Now that the initial shock of Biden’s poor performance in last night’s debate is fading, there are several bottom-line facts that should not be overlooked.
Biden has been an excellent President. Trump was a failed President, impeached twice, who inspired an insurrection intended to overthrow the government and the Constitution. Historians have judged Trump to be the worst of all presidents.
Biden has many legislative accomplishments: the Infrastructure bill, which directed billions of dollars to repair our nation’s crumbling bridges, tunnels, roads, and other vital parts of the economy. His CHIPS act brings high-tech jobs back to the U.S. and has already encouraged more than $300 billion in new investments. His efforts to create good union jobs and to revive unions strengthen the middle class. He has also relentlessly tried to reduce the massive debt that college students are saddled with.
By contrast, Trump’s only legislative accomplishment was a massive tax cut for the 1% and corporations.
Biden has aggressively promoted action to curb climate change. Trump opposed any effort to deal with climate change, forbade the use of the term, and insists that it is a hoax.
Biden appointed highly accomplished people to his cabinet, with few exceptions; Trump appointed rightwing extremists and had a high turnover among the few qualified people he appointed.
Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices who were prepared (though they didn’t admit it in their hearings) to overturn Roe v. Wade and to gut gun control. if re-elected, he will have the opportunity to appoint more extremists to the Supreme Court who want to roll back the New Deal.
Biden has revived NATO. Trump wants to withdraw from NATO.
When Russia invaded Ukraine, Biden rallied Europe to defend Ukraine against Russian aggression. Trump wants to abandon Ukraine and let Putin take whatever he wants in Europe.
Biden respects the Constitution. Trump does not. Trump refuses to admit that he lost the 2020 election, despite losing more than 60 court decisions against his claims. Trump refused during the debate to accept the results of the 2024 election. Trump undermines respect for the Constitution, the electoral system, the judicial system.
Biden is not a good speaker. He is not a good debater. He has a slow gait. He is a good President. He is actually a GREAT President.
And Trump is a demagogue, a world-class liar, a wannabe Fascist, and a danger to the nation and the democratic institutions that are the soul of our nation.
I repeat, Biden has been a great President. If he doesn’t step aside, as many nervous people urge, I will support him. With my heart, my soul, and my wallet.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
It’s up to Biden. Regardless of his age, I think he is capable of serving another term and if he dies in office, his VP becomes president. His current VP is also competent if we ignore the extreme MAGA-Christian Nationalists disinformation propaganda BS.
Yes. Kamala Harris rocks. Her unpopularity is due to deeply engrained sexism in this country–to people who cannot abide strong, forceful women.
People can have an unfavorable opinion of Harris without being what you claim.
Ofc.
I worked in one of the rare industries (book publishing) where there are a lot of women in high-level executive positions. However, the CEOs and CFOs were almost always guys.
I agree with all you said here, but too many would-be voters don’t pay attention to facts. They will see the clips from the debate and say Biden can’t be effective and either vote for Trump or skip voting altogether. I will continue to support Joe, wishing he could have done as well last night as he did today in Raleigh. But it is going to be an uphill battle with undecided in swing states, and I fear he won’t reach the top. And I’m not holding my breath that the SCOTUS will hand down a ruling on Monday that will allow a trial to take place before the election.
Totally agree!
One debate is a drop in the bucket for this campaign. There are more opportunities for Biden to connect with voters. I think this is a rash overreaction based on the hype and wild expectations stemming from the “Dark Brandon” trope that came out of the SOTU address.
Do we judge a school only by its standardized test scores and their narrow measures? I think we all know better.
Will Biden have other opportunities to be measured as a candidate? The guy is not only highly qualified, he has already hit it out of the park in this position. I trust his wisdom, experience and integrity. Time to get to work.
Agree 100%
If Biden is re-elected, I will be able to sleep at night. I don’t worry that Biden is too “cognitively unfit” to do the job. I don’t stay awake at night worrying about all the bad things that will happen if Biden is re-elected due to Biden being so unfit for the presidency.
I worry that Biden will not be re-elected, not that Biden will be re-elected.
The posts claiming that Biden is a cognitive vegetable have been greatly exaggerated by folks who have a history of saying falsehoods.
