Top Items:
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.
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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:
Political Wire, The Hill, Raw Story, Fox Business, Bangor Daily News and The Slot
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:
Commentary Magazine, Redstate, Political Wire, NBC News and Louder With Crowder, more at Mediagazer »
Laura Barrón-López / Politico:
Undecided voters call Trump ‘unhinged’ and ‘un-American’ — but are unswayed by debate — After watching the first presidential debate Tuesday night, undecided voters from battleground states across the country still had plenty they wanted to know about coronavirus, racial injustice …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Vox, New York Post, Political Wire, The American Independent, Slate and The Hill
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, Daily Kos, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, Fox News, New Republic, National Review and BNO News
David Bossie / Fox News:
Trump clearly defeats Biden in first presidential debate — Biden failed to accomplish in 47 years what Trump has delivered for the American people in 47 months — Laura Ingraham: Trump and Biden share stage in ‘raucous’ debate — To any reasonable person watching …
Discussion:
OpsLens
Associated Press:
Analysis: Trump leans on tone that turns off voters he needs — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump needed to make the first general election debate about his rival, Democrat Joe Biden. Instead, as he so often does, Trump made it about himself. — The president set the tone …
Discussion:
Florida Politics, Washington Post, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, Vanity Fair, New Republic, The National Interest and The Nation
Conrad Black / American Greatness:
Trump Wins Round One, Barely — It was an unedifying spectacle. — There was no clear winner in Tuesday's presidential debate and the country was the loser. — President Trump could have won decisively if he had just followed Napoleon's famous advice not to “interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.”
Discussion:
Washington Post, Slate, New York Times, Spectator USA, OpsLens, The Guardian, BuzzFeed News and One America News Network
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:
New York Times, Reuters, Washington Post, Political Wire, The American Independent, CNN, Los Angeles Times, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, The Week, New York Post, Breitbart 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:
Fox News, CNN, Talking Points Memo and New York Post
James Fallows / The Atlantic:
A Disgusting Night for Democracy — The 90-minute spectacle tonight calls into question the value of having any “debates” of this sort ever again. No one knows more about public life than he or she did before this disaster began; some people know less; and everyone feels and looks worse.
Discussion:
Raw Story, National Memo and Townhall, more at Mediagazer »
Mika Brzezinski / Cosmopolitan:
Cancel the Debates — host on how last night's broadcast damaged our democracy. — “Stand back and stand by.”
Cancel the Debates — host on how last night's broadcast damaged our democracy. — “Stand back and stand by.”
Rolling Stone:
The 5 Exchanges That Defined the Most Disgraceful Debate in Presidential History
The 5 Exchanges That Defined the Most Disgraceful Debate in Presidential History
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Reason, Occupy Democrats, The Daily Beast, Common Dreams, Roll Call, CBS Boston, The American Spectator, NBC Chicago and Mediaite
Bonchie / Redstate:
Chris Wallace's Debate Performance Was Absolutely Disgraceful
Chris Wallace's Debate Performance Was Absolutely Disgraceful
Discussion:
Townhall, The Daily Wire, Fox News, Breitbart, Conservative News Today, The Guardian and The Week
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
Chris Wallace tried — and failed — to control Trump. Something needs to change.
Chris Wallace tried — and failed — to control Trump. Something needs to change.
Discussion:
Politico, CNN, Outside the Beltway, The Gateway Pundit, New York Post, The Daily Caller, Vox and The Week, more at Mediagazer »
Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
Trump's fear dominated his first debate with Biden
Trump's fear dominated his first debate with Biden
Discussion:
Breitbart, Just The News, Bloomberg, Vox and Twitchy
Claire Sanford / Rev:
Donald Trump & Joe Biden 1st Presidential Debate Transcript 2020
Donald Trump & Joe Biden 1st Presidential Debate Transcript 2020
Discussion:
The Federalist, Breitbart, Reason, Washington Post, IJR, Common Dreams, Althouse, TheBlaze, Daily Kos, Legal Planet, CNBC, Los Angeles Times, NPR, ABC News and Fox 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
Fact check: Trump claims Biden policies killed over 308,000 veterans, but that's not what investigators found
Discussion:
Raw Story
Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Trump sets the tone for the worst presidential debate in living memory
Trump sets the tone for the worst presidential debate in living memory
Discussion:
Politico, Wall Street Journal, Vox, New Republic, Breitbart, Talking Points Memo, Reason, New York Times, Vanity Fair, Newsbusters, Washington Times, The Daily Beast, The Hill and New York Post
N'dea Yancey-Bragg / USA Today:
Portland-area sheriff says he ‘will never’ support Donald Trump after president claims endorsement during debate
Portland-area sheriff says he ‘will never’ support Donald Trump after president claims endorsement during debate
Discussion:
NBC Boston
Tim Elfrink / Washington Post:
‘I have never supported Donald Trump’: Portland-area sheriff hits back after president claims his endorsement in debate
‘I have never supported Donald Trump’: Portland-area sheriff hits back after president claims his endorsement in debate
Discussion:
The Dispatch, Raw Story, The Daily Caller and OpsLens
ABC News:
Biden kicks off train tour through Ohio, Pennsylvania after raucous debate
