Item one: Trump was terrible in the 2020 debates, by every measure. And he’ll be terrible again. If he even participates. |
Donald Trump came out shooting blanks with his usual baggy, insecure rhetoric after agreeing to two debates with Joe Biden. "Crooked Joe Biden is the WORST debater I have ever faced"; "He can’t put two sentences together!"; et cetera. He does it because he knows the media reports it and there are still people who fall for it. The truth, of course, is that Trump is a terrible debater. In this as in everything else, he wants people to forget the past and ignore the truth. So let’s remind him, and everyone, of what happened when Trump and Biden met in 2020. The first debate, hosted by Fox, took place in Cleveland on September 29. Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died; Trump had nominated Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court three days before, so the court was on everyone’s mind, and of course the pandemic. Trump did two main things. First, he lied a lot. He’d reduced prescription drug prices by "80 to 90 percent"; insulin was getting "so cheap, it’s like water"; he’d "brought back [college] football." Second, he interrupted and interrupted. He turned the whole thing into a shitshow, because he knows that shit benefits from shitshows. But the main thing he did was send that little message to the Proud Boys: "Stand back and stand by." Those words seemed self-contradictory to me, but not to the Proud Boys themselves, who took it as a clear order to await his further instructions, which came in the build-up to January 6, 2021. Result? Biden mopped the floor with him. A CNN poll found that viewers favored Biden’s performance by—get this—60 to 28 percent. Think about that 28. It means that even a good chunk of MAGA-heads couldn’t bring themselves to say he won. Some polls were closer, but Biden won them all. |
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For the second debate, October 22, 2020, in Nashville, NBC decided to cut the microphones when Biden and Trump weren’t speaking, which limited the interruptions. Well, wait! Actually, Nashville was supposed to be the third debate. The second debate, scheduled for October 15 in Miami, never happened; it was canceled because Trump had tested positive for Covid. The debate commission suggested holding it virtually. Biden said yes. Trump backed out and held a rally instead. This is worth remembering. OK, back to Nashville, which did happen: Trump said he’d done more for Black Americans than any president with the "possible exception" of Abraham Lincoln. He made a lot of comments ducking responsibility on the pandemic. It was less of a madhouse. And Biden won that debate, CNN found, by 53 to 39 percent. Flash-forward. Biden is four years older and definitely a step slower. No use denying it. It’s hard to imagine him delivering a dominating performance. For my money, the best thing he can do on a stage with Trump has nothing to do with policy. He should needle Trump and get under his skin: about Trump constantly confusing Biden with Barack Obama; about confusing Jimmy Carter with Jimmy Connors; about praising Hannibal Lecter as a "wonderful man." And about more consequential things too, like his stated plans for his second term that would turn the country into a fascist state (on this, read our new issue, it is excellent and chilling). But no, Biden probably does not have it in him to crush Trump in a debate. In sum: Biden may not win these debates, but Trump will definitely lose them. He’ll lose them the same way he lost them last time, by lying and interrupting and sneering and being an off-putting bully. It’s true that Biden has a record to defend this time, and Trump will attack attack attack. He’ll probably score some points. But he’ll overdo it. He always does. That is, if he shows up. This week, he started yelping instantly about the debate format—the absence of an audience, the cutting off of the mics. Amanda Marcotte in Salon noticed that Republicans "are already spinning Trump’s faceplant even before it happens." Lara Trump whined on Fox that the debates are "rigged so heavily in Joe Biden’s favor, but everything always is." My guess is that the first one will happen. Trump is delusional enough to believe that he’s going to wipe the floor with Biden. Then he’ll see that Biden isn’t the blithering idiot he believes him to be and can actually hold his own on a debate stage, and the debate won’t have any clear winner or loser, but because Biden simply isn’t an aggressive asshole and raging egomaniac and