Biden isn’t as quick on his feet as a young person. He’s more tired. But he has been a fine president despite that, which tells me that his long experience and wisdom makes up for the natural slow down that happens as people age.
Advice to Biden:
Tell people Trump and the Republicans want to ruin their school. It’s true.
Tell people Trump wants to rule their church. It’s true.
Tell people Trump wants to let Russia have Europe. It’s true.
Tell people Trump wants to increase inflation. That’s true too, his tax cuts are largely to blame for the country being incapable of absorbing the needed Covid spending.
and on and on…
I would vote for a literal donkey before I would Yrump
YES!!! They need you on their marketing team, Roy.
Diane,
Set aside your partisan feelings, your agreement with the Biden policies. Do you believe that Joe Biden is cognitively fit to serve another four years as President?
Mark,
Set aside your partisan feelings, your agreement with the Trump policies. Do you believe that Donald Trump is cognitively fit to serve another four years as President?
I am not Diane, but my answer would be that people have sworn here that Biden is cognitively unfit since 2020 — citing some speech or press conference or interview. So I would definitely take another 4 years of the “cognitively unfit” Biden who governed for the last 4 years.
I agree that people who think Trump is more cognitively fit because they loved the way he governed during his 4 years, they should vote for Trump. He did give you that right wing Supreme Court and the “cognitively unfit” Biden would just give you more justices like the 3 liberals who believe in democracy.
I LIKED the way the cognitively unfit Biden did his job as president. Other folks liked the way the “cognitively fit” Trump did his job, and they should certainly vote for Trump because – as he so often tells us – he is just so smart about everything.
Odd. I’ve read Mark’s comments multiple times and I’m not seeing where he said anything about Trump. Can you show me?
I oppose Trump and would never vote for him. His cognitive state at this time is better than Biden’s, but I don’t think that Trump will be all there for four years if he is elected this year.
Diane, go on record here: do you believe that Joe Biden is cognitively fit to serve another four years as President?
I repeat:
People have sworn here that Biden is cognitively unfit since 2020 — citing some speech or press conference or interview. So I would definitely take another 4 years of the “cognitively unfit” Biden who governed for the last 4 years.
If the people who say it is a fact that Biden is a vegetable (and who told us Putin invaded Ukraine to fight Nazis) would feel better about posting untrue comments if I “corrected” my comment, then I happily retract my innuendo that Mark is a partisan Trump supporter. Obviously he is just someone who agrees with you that Biden has been a vegetable for a while now.
Curious as to when you believe Biden first became a vegetable. You clearly have been questioning Biden’s cognitive ability for a long time.
NYC PSP,
I have received a steady stream of comments that are almost identical: “I’m not a Trump supporter, but…” and then an innuendo about Biden’s health, age, or brain.
Mark,
I do believe that Biden is cognitively fit to serve another term. He keeps making wise decisions and battling for the rights of all Americans and the expansion of the middle class and a booming economy. European nations are envious of our economy.
Consider the alternative: Trump added $7 trillion to the national debt to pay for tax cuts for the 1%. He stuffed the Supreme Court with right wingers who overturned Roe and virtually abished gun control.
I’m older than Biden, and my judgement and intellect T are sharper now than at any time in my life.
The other candidate has low character, no ethics, and a dark vision for the rest of us.
I just read Mark’s reply that he believes Trump is more cognitively fit than Biden.
It reveals a lot about a person’s character when they believe someone who lies pathologically and is completely out of touch with reality is more cognitively fit to be president.
When these Biden criticisms come from folks who see Trump’s cognitive fitness as superior to Biden’s, they lose their credibility. You will never convince them otherwise, because what they value is bluster and noise, not truth.
NYC shows again that she is a complete nutcase, a total fanatic. Cognitive fitness is different than intellectual fitness and moral fitness; Biden outshines Trump in the latter two areas.
Diane, millions of people who share your admiration for Biden disagree with you about his cognitive state. You are the blindest of partisans, no longer in any way a dispassionate scholar. Tribalism has destroyred your analytical abilities.
Ah, poor me. My analytical abilities destroyed, my record as a scholar in tatters.
All because I prefer a president who cares about the Constitution rather than one who tried to overturn it.
Please cite the scholars who think that Trump should be re-elected. Please cite the “legal scholars” who thought Roe v Wade should be overturned. Trump claims to be in regular contact with the nation’s leading legal scholars. Who are they?
