memeorandum: The Trailer: What happened in Cleveland (David Weigel/Washington Post)

3:20 PM ET, September 30, 2020

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.

Discussion: New York Times, ABC News, The Hill, New York Magazine, CANNONFIRE, The American Independent, Conservative News Today, Reuters, Outside the Beltway, Florida Politics, Fox News, Breitbart and Axios

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: CBS News, Commentary Magazine, Redstate, Washington Post, Political Wire and NBC News, 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, Daily Kos, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, Fox News, New Republic, BNO News and National Review

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: ABC News, Talking Points Memo, Reuters, Vox, Political Wire, New York Post, Slate, The Hill and The American Independent

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: IJR and OpsLens

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: Reuters, Fox News, CNN, The Hill, The Guardian, USA Today, Talking Points Memo and New York Post

Brooke Singman / Fox News:

Commission on Presidential Debates ‘carefully considering’ format changes after first Trump, Biden debate — The statement follows the highly contentious first debate between President Trump and Joe Biden — Trump, Biden debate law and order in Cleveland

Discussion: The Triad, Axios, Mother Jones, Washington Post, CNBC, abc7NY, The Hill, Raw Story, Mediaite, The American Independent and Washington Free Beacon, more at Mediagazer »

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, POLITICUSUSA, Washington Post, Raw Story, Vanity Fair, New Republic, The National Interest and The Nation

Claire Sanford / Rev:

Donald Trump & Joe Biden 1st Presidential Debate Transcript 2020 — Full transcript of the first 2020 presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The debate was moderated by Chris Wallace of Fox News on September 29, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. — Transcribe Your Own Content

Discussion: National Review, The Federalist, CNN, Breitbart, Task & Purpose, LifeSiteNews, Reason, IJR, Common Dreams, Washington Post, Althouse, TheBlaze, CNBC, Daily Kos, Los Angeles Times, Legal Planet, ABC News and Fox News, more at Mediagazer »

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, New York Times, Politico, Reuters, Washington Post, The American Independent, Los Angeles Times, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, The Week, CNN, New York Post, Breitbart and ABC7

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

James Fallows / The Atlantic:
A Disgusting Night for Democracy

Discussion: Raw Story, National Memo and Townhall

Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
Trump's fear dominated his first debate with Biden

Discussion: Breitbart, Just The News, The American Independent and Twitchy

Patricia McCarthy / American Thinker:
The debate? Trump was great, Chris Wallace was a dreadful disgrace

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Bulwark+, Minnesota Reformer and KXAN-TV

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Trump sets the tone for the worst presidential debate in living memory

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, Wall Street Journal, Vox, New Republic, The Week, Talking Points Memo, Reason, New York Times, Vanity Fair, Newsbusters, Washington Times, The Daily Beast, New York Post and CNN

Jeet Heer / The Nation:
With Help From Chris Wallace, Trump Attacked American Democracy

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

Discussion: NBC Boston

Bonchie / Redstate:
Chris Wallace's Debate Performance Was Absolutely Disgraceful

Discussion: Townhall, The Daily Wire, Fox News, Breitbart, Conservative News Today, The Guardian and The Week

Associated Press:
AP FACT CHECK: False claims flood Trump-Biden debate

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Week, CNN, Florida Politics, Bloomberg, New York Times, Bangor Daily News and ABC7

Tim Elfrink / Washington Post:
‘I have never supported Donald Trump’: Portland-area sheriff hits back after president claims his endorsement in debate

Discussion: The Dispatch, Raw Story, NPR and OpsLens

Rolling Stone:
The 5 Exchanges That Defined the Most Disgraceful Debate in Presidential History

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Washington Post, Politico, The Atlantic, The Hill, Reason, Raw Story, Occupy Democrats, Common Dreams, Roll Call, The Post Millennial, The American Spectator, NBC Chicago and Mediaite

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
Chris Wallace tried — and failed — to control Trump. Something needs to change.

Discussion: NPR, CNN, Reason, Politico, Outside the Beltway, The Gateway Pundit, New York Post, The Daily Caller, Vox, The Week and Bangor Daily News, more at Mediagazer »

Nate Cohn / New York Times:
2020 Presidential Debate Live Updates: Trump's Efforts to Undermine Election Integrity Are ‘Dangerously and Profoundly Anti-Democratic,’ Voting Experts Warn

Discussion: Louder With Crowder and Florida Politics

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: New York Post, Political Wire, Forbes, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller and OutKick

Mika Brzezinski / Cosmopolitan:
Cancel the Debates — host on how last night's broadcast damaged our democracy. — “Stand back and stand by.”

Discussion: Politico, Reason and Breitbart

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

Discussion: Jacobin, Washington Post and The Hill

ABC News:
Biden kicks off train tour through Ohio, Pennsylvania after raucous debate

Discussion: Fox News, The Gateway Pundit and Breitbart

Politico:
Biden campaign faces questions about whether he should skip next debates

Discussion: ABC News, New York Times, Fox News, The Bulwark, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, Breitbart, Talking Points Memo, TheBlaze, American Greatness and New York Post

Shannon Melero / The Slot:
My President Told Your President to Shut Up

Discussion: FactCheck.org, Axios, Townhall and No More Mister Nice Blog

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

Discussion: The Federalist, Real Clear Politics, Mediaite and HillReporter.com

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 …

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: Bloomberg, Washington Post, IJR, Raw Story, The Guardian, NPR, New York Post and The Week

NBC News:
Proud Boys celebrate after Trump's debate call-out

Zak Cheney-Rice / New York Magazine:
We Can Probably Stop Asking Trump If He's a White Supremacist

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Times, Breitbart, Daily Kos, Bangor Daily News, The Hill, Jacobin, The Federalist, Al Jazeera, Mediaite and Twitchy

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

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

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, Raw Story, The Hill, Fox Business, Bangor Daily News and The Slot

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

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

Alex Ward / Vox:

Pope Francis refused to meet with Mike Pompeo so as not to boost Trump — Part of the problem lies with Pompeo's decision to act as a Trump campaign surrogate in his official capacity. — SHARE All sharing options — When President Donald Trump's top diplomat can't get a meeting with God's ambassador, you know something is wrong.

Discussion: Political Wire, OpsLens, Wall Street Journal and LifeSiteNews

Barbie Latza Nadeau / The Daily Beast:
Vatican Accuses Team Trump of Trying to Exploit Pope Francis

Discussion: The Guardian and One America News Network

Katie Robertson / New York Times:

Ocasio-Cortez and Warren Pull Out of New Yorker Festival — The two standard bearers of the left said they would skip the annual event in solidarity with The New Yorker Union, which plans a digital picket line. — Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez …

Discussion: Mediaite and The Hill, more at Mediagazer »

Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:

How Trump's ‘Voter Fraud’ Lie Is Disenfranchising Americans — On an October morning four years ago, eight young staff members at the Indiana Voter Registration Project in Indianapolis were planning their final steps before a closely contested presidential election.

Discussion: Political Wire and Law & Crime

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 and HillReporter.com

Washington Post:

The covid-19 recession is the most unequal in modern U.S. history — Job losses from the pandemic overwhelmingly impacted low-wage, minority workers. Seven months into the recovery, Black women, Black men and mothers to school-aged children are taking the longest time to regain their employment.

Discussion: The Week