Trump Yelled, Screamed, and Lied During First Debate

FEATURING JOHN NICHOLS – The first Presidential debate ahead of the November 3rd elections was largely a train wreck. So disorderly and belligerent was President Donald Trump, simply refusing to stick to the rules he had agreed to, that the Commission on Presidential Debates on Wednesday announced it would add “additional structure” to future debates.

Aside from his repeatedly yelling Trump in a manner typical of him, unleashed lies so thick and fast it was hard to keep up. He denounced mail-in voting, signaled his supporters to intimate voters at the polls, refused to condemn white supremacy, refused to admit climate change was real, pretended that he had released a healthcare plan, and cast 200,000 Covid deaths as a success.

Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden called Trump’s performance “a national disgrace.” Although most commentators agreed that by sheer virtue of Trump’s tantrums, Biden was the winner, progressives winced at some of Biden’s statements.

The former Vice President claimed that he was the Democratic Party, reveled in the fact that he beat Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, praised police officers, railed against China, and generally legitimized the rightwing talking points that moderator Chris Wallace posited.

Read his latest piece in The Nation is entitled Joe Biden Should Propose a $750 Tax Credit Tonight—Then Drop the Mic.

John Nichols, national affairs correspondent for The Nation magazine and host of the podcast, ‘Next Left.’ He is a contributing writer for The Progressive and In These Times and the associate editor of the Capital Times. He is also the author of numerous books including Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse: A Field Guide to the Most Dangerous People in America (Nation Books).