Anyone who thinks Trump is more cognitively fit than Biden has a very odd definition of what it means to be cognitively fit.
Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.
If being able to repeat 5 words from memory is more important than dozens or hundreds of statements like when Trump told us that the Continental Army took over airports, and suggesting that people inject bleach and marveling at your own intelligence for thinking of that good idea, then Trump is your guy. But that says a lot about your biases.
Trump tells us all the time how smart he is. Biden doesn’t. Is that why you have a higher opinion of Trump’s fitness?
Report after report from both Republicans and Democrats have stated that Biden is on the ball. Why don’t you believe those? A Republican congressman from New York said so after the debate. Is Biden old? Yes. But he is with it. No Democrat will defeat Trump if they enter the race this late. None of the preferred options of NYTimes pundits are within 10 points of Trump. After yesterday’s abysmal rulings from the Supreme Court. The choice is even clearer. Biden and his team are up to the task. Trump is a ‘know nothing”.
Other than Biden’s debate performance, which was bad, does Mark Jackson have any evidence – any – that makes it clear that Joe Biden is NOT cognitively fit to be president?
Trump – an amoral pathological liar – says that. Fox and its associates say that. But they use contextless photos and videos, and faked photos and videos, and outright lies. None of that can be called evidence.
Cognitive fitness can be and is described as the embracement of ” thinking, learning, recognition, communication, and sound decision-making.” A study at the NIH’s National Library of Medicine defines cognitve fitness as “a state of optimized ability to reason, remember, learn, plan, and adapt.”
Frankly I’d argue that the last three-and-a-half years of the Biden presidency and his performance at a rally the day AFTER the debate makes it perfectly clear that Biden IS cognitively fit.
So where is Mark Jackson’s “evidence that (1) he’s not and that (2) Trump’s “cognitive state at this time is better than Biden’s.”
WHERE is the evidence?
I have supported and will continue to support Biden. He CAN indeed lead, preside, and make good decisions. I trust him. Plus, he has ethics and is of sound mind. Biden is NOT a blithering idiot and traitor, like that dumpster.
Also…Biden has not attacked our precious public schools like others have.
Bravo, Diane! That’s what I’ve been wanting to say…
Everything you have written is totally true. I’m very sad that Mr Biden’s performance moved the focus off Trumps bizarre performance last night as all the pundits are talking about is Mr Biden. Bravado Trump is bellowing about how he won.
Bravo. You’re right on target.
Bravo. You’re right on target.
Thanks Diane, I agree with your assessment of Biden and his capabilities which are great and multiple.
Good afternoon Diane and everyone,
I agree with you Diane and I really do think Biden can do the job for now. He was much better today at the rally in NC. It’s not only Biden but it’s also the people he has around him advising him. I think we have to remember that he gets up every day and does this job. Heck, I have trouble rolling out of bed at 5:00 am to go to school. But the Democrats have to get on the ball and start thinking about other future candidates.
“But the Democrats have to get on the ball and start thinking about other future candidates.”
True.
And it’s virtually a certainty that they are doing that. They should proceed carefully.
By the standards of this blog, Thomas Friedman must be a Trump supporter.
https://dnyuz.com/2024/06/28/joe-biden-is-a-good-man-and-a-good-president-he-must-bow-out-of-the-race/
Thomas Friedman is a blowhard who’s been wrong about lots of things over a long period of time.
If you’re using Friedman to make your case, you’re on shaky ground.
Biden has a commendable record, and he deserves a second term. Unfortunately, he is a poor communicator, and the Democratic party has failed to deliver on supportive messaging. Biden has also been unfairly blamed for the crisis in Gaza and inflation. The Biden campaign has done very little to deflect these accusations. The MAGA GOP does not have a sophisticated message. All they do is lie and blame the Democrats, but they aggressively hammer their message home repeatedly, even when spreading falsehoods. The Democrats have only a couple of outspoken Democrats that are far less assertive and no unified messaging.
There is a disconnect between what Biden has accomplished and how his administration has been perceived by some key voting groups including young people and people of color, and the Democratic messaging does little to move the favorability needle for Biden. Perhaps it is partly due to Biden’s age or the fact that he is a introvert, and not a grandstanding showman like Trump, but he is failing to resonate with key voters in the Democratic base.
