecided middle of the road types who will ultimately decide the election.
******************
I suspect you’re at least 1 full election cycle behind on a new reality.
There are far far fewer of those “undecideds” than the uniparty pathological liars manipulated us into believing and now there’s even fewer of the actual real undecideds.
Keep pandering to people that can’t bother to pay attention or make up their minds and you end up with professional politicians who stand for nothing, mean nothing and never accomplish anything good and do massive harm.
You are taking a strategic view and your points are valid. However, if we do not win THIS single election we will be in a very bad spot and likely won’t have to worry about “strategic stuff” again.
Trump needed to blunt his negatives. They are not negative for me and you, they are negative to the voters who will decide this election. In that sense, Trump is losing this debate even as we cheer his answers. Biden is speaking in platitudes and sadly that works with those who matter at this point.