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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Laura Barrón-López / Politico:
Undecided voters call Trump ‘unhinged’ and ‘un-American’ — but 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 and what each candidate would do to unite the country.
Discussion:
Political Wire, The Hill, Slate, New York Times, CNBC and HillReporter.com
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 Hill, The Gateway Pundit, National Review, New Republic and BNO News
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
Chris Wallace tried — and failed — to control Trump. Something needs to change. — Chris Wallace wanted to be “invisible” as the moderator of the first presidential debate. “If I've done my job right,” he said on his Fox News show Sunday, “at the end of the night, people will say, 'That was a great debate.
Discussion:
NBC News, CNN, The Week, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, OpsLens, The Daily Caller, Grist, Mother Jones, Spectator USA and Vox, more at Mediagazer »
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:
National Memo
Jacqueline Alemany / Washington Post:
Power Up: Trump's debate performance was described this way by undecided voters: ‘Crackhead,’ ‘arrogant,’ ‘un-American,’ ‘forceful’ — Good morning. It's only Wednesday. Another big night in America that we can all agree on: the NBA finals begin tonight. Tips, comments, recipes.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Power Line, National Review, POLITICUSUSA, KXAN-TV, Denver Post and CBS Boston
Politico:
Biden campaign faces questions about whether he should skip next debates — The moment Joe Biden's first debate against Donald Trump ended, his campaign was already confronted with questions about whether it should be his last. — In the two men's first head-to-head matchup …
Discussion:
NBC News, New York Times, CNN, Fox News, The Hill, ABC News, Conservative News Today, The Guardian, Variety, American Greatness and Washington Free Beacon
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Trump Controlled the Tone of the First Debate, But Biden Controlled the Message — President Trump's main objective in the first presidential debate was to rattle Joe Biden. He interrupted constantly, he made repeated personal attacks on Hunter Biden, and he attempted to make Biden stammer.
Discussion:
Viking Pundit and CBS Boston
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:
Redstate, TheBlaze, Bulwark+, The Guardian, The Atlantic and NBC 6 South Florida
Shannon Melero / The Slot:
My President Told Your President to Shut Up
My President Told Your President to Shut Up
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, FactCheck.org and Townhall
Reuters:
Takeaways from Donald Trump and Joe Biden's first U.S. presidential debate
Takeaways from Donald Trump and Joe Biden's first U.S. presidential debate
Discussion:
Vox, Breitbart, ABC News, Politico, The Hill, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, Mediaite, Slate, Axios, Fox News, Washington Times, HillReporter.com and The Week
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
5 takeaways from the first presidential debate
5 takeaways from the first presidential debate
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, CNN, The Daily Caller, ABC News, Florida Politics, The Week, The Hill, National Review, Common Dreams, OutKick, Fox News, 89.3 WFPL News Louisville, Al Jazeera and WTOP
David Siders / Politico:
Trump mayhem takes over first debate
Trump mayhem takes over first debate
Discussion:
Fox News, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Roll Call, The Guardian, MercoPress, CNBC, Chicago Sun-Times, Raw Story and The Slot
New York Times:
Of Course, the Debate Was Always Going to Be About Trump
Of Course, the Debate Was Always Going to Be About Trump
Discussion:
CNN, ABC News, Washington Post, Raw Story, Bloomberg, WTOP, The Guardian and The Slot
Mia Cathell / The Post Millennial:
BREAKING: Joe Biden falsely claims Antifa is simply ‘an idea’
BREAKING: Joe Biden falsely claims Antifa is simply ‘an idea’
Discussion:
Vox, The Gateway Pundit, Slate, Variety and Deseret News
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:
The Atlantic, Bloomberg, USA Today, People.com, The Hill, The Guardian, NPR, Variety, The Colorado Sun, Wired, Vox, NBC Chicago, Washington Monthly, New Republic, Politico, Washington Post, Daily Kos, The Week and myfox8.com, more at Mediagazer »
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The Daily Beast:
Far-Right Proud Boys Rally After Trump's Debate Defense: ‘Fuck Them Up’ — Given the chance to finally explicitly condemn right-wing extremism, Trump insisted, “This is a left-wing problem” and gave a shout-out to the Proud Boys. — President Donald Trump refused to condemn right-wing extremist groups …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The American Independent, Associated Press, POLITICUSUSA, Vox, Mother Jones, Mediaite, National Review, Raw Story, Reason, Jacobin, One America News Network, The Hill, Axios and The Week
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:
Axios, Vanity Fair, Politico, The American Spectator, The 19th, Washington Times and The Hill