We shouldn’t judge Biden on a single debate performance any more than we should judge a student based on a single score on a standardized test. It is a snapshot of one performance measure in a single day. It doesn’t tell the whole story.
A thousand times, yes, retired teacher. I have been saying that very thing on this blog’s comment section all along—one single narrow measure does not tell the whole story. We all know this.
Biden is doing exactly what he should be doing—he’s admitting he’s older and not as spry as he used to be. By this, he is showing he knows himself and what he’s capable of. This is the mark of a true leader.
I’m saddened by all the chatter that says he should step down. I can’t help but think it is the work of three entities: 1) Republicans who want to show a weak picture of Trump’s opponent since Trump has nothing popular in his platform, 2) Democrats who want to move into positions of power and are using this debate as an excuse to push their own agenda (the media pundits were pounding their chests for them right after the debate), and 3) Putin bots who are taking advantage of this ambition among Democrats by stoking the narrative about him needing to step down. We need to stop feeding the trolls what they want. It only divides us.
he has stayed out of the way of staff, agency bureaucrats and leaders to allow them to implement the program he committed to, much of which he was pushed to support by the Bernie movement. His skills as a politician enabled him to get some things past the MAGAs in congress
There is no doubt that Biden was a better president than Trump, who was possibly the worst ever. There is no doubt Biden would be far better or that Trump represents an existential danger to democracy and human rights. It’s no longer a question of what each of us would do if Biden is the nominee. Now, it’s only a question of whether Biden can win. That was an issue before the debate and now far more doubtful. We can’t take that risk. He needs to step aside.
Biden has emphatically not been a great president. He’s been a huge improvement over the one president who could manage to be more awful than Nixon, but “great” requires more than that. Among other things, a great president knows how to use the vast power of his office to jawbone greedy corporate gougers into changing their antisocial ways. Biden isn’t responsible for the price of any individual good, but he could have done more to stem greedflation.
I disagree, William. Biden has no greater ambition than to do what’s best for the American people. He wants to grow the middle class. He wants to bring good jobs back to America. He’s old enough to know that the most important thing is to do what’s right for others.
Can anyone say the same about the Orange Windbag?
And Biden has led the passing of legislation that will put us on sound footing. His congressional record, despite right winged disinformation is the most significant since LBJ. Obama nor Clinton can light a candle to these accomplishments.
In politics, especially American politics, appearance is reality; and Biden’s appearance Thursday evening was definitely that of a man well past his Sell By date. Stating that his legislative record is better than Clinton’s or Obama’s is damning with faint praise. Elections are more about politics than policies, and the politics are unclear.
You are right, William. Appearance is reality. But appearances can change. When Biden went to Raleigh right after the horrible debate, he was on fire. Energetic, sharp, ready to roll. Obama lost his first debate to Mitt Romney in 2008.
Biden has to get out more. Part of his feud with the NYTIMES is that his staff over controls access to the public. He needs to participate in town halls in Red states. He needs to take the gloves off. Perhaps the worst thing revealed by Thursday is the careful control exerted by his inner circle that is too concerned with protecting him. It simply exacerbates the impression that Biden is not up to this.
HARRIS FOR PRESIDENT!!!
America is long, long overdue for a woman President.
Long overdue.
Within the next few weeks, Biden should resign as President, citing health reasons, some of which are clearly evident. That would give Harris national exposure as America’s first woman President and would ignite women of all ethnic backgrounds to want to see her continue as President. That block of voters would sway the election in her favor over Trump.
Biden had indeed been a good President; and he is a fundamentally good and moral person. Nevertheless, in the world of practical politics, he is all too likely to lose to despicable Trump who would bring our republic to its knees. So, he must not be the Democratic Party candidate for President in the November election.
Harris didn’t really run a good campaign, and she shows no sign of being able to campaign like she would have to do in this situation. The Democrats have hosed us by not growing talented candidates in the last 4-6 years, but there’s not much we can do about that at the moment.
Which “health reasons” of Biden’s are “clearly evident?”
His advisors said he was suffering from a cold. At his rally the day AFTEr the debate, his voice sounded much better.
So, what “health reasons” are “clearly evident?”
Are you suggesting that a cold should disqualify Biden from running. When YOU have a cold, do you think it disqualifies you from anything?