will come across as more empathetic, he’ll win the insta-polls by 10 to 15 points, and Trump will eventually find an excuse to skip the second one and identify some little Nuremberg where he can hold a rally and whimper about being the most persecuted man in the history of the planet. The last few days remind me more broadly that we must always bear in mind all the constituent elements of authoritarian fascism. There are the obvious ones we think of immediately, like contempt for democracy and reliance on a narrative of resentment against the "vermin" who are destroying the country. But the less obvious ones are important too. Staggering corruption is always, always, always a characteristic of fascist regimes, and Trump already proved this in term one, with the flagrant and constant violations of the emoluments clause. And another constant feature is the whining. The system is so unfair to us. Mussolini used this trope, as did Hitler, as have they all. Everything is everybody else’s fault. And these people try to say that liberals are snowflakes? |
Item two: Samuel Alito, profile in courage |
What can we say about this brain-melting story by Jodi Kantor in today’s New York Times about Samuel Alito flying an upside-down American flag outside his house three days before Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021? The upside-down flag became a MAGA symbol in the weeks after the 2020 election, when some Trumpers started displaying it outside their homes in protest of the "stolen" election. And then, lo and behold, it turns up hanging from a pole at the home of a justice of the Supreme Court. Alarmed neighbors snapped photographs. Alito’s response to the Times displayed the kind of intellectual integrity and ethical rigor we’ve come to associate with the most extreme members of the court. He blamed his wife. "I had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag," he wrote to the paper. "It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs." Dear God. One doesn’t even know where to start. I guess we start by saying that there was a time in this country when a federal judge would never, ever have made a political statement like that. Not in public; not even in private conversations in polite company. Judges had political views, of course, but they knew that they were not supposed to be political, so they simply didn’t do that. Today, forget about it. Sure, it isn’t just conservatives. Ruth Bader Ginsburg made some comments about Donald Trump that were inappropriate for an associate justice to make. She shouldn’t have done it. But at least she apologized the same week. What do we get from Clarence Thomas and Alito? From Thomas, incessant defiance and stonewalling, which continued into this week, as Greg Sargent revealed the other day. And now Alito throws his wife under the bus. Actually, I wish Thomas would steal a page from the Alito playbook and do the same to Ginni. These people are such a disgrace to America. And it’s worth remembering that unlike Trump, they’re not really fascists. They’re more Leninists than fascists. They’re part of a revolutionary vanguard that’s going to transform society into a right-wing theocracy whether the people want it or not (they don’t). As such, they see breaking the normal rules as part of their duty to their movement, and they see nothing wrong with having a wife who flies a MAGA flag or, in the case of Ginni Thomas, engages in ceaseless radical political activity. The masses must be guided to the correct conclusion. |
Last week’s quiz: It is forbidden to forbid: Since it’s May, which is when the Paris revolts of that year started, and since students are in the news here in the States, let’s look at the student uprisings of 1968. (And by the way, "It is forbidden to forbid" was the slogan of ’68.) |
1. French Culture Minister André Malraux’s attempted firing of Henri Langlois, who headed this French cultural institution, is seen by many as the event that laid the groundwork for the May uprising. |
A. The Louvre B. L'Opéra National C. Cinémathèque Française D. Musée de la Révolution |
Answer: C, Cinémathèque Française. Langlois was a towering figure in French culture who influenced the great French New Wave directors, helped develop the auteur theory, and introduced numerous American and international directors to French audiences. The firing was temporary, and he was reinstated after an uproar. |
2. This man, who went on to serve several terms in the European Parliament, was the best-known leader of the student protests. |
