'It's like a variety show': Chinese media mocks Biden-Trump debate

Netizens not interested in topics discussed but ridicule US political system instead

- Tan Dawn Wei

BEIJING Chinese media has engaged in an all-out mockery of the first Biden-Trump presidential debate that took place on June 27, calling the event a "variety show".

Short videos have appeared on popular social media platforms such as Douyin, WeChat and Xiaohongshu, playing up the two men's gaffes, bickering and physical attributes.

Chinese social media is heavily scrutinised by the country's censors, which routinely promote or scrub certain content to push particular narratives favourable to China's official policies.

Videos and posts that took aim at the two presumptive presidential candidates' ages, the episodic personal attacks and name-calling, as well as their blame game, were allowed to flood Chinese social media.

So, too, were clips of US President Joe Biden fumbling over his words and losing his train of thought.

On Douyin, the domestic version of Tik Tok, the debate hit the trending chart, chalking up 5.5 million views as at June 30.

Chinese netizens showed no interest in the topics being debated, instead choosing to ridicule the US political system for pitting one geriatric against another.

"This is democracy," mocked one commenter.

Some of the short videos posted online, including by state media such as China Daily, homed in on the two men trading barbs about each other's golf handicap, with comical music laid over the clip and superimposed text describing the scene as "like children fighting".