As to Kamala Harris, personally, I like her. But, could she beat Trump as the standard bearer? Perhaps. Conventional wisdom suggests not, though. Michael Tomasky put it like this at The New Republic:
“My guess is that she runs three to five points worse than Biden against Trump, and that turns a margin-of-error race into a decisive loss—and one that probably affects control of the House and/or Senate.”
There’s LOTS to consider after Biden’s bad debate performance. Thoughtfulness and insight are going to be necessary.
So I was dreading this debate for exactly what happened. Was Biden terrible, absolutely. Has he been the most consequential President for working class Americans since LBJ. Absolutely !! I will repeat Biden could be in a Coma and I would vote for him. Vote for him because it is policy that counts. Biden policy has created the best economy since 1965. Contrary to how the media portrays it. Low unemployment vs inflation is not just the 6 million a month who experience unemployment vs a whole nation experiencing inflation. A constant media meme. It is the 10s and 10s of millions who experience it every year, times 4 years. The 10s and 10s of millions who turned to employers in a time of record low unemployment and said improve my working conditions from pay to hours or you can take this Job and shove it. Thus REAL( inflation adjusted) Median(!!!) wages are Higher than in 2019 before the pandemic. Compensating for increased costs and going most to the bottom quin-tiles of the work force. Those who need it most. Thus multiple Unions have seen increases that far exceeded inflation and made up for decades of stagnant wages. Inflation was blown way out of proportion in the Media . It is hard to believe that those who own even the NYT and WaPo would be upset by another Trump tax cut. (Thanks Dean Baker) . Most here are old enough to remember real inflation. Not a short spike caused by Covid induced supply issues or Russian and Saudi oil blackmail. Which all started receding dramatically in the summer of 2022. This morning the Feds favorite gauge of inflation dropped to 2.6 % for May. Someone please tell WaPo and the NYT to send a reporter to the Google machine. “In the winters of 1972 and 1973, Burns began to worry about inflation. In 1973, inflation more than doubled to 8.8%. Later in the decade, it would go to 12%. By 1980, inflation was at 14%.” 15 to 20 years of inflation higher than it is today. I will vote for Biden without any hesitation.
YES! Thank you.
Thank you, Joel.
Your message is similar to Heather Cox Richardson’s and a number of folks whose voices seem to be drowned out for the calls for Biden to step down state.
I think it is so important to amplify the message that Democrats “will vote for Biden without any hesitation”.
That message tells voters we have confidence that – despite a poor debate performance – Biden should be re-elected.
Biden is old and sometimes tired, but he isn’t spouting nonsense. Despite not having been at his peak cognitive ability for the last 4 years, he has done the job better than most recent presidents, and there is no evidence yet that will change the next 4 years. One bad debate isn’t very good evidence – Biden has been having supposed “bad” appearances since 2020 but his job performance has remained good.
Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like our country is in safe hands with Biden as president. And the debate didn’t change that for me at all.
Biden is old and sometimes tired, but he isn’t spouting nonsense
TRUE THAT!!!
Joel says:
“I will vote for Biden without any hesitation.”
Thank you, Joel. That’s a simple, powerful message that is likely to resonate with voters. In my opinion, it’s the message that has made Trump so successful. “I will vote for Trump without any hesitation.” Current Republican politicians either amplify that message or are drummed out of the party.
“Biden must step down and be replaced for the good of the country, but if he doesn’t, I will still vote for him” just doesn’t cut it. I don’t get why people are surprised that Democrats aren’t more popular with undecided voters when members of their own party sound more like “frenemies” than supporters.
A Presidential Administration is a team, not the work of one person. The Dems should have been emphasizing this all along while comparing Biden’s to the cruel and criminal elements he had and will have in a second one. They need to do
Regarding the “debate,” over prepared him, totally fatigued him. As a now retired debate coach, it was obvious that the people who prepped Biden, believed he needed to be packed with data. Maybe they believed this was a real debate. He was unecessariiy overburdened. He would have been better off left alone. The “pros” who ran Hillary’s campaign in 2016 made unforgivable mistakes. Let’s not have this happen again!
Beware, Putin’s social media bots are out in full force inundating Democratic groups with comments designed to denounce Biden. They are literally using the debate as a tool to dismantle Biden’s momentum by mimicking the narrative that he’s an unfit candidate and ingratiating themselves within Democratic chat groups. I’ve encountered two today, myself.