A. Camille Desmoulins B. Pierre Laval C. René Lacoste D. Daniel Cohn-Bendit |
Answer: D, "Danny the Red," as he was known (for his red hair, of course). Desmoulins was from the French Revolution, Laval was a French World War II collaborator, and Lacoste was the tennis star who lent his name to the alligator-festooned sportswear line. |
3. Milan Kundera used this graffito, spray-painted on a Paris wall during the protests, as a title for one of his novels. |
A. The Unbearable Lightness of Being B. Life Is Elsewhere C. The Festival of Insignificance D. Neither God nor Master |
Answer: B, Life Is Elsewhere. I read it years ago, but I admit I had to google it to try to remember what it was about. Wikipedia says the title comes from Rimbaud, but that’s totally contrary to everything I read at the time, so I’m sticking with my story. |
4. The crisis, which at one point involved one-fifth of the population, ended when President de Gaulle called new legislative elections in late May. What party won those elections? |
A. The UDR (the conservative Gaullists) B. The Communist Party C. The Federation of the Democratic and Socialist Left D. The centrist Progress and Modern Democracy Party |
Answer: A, of course, the conservatives. In fact, it was their biggest postwar election win ever. Easiest question of all time. |
5. The protests spread from Paris to numerous other cities. In what city did police and paramilitary units fire on students, killing a still undetermined number, nearly canceling that city’s Olympics? |
A. Rome B. Mexico City C. Stockholm D. Madrid |
Answer: B, Mexico City. Only hard if you don’t follow sports. If you do, it was pretty famous. |
6. During those tumultuous weeks of early May 1968, which included violence on U.S. campuses as well (notably Columbia), what was the number one song on the U.S. Billboard charts? |
A. "Street Fighting Man" by the Rolling Stones B. "People Got to Be Free" by the Rascals C. "There’s a Riot Goin’ On" by Sly and the Family Stone D. "Honey" by Bobby Goldsboro |
Answer: D, "Honey," a horrible, treacly song that had nothing to do with the spirit of the times. |
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Join us on June 8 for a high-profile event that will feature authors who are currently banned; fellow writers who have taken up the cause; and teachers, librarians, and students who have been directly impacted by the book bans that are sweeping America. Guests include: Lauren Groff, Ellen Hopkins, George M. Johnson, Jacqueline Woodson, and more. |
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This week’s quiz: Holy Boomer Pop Culture IQ! A quiz about the old Batman show, and yes, Adam West will always be Batman to me. |
1. What actor was the other finalist to play Bruce Wayne/Batman, ultimately losing out to West? |
A. Brian Keith B. Bill Bixby C. Lyle Waggoner D. Don Adams |
2. Which archvillain, in a wild and hilarious presaging of Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy, once ran for mayor of Gotham City? |
A. The Joker B. The Riddler C. The Penguin D. Mr. Freeze |
3. Match the female villain to the actress who portrayed her (in the case of Catwoman, most of the time). |
Catwoman Lola Lasagne The Siren The Black Widow |
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Ethel Merman Joan Collins Talullah Bankhead Julie Newmar |
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4. Name the actors who portrayed, respectively, Alfred the Butler, Commissioner Gordon, and Chief O’Hara. |
A. Alan Napier, Neil Hamilton, and Stafford Repp B. Alan Napier, Neil Hamilton, and William Dozier C. Lorenzo Semple, Oscar Rudolph, and Neil Hamilton D. Stafford Repp, Alan Napier, and Oscar Rudolph |
5. Rudy Vallee and Glynis Johns starred as an evildoing British couple in some episodes that gave the show an excuse to transplant the Caped Crusaders (and the newly added Batgirl, who materialized in the third and final season) to Swinging "Londinium." Vallee played Lord Marmaduke Ffogg. What was the name of the Johns character? |
A. Lady Horatia Churchthrill B. Lady Cecily Cockfosters C. Lady Penelope Peasoup D. Lady Hollis Simpson-Wallace |
6. In an early scene in the Batman movie, which came out the same year the TV show debuted (1966), what handy item does our hero pull from his utility belt to save his life? |
A. Shark Repellent Bat Spray B. Bat Shrink Reverser Pill C. Bat Anti-Hypnosis Serum D. Anti-Eardrum Piercing Batmuffs |
It’s a classic scene. And a classic show. Answers next week. Feedback to [email protected]. —Michael Tomasky, editor |
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