memeorandum: Mitch McConnell throws cold water on Democrats' $2.2 trillion stimulus plan, calling it ‘too high’ and ‘outlandish’ (Joseph Zeballos-Roig/Business Insider)

6:15 PM ET, September 30, 2020

Top Items:

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

Chris Wallace Calls Debate ‘a Terrible Missed Opportunity’ — The veteran anchor conceded he was initially “reluctant” to step in during the Trump-Biden matchup. “I've never been through anything like this,” he said. — “I'm just sad with the way last night turned out.”

John F. Harris / Politico:

An Epic Moment of National Shame: The Debate Was an Embarrassment for the Ages — At frequent intervals on Tuesday night, the natural human reaction—lower the sound, wince and look away—took over, and the first presidential debate of the 2020 general election became nearly unwatchable.

Discussion: The Hill, New York Times, New York Magazine, CANNONFIRE, Conservative News Today, No More Mister Nice Blog, The American Independent, ABC News, Outside the Beltway, Breitbart, Florida Politics, Reuters, Fox News and Axios, more at Mediagazer »

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

“This Is So Unpresidential”: Notes from the Worst Debate in American History — Trump talked and talked on Tuesday night, but, politically speaking, it added up to nothing. — What does the worst debate in American history look like? It looks like the debate that took place …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Week, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Kos, Fox News, New Republic, BNO News and National Review

FiveThirtyEight:

Who Won The First 2020 Presidential Debate? — We partnered with Ipsos to poll voters before and after the candidates took the stage. — Illustrations by Anika Orrock, Candidate Portraits by Fabio Buonocore — On Tuesday, President Trump and Joe Biden faced off for the first time, in a rocky and, at times, tumultuous debate.

Discussion: Political Wire

Laura Barrón-López / Politico:
Undecided voters call Trump ‘unhinged’ and ‘un-American’ — but are unswayed by debate

Discussion: Redstate, ABC News, CNN, The Slot, The Hill, Breitbart, Vox, Talking Points Memo, Slate, Vanity Fair, Raw Story, Reuters, New York Post, The American Independent, No More Mister Nice Blog and Outside the Beltway, more at Mediagazer »

Josh Kraushaar / National Journal:
Trump's mistake by the lake: Taking his own voters for granted

Discussion: The Federalist, Reason, Real Clear Politics, The Atlantic, HillReporter.com, Mediaite and Sputnik News

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:
The President's Debate Performance Was Pure Fascism

Discussion: Press Watch, The Mahablog, Daily Mail, The Atlantic, Reason, Jacobin and The Daily Beast

Lauren Egan / NBC News:
Debate commission promises changes after chaotic Trump-Biden faceoff

Discussion: New York Times, MSN, Forbes, Common Dreams, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Daily Kos, NBC New York, CBS Boston, Donald J. Trump for President and The Root

David Bossie / Fox News:
Trump clearly defeats Biden in first presidential debate

Discussion: Washington Post, IJR, New Republic and OpsLens

Axios:
Commission on Presidential Debates wants “additional structure” for remaining debates

Discussion: CNN, Breitbart, Reuters and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Commission on Presidential Debates ‘carefully considering’ format changes after first Trump, Biden debate

Discussion: The Triad, Washington Post, Mother Jones, Townhall, The American Independent, abc7NY, Raw Story, The Hill and Washington Free Beacon

Quint Forgey / Politico:
Debates commission says it will add order to Trump and Biden's remaining showdowns

Discussion: The Federalist, Redstate, Fox News, Cosmopolitan, Slate, Washington Post, The National Pulse, NPR, WCDC-TV and CNN

N'dea Yancey-Bragg / USA Today:
Portland-area sheriff says he ‘will never’ support Donald Trump after president claims endorsement during debate

Discussion: Washington Post, Raw Story and NBC Boston

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:

Exclusive poll: Biden won the debate convincingly — Photo by Jim Watson, Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images — A decisive win, powered mostly by character. — A new poll by Data for Progress provided exclusively to Vox shows that viewers thought Democratic nominee Joe Biden decisively won Tuesday's …

Discussion: Mother Jones, NPR, IJR, The American Independent, Washington Post, Bloomberg and Political Wire

NBC News:

Trump's last best tactic: Burn it all down — WASHINGTON — Trailing in the polls with five weeks to go, President Trump didn't use last night's debate to disqualify his opponent or outline his vision for the next four years. — Instead, he decided to burn down the debate …

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, Breitbart, Washington Post, Reuters, New York Times, One America News Network, Los Angeles Times, POLITICUSUSA, The Week, CNN, Raw Story, New York Post and ABC7

David Weigel / Washington Post:

The Trailer: What happened in Cleveland — In this special post-debate edition: How months of expectation-setting fell apart in a Cleveland auditorium. — To fully enjoy the newsletter today, please interrupt your friends and family by reading sections out loud. This is The Trailer.

Discussion: Vox, Reuters, CNN, Occupy Democrats, USA Today, The Hill, Talking Points Memo and New York Post

Jonathan Allen / NBC News:

Trump's fear dominated his first debate with Biden — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump may be the only person in America who is afraid of Democrat Joe Biden. — Before their debate Tuesday night, he and his allies demanded that Biden submit to a drug test and let officials check the former vice president for an earpiece.

Discussion: Slate, Associated Press, New York Times, emptywheel, Sputnik News, Breitbart, Just The News and Twitchy

Associated Press:
Analysis: Trump leans on tone that turns off voters he needs

Discussion: CBS News, Florida Politics, Washington Post, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, Vanity Fair, New Republic, The Nation and The National Interest

Ebony Bowden / New York Post:
Ratings for chaotic Trump-Biden presidential debate nosedive from 2016

Discussion: Politico, OutKick and The Hill

Dominic Patten / Deadline:
Presidential Debate Opener Drops Sharply From 2016's Record High In Early Numbers; ABC Tops Nets In First Trump-Biden Showdown

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Daily Kos and New York Post

Jason Whitlock / OutKick: Chris Wallace, American Media Fiddle During Debate As BLM, Antifa Burn Our Country

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

“The Family Is Worried Brad Will Start Talking”: Trumpworld Panics Over Debate Fiasco as Campaign Turmoil Mounts — Over three days, the New York Times dropped a tax bombshell, Florida cops cuffed Brad Parscale, and the president just couldn't help himself onstage.

Discussion: Washington Post

Lachlan Markay / The Daily Beast:
The Trump Campaign Is Quietly Disappearing Brad Parscale From Their Website

Discussion: Raw Story, Slate and Daily Mail

Reid Wilson / The Hill:
Biden prepares ad onslaught to overwhelm Trump

Discussion: Political Wire

Axios:

Trump says he doesn't know who Proud Boys are after telling them to “stand by” — President Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he doesn't know who the “Proud Boys” are, after saying at the presidential debate last night that the far-right group should “stand back and stand by” …

Discussion: Reuters, Washington Post, HillReporter.com, Deseret News, The Root, CNN, Political Wire, OpsLens and Mediaite

Politico:
Republicans to Trump: Condemn white supremacy now

Discussion: ABC News, Bangor Daily News and Mother Jones

Alayna Treene / Axios:
How Trump advisers feel about his Proud Boy comments at the debate

Discussion: Bloomberg, Reuters, Political Wire, The Atlantic and America's Voice

Ben Sales / Jewish Telegraphic Agency:
Are the Proud Boys anti-Semitic? Your primer on the far-right group Trump told to ‘stand back and stand by’

Discussion: CNN, NBC News, Daily Kos, The Sun, The Boston Globe, IJR, The Root, Raw Story and Washington Post

New York Times:
Proud Boys celebrate Trump's mention of them at the debate.

