Good morning. Trump derails 1st presidential debate with Biden
This was maybe the worst presidential debate in American history.
If this was supposed to be a boxing match, it instead turned into President Donald Trump jumping on the ropes, refusing to come down, the referee trying to coax him off and Joe Biden standing in the middle of the ring with his gloves on and a confused look on his face.
Trump doesn't play by anyone's rules, even those he's agreed to beforehand. He's prided himself on that. But even by his standards, what Trump did Tuesday night crossed many lines.
He's president. More than 200,000 Americans are dead from the coronavirus pandemic. And instead of a serious debate about the direction of the country, Trump sent it off the rails.
Most charitably, both former Republican Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who helped Trump prep for the debate, said he was "too hot."
"I think the president overplayed his hand tonight," Santorum said on CNN.
Here are six takeaways from the first Trump-Biden debate-- Dominico Montanaro, NPR
President Donald Trump's hesitation, once again, to denounce white supremacy during Tuesday's presidential debate is drawing quick condemnation from anti-racism activists — as are his unusual comments directed at a white supremacist group called the Proud Boys. During an exchange on the debate stage, moderator Chris Wallace repeatedly asked Trump if he would condemn white supremacists. Trump initially sidestepped that question, claiming that he mostly sees violence "from the left wing."
Trump eventually responded to Wallace's question by referring to a white supremacist group, saying, "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by. But I'll tell you what: Somebody's got to do something about antifa and the left." -- Sarah McCammon, NPR
Catch all our coverage from NPR here. If you missed the debate, you can listen to it from MPR News Presents at noon.
Republican Senate candidate Jason Lewis joined All Things Considered on MPR News Tuesday to talk about Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett and his plan to gain metro voters.
Despite saying in 2016 that the Senate should not confirm then-President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court pick, Lewis said the Senate should confirm Barrett right away.
“If you look at the difference between 2016 and today, in 2016 the will of the people had President Barack Obama and his prerogative to fill a vacancy. But there is also a will of the people in 2016 to have a Republican Senate block that, and indeed they did. So this is all about the will of the people, as it always is,” he said. “That is the difference: You’ve got a Republican Senate now and a Republican president, and you didn’t have that in 2016.”
Incumbent Sen. Tina Smith joined the program Monday. Both candidates are scheduled to debate during Politics Friday on MPR News this week.
Join the conversation: Debate moderator Chris Wallace is being criticised for letting the debate go off the rails. Is that fair? How could he have done a better job? ( MPR News' Ground Level Facebook Group) |