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:
The Boston Globe, Raw Story, The Guardian, NPR, Bloomberg and Talking Points Memo
Ben Collins / NBC News:
Coordinated push of conspiracy theories target Biden hours before debate — A conspiracy theory that Joe Biden would wear an electronic device in his ear during the first presidential debate went wildly viral Tuesday in the hours before the debate, and the theory was later amplified …
Discussion:
Axios, Mother Jones, New York Times, Raw Story, Vox, Occupy Democrats, CNN, The Week, Media Matters for America, Bloomberg, New York Post and Fox News, more at Mediagazer »
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:
The Daily Beast, Reuters, The Hill, Axios, IJR, Breitbart, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Daily Kos, TheStreet, Washington Times and New York Post
New York Times:
Biden and Trump's First Debate: Best and Worst Moments
Biden and Trump's First Debate: Best and Worst Moments
Discussion:
National Review, The Hill, Vox and Raw Story
David Bossie / Fox News:
Trump clearly defeats Biden in first presidential debate
Trump clearly defeats Biden in first presidential debate
Discussion:
OpsLens
Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
Trump's fear dominated his first debate with Biden
Trump's fear dominated his first debate with Biden
Discussion:
Just The News, Bloomberg and The Week
Richard Wolffe / The Guardian:
Trump heckled, bullied and lied through the debate. It won't help him beat Biden
Trump heckled, bullied and lied through the debate. It won't help him beat Biden
Discussion:
National Review, The American Conservative and The Slot
Associated Press:
Analysis: Trump leans on tone that turns off voters he needs
Analysis: Trump leans on tone that turns off voters he needs
Discussion:
CNN, Real Clear Politics, Raw Story, The National Interest, ABC7 and The Nation
Claire Sanford / Rev:
Donald Trump & Joe Biden 1st Presidential Debate Transcript 2020
Donald Trump & Joe Biden 1st Presidential Debate Transcript 2020
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Daily Kos and Althouse
Associated Press:
AP FACT CHECK: False claims flood Trump-Biden debate — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump unleashed a torrent of fabrications and fear-mongering in a belligerent debate with Joe Biden, at one point claiming that the U.S. death toll would have been 10 times higher under the Democrat …
Discussion:
The Week, KSNG-TV, ABC7, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Florida Politics and Bangor Daily News
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Nick Corasaniti / New York Times:
Fact-Checking the First 2020 Presidential Debate
Fact-Checking the First 2020 Presidential Debate
Discussion:
Oregonian, IJR, Washington Post, Fox News, The Sun, Daily Kos, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, Variety, Deseret News, Washington Times and Breitbart
Politico:
Intel chief releases Russian disinfo on Hillary Clinton that was rejected by bipartisan Senate panel — Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe on Tuesday declassified a Russian intelligence assessment that was previously rejected by Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Slate, NPR, CNN, WTOP, Redstate, Big League Politics, New York Times, New York Post, Washington Times, Raw Story, Mother Jones, TheBlaze, Fox News, Law & Crime and Talking Points Memo
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Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:
Trump Sent a Warning. Let's Take It Seriously. — Our democracy is in terrible danger — more than since the Civil War, more than after Pearl Harbor, more than during the Cuban missile crisis. — President Trump has made it unmistakably clear in recent weeks — and even more crystal clear …
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 …
Washington Post:
Early surge of Democratic mail voting sparks worry inside GOP — Democratic voters who have requested mail ballots — and returned them — greatly outnumber Republicans so far in key battleground states, causing alarm among GOP party leaders and strategists that President Trump's attacks …
Discussion:
New York Times, Raw Story, Breitbart and Political Wire
Lukas I. Alpert / Wall Street Journal:
Digital News Startup Axios Weathers Covid With Sponsored Newsletters — Three-year-old media company avoids staff reductions and is on pace to be profitable in 2020 — “Smart brevity” has been good for business at Axios. — The digital news startup, which uses the term as its motto …
Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
10 Questions James Comey Could Face During His Senate Testimony: Analysis — Much has been learned about the FBI's Trump-Russia probe since former FBI Director James Comey last appeared before Congress. — Multiple reports have undercut the FBI's initial theory that the Trump campaign colluded …
Discussion:
New York Times and CNN
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Ronn Blitzer / Fox News:
James Comey to testify before Congress about Russia probe: What to know
James Comey to testify before Congress about Russia probe: What to know
Discussion:
Reuters