CNN:
Trump's allies offer public praise but privately worry after debate

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill, The Week, Raw Story, CNBC and Washington Times

Wall Street Journal:

Intelligence Officials Urged Trump Spy Chief Not to Disclose Unverified Russian Claims About Clinton — Officials at CIA, NSA, Office of Director of National Intelligence warned disclosure to Congress would give credibility to Kremlin-backed material — WASHINGTON—Senior U.S. officials urged Director …

Discussion: OpsLens

Seaborn Larson / Helena Independent Record:

Former Gov. Marc Racicot to vote for Biden — Former Montana governor and Republican National Committee Chair Marc Racicot on Tuesday said he would not vote for President Donald Trump, citing Trump's character as fault enough to vote for Democrat challenger Joe Biden on Nov. 3.

Discussion: IJR, Raw Story, The Hill, Political Wire, Fox Business and Bangor Daily News

Leo Shane III / Marine Corps Times:
Fact check: Trump claims Biden policies killed over 308,000 veterans, but that's not what investigators found

Discussion: Raw Story

Tara Golshan / HuffPost:
Joe Biden Releases His 2019 Tax Returns

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Dispatch and Forbes

Elena Schneider / Politico:

Biden smashes fundraising records during chaotic debate — Joe Biden's campaign hauled in nearly $10 million during the first presidential debate Tuesday night — smashing its own single-hour fundraising record, as small-dollar donors continue to fuel the former vice president's mounting money advantage.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Forbes and IJR

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Poll finds Trump, Biden in statistical dead heat in South Carolina

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, Political Wire and Axios

Fox News:
Biden cashes in on debate as his campaign touts fundraising record

Discussion: The Hill, Reuters, Political Wire, Politico, Vox and The Daily Caller

David E. Sanger / New York Times:

Tuesday's Debate Made Clear the Gravest Threat to the Election: The President Himself — President Trump's unwillingness to say he would abide by the result, and his disinformation campaign about election fraud went beyond anything President Vladimir V. Putin could have imagined.

Discussion: Political Wire

Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:
How Trump's ‘Voter Fraud’ Lie Is Disenfranchising Americans

Discussion: Washington Post and Law & Crime

Sheila Kaplan / New York Times:

White House Blocked C.D.C. Order to Keep Cruise Ships Docked — The C.D.C. director wanted a “no sail” order extended until February, a policy that would have upset the tourism industry in the crucial swing state of Florida. — The White House has blocked a new order from the Centers …

Discussion: The Hill and Axios

Sarah Mimms / BuzzFeed News:

A Member Of Congress Is Facing Death Threats After QAnon Went After Him — The House Republican campaign committee falsely accused Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski of protecting sexual predators. “They knew exactly what they were doing,” he said. — Reporting From — Washington, DC — Copy

Discussion: Political Wire and The Gateway Pundit

Laura Packard / New York Daily News:

Trump's prescription drug snake oil — Last night during the first presidential debate, President Trump said of his actions on health care: “There's nothing symbolic. I'm cutting drug prices. I'm going with favored nations, which no president has the courage to do because you're going against Big Pharma.

Conrad Wilson / opb:

Police arrest far-right protester who pointed gun at Portland rally … Portland Police have arrested a far-right protester and member of the Proud Boys who pointed a gun at antifascist protesters on Aug. 22 in downtown Portland. — Alan James Swinney, 50, is being held in the Multnomah County Jail …

Discussion: Raw Story, Associated Press, The Hill, Mediaite, The Daily Beast, HillReporter.com and New York Post

Joseph Zeballos-Roig / Business Insider:

Mitch McConnell throws cold water on Democrats' $2.2 trillion stimulus plan, calling it ‘too high’ and ‘outlandish’ … - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tore into House Democrats' $2.2 trillion stimulus plan on Wednesday, describing it as “outlandish.”

Discussion: CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox Business, Roll Call and Politico