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Presidential Debates

The Lede

Donald Trump Had a Really, Really Bad Debate

Kamala Harris, veteran prosecutor, proved beyond a reasonable doubt on Tuesday night that her opponent will always take the bait.
Daily Comment

Joe Biden Is Fighting Back—but Not Against Trump, Really

In his efforts to demonstrate vigor, is the President finding his voice or losing his way?
Daily Comment

Did Joe Biden’s ABC Interview Stanch the Bleeding or Prolong It?

Campaigns require conviction—but must also be able to absorb bad news and pull out signal from noise.
Daily Comment

The Reckoning of Joe Biden

For the President to insist on remaining the Democratic candidate would be an act not only of self-delusion but of national endangerment.
Daily Comment

Biden Gets Up After His Debate Meltdown

The President’s political decision-making has long been shaped by two instincts: bouncing back and reading the room. They could lead him in opposite directions in the days ahead.
Q. & A.

Ezra Klein on Why the Democrats Are Too Afraid of Replacing Biden

The President’s supporters have long treated his age as a superficial issue. The Times commentator explains why that position has become untenable.
Letter from Biden’s Washington

Was the Debate the Beginning of the End of Joe Biden’s Presidency?

Notes on a disastrous night for the Democrats.
News Desk

The Duelling Incomprehensibility of Biden and Trump in the 2020 Presidential Debates

One of the many asymmetries of the Presidential race is that incoherence helps Trump and hurts Biden.
Daily Comment

Biden Is the Candidate Who Stands for Change in This Election

The oldest-ever President has been a groundbreaking leader. The debate gives him a chance to get that message across.
Comment

Trump’s Bitter, Vainglorious Fantasy of America on the Debate Stage

Biden’s challenge was that the President lies in a manner that is so unanchored to reality that it becomes disorienting for anyone watching.
Letter from Trump’s Washington

Trump at the Debate Was Like America in 2020: Not Winning

In the end, the topic that matters isn’t Hunter Biden but the pandemic.
Daily Cartoon

Daily Cartoon: Thursday, October 22nd

Debate Night: Confusion vs. Delusion.
The New Yorker Documentary

Ken Bone and the Legend of the Undecided Voter

A new documentary paints a fuller picture of the power-plant worker in the red sweater whose image went viral during the 2016 Presidential campaign.
Daily Comment

What a Positive Test Won’t Change About Trump and the Pandemic

The President’s negligence about the coronavirus is of a piece with who he is—and during Tuesday night’s debate it was easy to wonder just how many forms of harm Trump might be willing to inflict on the country.
Daily Comment

The Children’s Hour

After President Trump’s grotesque display at Tuesday night’s debate, none of us can be sure that the precious rite and process of public engagement in politics will ever be restored.
Daily Cartoon

Daily Cartoon: Wednesday, September 30th

That was rough.
Satire from The Borowitz Report

Trump Somehow Not Likable Even After Being Coached by Chris Christie and Rudy Giuliani

After the debate, staffers were baffled that Trump could appear so off-putting and odious after being prepped by two of the nation’s most beloved and appealing public figures.
Letter from Trump’s Washington

“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.
Our Columnists

Can Biden Make the First Debate About More than Trump?

The President wants a television stage so encompassing that it subsumes the experience of a suffering country, while his Democratic challenger wants to open the windows and let the news of the rest of the world in.
Daily Cartoon

Daily Cartoon: Tuesday, September 29th

“Can I call you back? We’re about to watch the debate.”