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.
By Susan B. Glasser
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?
By Benjamin Wallace-Wells
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.
By Evan Osnos
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.
By David Remnick
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.
By Evan Osnos
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.
By Isaac Chotiner
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.
By Susan B. Glasser
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.
By Katy Waldman
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.
By James Lardner
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.
By Amy Davidson Sorkin
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.
By Susan B. Glasser
Daily Cartoon
Daily Cartoon: Thursday, October 22nd
Debate Night: Confusion vs. Delusion.
By Jason Chatfield and Scott Dooley
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.
By Naomi Fry
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.
By Amy Davidson Sorkin
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.
By Roger Angell
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.
By Andy Borowitz
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.
By Susan B. Glasser
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.
By Benjamin Wallace-Wells
Daily Cartoon
Daily Cartoon: Tuesday, September 29th
“Can I call you back? We’re about to watch the debate.”
By David Sipress