His record is why we need to rally behind him, and we need to be careful not to fall into the bot trap.
i had never donated to a presidential campaign until today. We need to support Biden and show the country that decent people will step up
It’s not really an issue. Another Trump term and we won’t have a country.
Exactly. We just need to repeat it to all, over and over again.
When the Times asked Biden to step out of the race yesterday, it was interesting how many commenters asked why the Times had not insisted Trump pull out after a conviction on 34 felony counts. I must admit, Biden’s debate perforce startled me and I panicked a little, but when Steve Schmidt, founder of Lincoln project, stated that the fail was Biden’s advisers who had him at numerous events the day of the debate, I could better understand the results. I hope that the Biden campaign team takes Trumps debate performance and uses clips in their ads. Trump behaved like a Batman super villain. Biden actually got a little bump in the first polls yesterday. That gives me hope that viewers were as terrified as I was by Trumps lies about late term abortions and NATO. They understand that Trump has no idea what America is as he moves from his gilded cage in South Florida to his broken down 757 to his abandoned mall called Trump Tower. No wonder he thinks America is in terrible shape. Remember that Democrats were panicking fearing a “Red Wave” as we approached the 2022 midterms. We need to remember that Biden was selected overwhelmingly by Democrats in the primaries. The American voter can walk and chew gum at the same time. Our choice is stark.
Smart post, Paul. I hope that you are right and that I am wrong! But I well remember thinking that surely people wouldn’t vote for Ronald Reagan, who was known for saying that Social Security is a Communist Plot or for George Bush, Jr., who was an alcoholic and cocaine user, had run several businesses into bankruptcy, and had gone AWOL for the limited service that Daddy arranged for him. Putting my trust in American voters. They couldn’t possibly vote for such idiots and ne’er-do-wells! Do you think that blacks, young people, undecideds, independents are going to feel galvanized to come out for Joe? Because only if they do can he win.
Bob, those are good questions.
The way to galvanize those folks is probably to make them hugely fearful of Trump. They SHOULD be hugely fearful of Trump. If anything, the debate should have reinforced that narrative!
LBJ would likely have won anyway, but I think that Daisy ad reinforced in voters’ minds – and in every story written in the media – that electing Goldwater was a frightening, very risky prospect.
Unfortunately, the current narrative that is being amplified is that re-electing Joe Biden is a frightening, very risky prospect because he is cognitively unfit to be president. And even Democrats know Biden is so unfit that he should step down, but he refuses to.
If the narrative isn’t changed so that those voters are fearful of a Trump re-election and not a Biden, then the election is over.
The narrative of how scary Trump being back in office is has not been amplified. It is presented to voters as a PARTISAN narrative that only the people who hate Trump say, so it cannot be treated as true — it may or may not be true but no one knows. On the other hand, the narrative about Biden being “cognitively unfit” to be president is bi-partisan. It is presented to voters as an undisputed truth because both Democrats and Republicans are saying it.
Trump unfit is a partisan opinion.
Biden unfit is a bi-partisan truth.
The “Daisy” ad ran exactly once. I remember that election, and LBJ was a lock from Day One.
Precisely because everyone thought (knew) Goldwater was a wack job.
I watched the ad from the floor of the basketball court at our Boys and Girls Club. It. Was. So. Powerful.
One of those unforgettable moments in my life.
I appreciate Paul’s comment above and I’m more than a LOT disappointed by the NY Times editorial. It’s as though the editorial board has not been paying attention for the last 7 1/2 years.
But the people at the Philadelphia Inquirer HAVE been paying attention, and they bring the receipts.
” Joe Biden’s debate performance was a disaster…But lost in the hand wringing was Donald Trump’s usual bombastic litany of lies, hyperbole, bigotry, ignorance, and fear mongering. His performance demonstrated once again that he is a danger to democracy and unfit for office… The only person who should withdraw from the race is Trump… To build himself up, Trump constantly tears the country down…Throughout the debate, Trump repeatedly said we are a ‘failing’country. He called the United States a ‘third world nation.’ He said, ‘we’re living in hell’ and ‘very close to World War III.’”