Biden kicks off train tour through Ohio, Pennsylvania after raucous debate
Discussion:
Fox News, The Gateway Pundit and Breitbart
Patricia McCarthy / American Thinker:
The debate? Trump was great, Chris Wallace was a dreadful disgrace
The debate? Trump was great, Chris Wallace was a dreadful disgrace
Discussion:
Washington Post, Vanity Fair, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Bulwark+, Minnesota Reformer, Denver Post and KXAN-TV
Associated Press:
AP FACT CHECK: False claims flood Trump-Biden debate
AP FACT CHECK: False claims flood Trump-Biden debate
Discussion:
The Week, CNN, New York Times, Florida Politics, Bloomberg, Bangor Daily News and ABC7
Politico:
Biden campaign faces questions about whether he should skip next debates
Biden campaign faces questions about whether he should skip next debates
Discussion:
Fox News, The Bulwark, Vanity Fair, Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, TheBlaze, Breitbart, American Greatness and New York Post
Fox News:
Biden cashes in on debate as his campaign touts fundraising record
Biden cashes in on debate as his campaign touts fundraising record
Discussion:
Politico, Vox, The Daily Caller, The Hill and OpsLens
Shannon Melero / The Slot:
My President Told Your President to Shut Up
My President Told Your President to Shut Up
Discussion:
FactCheck.org, No More Mister Nice Blog, Axios and Townhall
CNN:
Post-debate CNN poll: Six in 10 say Biden won the debate
Post-debate CNN poll: Six in 10 say Biden won the debate
Discussion:
Washington Post, The American Independent, CBS News, Mother Jones, National Memo, BuzzFeed News and alicublog
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Trump Controlled the Tone of the First Debate, But Biden Controlled the Message
Trump Controlled the Tone of the First Debate, But Biden Controlled the Message
Discussion:
Viking Pundit and CBS Boston
K. Rambo / Oregonian:
Trump claims in debate ‘Portland Sheriff’ gave him endorsement; Reese quickly responds: I ‘will never support him’
Trump claims in debate ‘Portland Sheriff’ gave him endorsement; Reese quickly responds: I ‘will never support him’
Discussion:
Townhall, Raw Story, Mediaite, IJR and The Intercept
Kelly Hooper / Politico:
Trump email says he ‘finished debating’ Biden hours before debate begins
Trump email says he ‘finished debating’ Biden hours before debate begins
Discussion:
Reuters, The Daily Beast, The Hill, Breitbart, IJR, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Daily Kos, Axios, TheStreet, Washington Times and New York Post
New York Times:
Proud Boys celebrate Trump's mention of them at the debate. — Members of the Proud Boys, a far-right group that has endorsed violence, celebrated on Tuesday night after President Trump mentioned them during the first presidential debate. — Asked whether he condemned white supremacists …
Discussion:
New Republic, Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones, CNN, Politico, Florida Politics, Vanity Fair, IJR, Axios, The Hill, The American Spectator, The 19th, KXAN-TV, Washington Times and The Root
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NBC News:
Proud Boys celebrate after Trump's debate call-out … The Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, pledged allegiance to President Donald Trump on Tuesday night after he told the group to “stand back and stand by” during the evening's debate. — Many people on social media who identify …
Discussion:
Wired, Washington Post, Slate, The Root, The Atlantic, The Sun, USA Today, israpundit.org, The Boston Globe, The American Independent, People.com, The Guardian, Law & Crime, The Hill, New York Times, NPR, Bloomberg, Washington Monthly, The Week, Politico, Variety, The Colorado Sun and Daily Kos
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’ — (JTA) — Who are the Proud Boys, the far-right group that Donald Trump name-checked at the first presidential debate? And do they hate Jews? — The answer to the second question …
Discussion:
Washington Post, IJR, Raw Story, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Bloomberg and Talking Points Memo
Zak Cheney-Rice / New York Magazine:
We Can Probably Stop Asking Trump If He's a White Supremacist
We Can Probably Stop Asking Trump If He's a White Supremacist
Discussion:
ABC News, Breitbart, Daily Kos, New York Times, Bangor Daily News, The Hill, Jacobin, Al Jazeera, The Federalist, Mediaite and Twitchy
The Daily Beast:
Far-Right Proud Boys Rally After Trump's Debate Defense: ‘Fuck Them Up’
Far-Right Proud Boys Rally After Trump's Debate Defense: ‘Fuck Them Up’
Discussion:
Axios, Jacobin, ABC News, Esquire, Vox, Associated Press, The American Independent, CANNONFIRE, Big League Politics, Washington Post, TheBlaze, Common Dreams, The Hill, Mother Jones, Reason, The Daily Dot, Mediaite, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, National Review, One America News Network, The Week and Occupy Democrats
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 …
Politico:
Comey refutes Trump's debate claim that Biden pushed for Flynn prosecution — Joe Biden never suggested prosecuting Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn under an antiquated law known as the Logan Act, former FBI Director James Comey testified Wednesday, contradicting a claim made by President Donald Trump during Tuesday's debate.
Discussion:
New York Post, ABC News and NPR
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Lachlan Markay / The Daily Beast:
The Trump Campaign Is Quietly Disappearing Brad Parscale From Their Website — Former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale was detained by police last week after his wife reported that he was planning to harm himself. — President Donald Trump's campaign still won't clarify the status …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Political Wire, Slate and Daily Mail
Washington Post:
Trump plans big Wisconsin rallies despite White House task force calls for ‘maximal’ social distancing in the state — President Trump has scheduled large campaign rallies this weekend in Wisconsin despite recommendations from the White House Coronavirus Task Force that call …