Trump told more than 30 lies during the debate to go with the more than 30,000 mistruths told during his four years as president. He dodged the CNN moderators’ questions, took no responsibility for his actions, and blamed others, mainly Biden, for everything that is wrong in the world… Trump’s response to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection he fueled was farcical. He said a ‘relatively small number of people’ went to the Capitol and many were ‘ushered in by the police.’… The debate served as a reminder of what another four years of Trump would look like. More lies, grievance, narcissism, and hate. Supporters say they like Trump because he says whatever he thinks. But he mainly spews raw sewage.
Trump attacks the military. He denigrates the Justice Department and judges. He belittles the FBI and the CIA. He picks fights with allies and cozies up to dictators…Trump is an unserious carnival barker running for the most serious job in the world. During his last term, Trump served himself and not the American people… As president, Trump didn’t read the daily intelligence briefs. He continued to use his personal cell phone, allowing Chinese spies to listen to his calls. During one Oval Office meeting, Trump shared highly classified intelligence with the Russian foreign minister and ambassador.
Trump’s term did plenty of damage and had few accomplishments. The much-hyped wall didn’t get built. Infrastructure week was a recurring joke. Giant tax cuts made the rich richer, while fueling massive deficitsfor others to pay for years. His support for coal, oil drilling and withdrawal from the Paris Agreement worsened the growing impact of climate change… Trump stacked the judiciary with extreme judges consisting mainly of white males, including a number who the American Bar Association rated as not qualified. A record number of cabinet officials were fired or left the office. The West Wing was in constant chaos and infighting.
Many Trump appointees exited under a cloud of corruption, grifting and ethical scandals. Trump’s children made millions off the White House. His dilettante son-in-law got $2 billionfrom the Saudi government for his fledgling investment firm even though he never managed money before…Trump’s mismanagement of the pandemic resulted in tens of thousands of needless deaths. He boasts about stacking the Supreme Court with extreme right-wingers who are stripping away individual rights, upending legal precedents, and making the country less safe. If elected, Trump may add to the court’s conservative majority.
Trump is a convicted felon who is staring at three more criminal indictments. He is running for president to stay out of prison…If anything, Trump doesn’t deserve to be on the presidential debate stage. Why even give him a platform?..Trump allegedly stole classified information and tried to overturn an election. His plans for a second term are worse than the last one. We cannot be serious about letting such a crooked clown back in the White House.
Yes, Biden had a horrible night. He’s 81 and not as sharp as he used to be. But Biden on his worst day remains lightyears better than Trump on his best…He has a substantive record of real accomplishments, fighting the pandemic, combating climate change, investing in infrastructure, and supporting working families and the most vulnerable…Biden has surrounded himself with experienced people who take public service seriously. He has passed major bipartisan legislation despite a dysfunctional Republican House majority…Biden believes in the best of America. He has rebuilt relationships with allies around the world and stood up to foes like Russia and China.
There was only one person at the debate who does not deserve to be running for president. The sooner Trump exits the stage, the better off the country will be.”
To serve his country, Donald Trump should leave the race | Editorial Board
inquirer.com
Bravo, Inquirer!!
I am furious that the main stream media continues to tell us that a pathological liar, who is a convicted felon, has won the debate. [I believe this happens because none of the media companies want to pay higher taxes.] This country is getting more and more corrupt and decisions by the conservative Supreme Court isn’t helping any.
Here is a list of Trump’s lies.
CNN’s Daniel Dale identified “at least 30” falsehoods by Trump in the hour after the debate — and nine false or misleading statements from Biden
All 50 of Trump’s Lies
16 More Lies Than Felonies, 48 More Lies than Impeachments
Here it is. Every single lie Donald Trump told on the debate stage.
He lied about the economy. He lied about foreign policy. He lied about his record. He lied about his crimes. He lied about women’s rights. He lied about immigration. He lied about his lies. He lied about our soldiers he disrespected. He lied about law enforcement attacked by his supporters. He lied about who he has had sex with. He lied about his racism. He lied about our country.
That is what the substance of this debate was about: Donald Trump, a liar and a felon vs. Joe Biden, a fighter for our families.
CNN’s Daniel Dale identified “at least 30” falsehoods by Trump in the hour after the debate — and nine false or misleading statements from Biden that included misstating the insulin cap at $15 instead of $35