1st Presidential Debate Megathread

[roxas11]

https://twitter.com/EzraNBC/status/1311135496333135873

If you support Trump, you support explicitly expressly violent white supremacists.

Trump, Aug. 14, 2017: Racism is evil. And those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.

Trump, Aug. 15, 2017: I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists, because they should be condemned totally.

Racism is evil': Trump condemns white supremacist groups after deadly protest in Charlottesville

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=emb_title&v=0qD47QFFkTU


Joe Biden Describes White Supremacists As Many "Fine People"

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=emb_title&v=Nkbj1UgChAY

As the old saying goes

“If you're explaining, you're losing.”

[American2020]

https://twitter.com/gelliottmorris/status/1311297482282938374

[The Free North]

https://twitter.com/gelliottmorris/status/1311131516546641922

Pretty racist. Why don't they want to move to *ahem* 'diverse' countries instead? Why is no one googling a move to Mali?

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/davidshor/status/1311157333960130560

[Holmes]

https://twitter.com/gelliottmorris/status/1311131516546641922

Pretty racist. Why don't they want to move to *ahem* 'diverse' countries instead? Why is no one googling a move to Mali?

Canada has some of the most diverse metropolitan areas in the world.

[Inmate Trump]

If you believe Trump did a good job last night, you are both a psycho and a fascist.

[Joe Biden 2024]

If you believe Trump did a good job last night, you are both a psycho and a fascist.

[PSOL]

Ahh, I see we have devolved to wojaks

[Ichabod]

Im surprised Biden is mostly getting away with not answering about court packing.

I think either he is not going at all with the packing idea or he is going to trying as a retaliation about somes decissions (Obamacare, Roe, etc). In some sense, it's smart not talking about that in this moment.

[emailking]

Pretty racist. Why don't they want to move to *ahem* 'diverse' countries instead? Why is no one googling a move to Mali?

The Māori are 16% of New Zealand.

[wbrocks67]

Im surprised Biden is mostly getting away with not answering about court packing.

A) compared to everything else that happened last night, its pretty irrelevant
B) why should biden have to answer to this? there's no reason to get ahead of himself, it's a hypothetical at this point. Barrett hasn't even been confirmed and Biden doesn't even know if he'll win

[Middle-aged Europe]

I just saw about two-thirds of it.

I would propose for the next two debates that the candidates receive electro shocks every time they break a debate rule - with consecutively increasing voltage.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I am not in favor of court packing, but I was also not in favor of refusing to consider Garland in 2016.

Either way, Biden dodging that question pales in comparison to what we saw on display last night. This I know - I will need more scotch on hand for debate #2.

[dunceDude]

https://twitter.com/EzraNBC/status/1311135496333135873

If you support Trump, you support explicitly expressly violent white supremacists.

Trump, Aug. 14, 2017: Racism is evil. And those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.

Trump, Aug. 15, 2017: I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists, because they should be condemned totally.

Racism is evil': Trump condemns white supremacist groups after deadly protest in Charlottesville

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=emb_title&v=0qD47QFFkTU


Joe Biden Describes White Supremacists As Many "Fine People"

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=emb_title&v=Nkbj1UgChAY

Look, here comes the racist to defend his racist President!

We all know who this man is. You wish you could convince people with the half-assed research.

[Sir Mohamed]

I just saw about two-thirds of it.

I would propose for the next two debates that the candidates receive electro shocks every time they break a debate rule - with consecutively increasing voltage.

* Electro shocks are easy, that I can tell you. Sleepy Joe couldn't handle them. Just couldn't handle them. He's weak, the likes of which no candidate has ever been. We know it, they know it, everbody knows it. Trump can take a lot of electro shocks. So many electro shocks, the number goes through the roof. And these were beautiful electro shocks. We're going to have the most beautiful electro shocks in a very long time. Probably the best ever. When Trump took them, the doctors were surprised. Everybody was surprised. The doctors came to my office, and by the way, very respected doctors, extremely respected doctors, you know, they said, they have never seen a person taking that many electro shocks. It was almost like water. They said, this is the strongest person ever to take electro shocks. Tremendous health. Just tremendous genses, if you want to know the truth. You saw these highly respected doctors coming out with this very powerful statement. So we can have electro shocks in a debate. But people saying Sleepy Joe can't take it. Maybe we should be looking into that. Who knows? *

[Gass3268]

https://twitter.com/davidshor/status/1311157333960130560

52-39 Biden win for the debate from Vox/Data For Progress

[JRP1994]

Reaction from my dad, who is a conservative, devout evangelical Christian who voted for Trump in 2016 and has voted Republican since Reagan:

"I don't know if I want to see Trump win again or not. I’m pro life, but Trump just can’t think about anything but himself... I was hoping he’d rise to the occasion, but Biden looked more compassionate. There are going to be abortions if Republicans win and if Democrats win.”

[GeneralMacArthur]

I'm glad i don't have to vote. Biden is unworthy of my vote. A bland, boring choice who offers nothing to America and change nothing, except for undo everything Trump did, which is arguably a net win compared to "four more years of Trump who hasn't grown into office". This debate showed that Democrats have learned nothing in the last four years. (Neither did Trump F.Y.I.) Either way, regardless of who wins, America has still a long road ahead of them before being a great country back again. Biden would've lost every election except for this one, where most people just want Trump to get out, instead of Uncle Joe getting elected. It's time to build a leftist opposition against president Biden after the election is over. That's what America needs, a huge leftist opposition movement, incl. Sanders, AOC, Yang, Warren, The Squad and more).

Imagine being on Atlas for the entire last year and still thinking that Biden is offering nothing for America.

This tired leftie talking point is just so damn ignorant.  Biden discussed, or at least tried to discuss, plenty of different policy proposals last night, and if you go to his website there's dozens more.  If you watch any of his speeches or town halls he has plenty that he is offering the country.

To still be sitting here on September 30, 2020 and believing (assuming you're not just trolling) that "Biden offers nothing to America" is just so astonishingly ignorant.  How can you comment on an election every day without having made even the slightest effort to pay attention to what Joe Biden says or stands for?

[Mike88]

Well, this was a trainwreck. However, I found interesting the "smart" segment, when Biden said Trump isn't smart and Trump seemed out of it and basically threatened Biden. All of the other segments, have been already discussed and pointed here, but that segment was interesting for me.

[Calthrina950]

I'm glad i don't have to vote. Biden is unworthy of my vote. A bland, boring choice who offers nothing to America and change nothing, except for undo everything Trump did, which is arguably a net win compared to "four more years of Trump who hasn't grown into office". This debate showed that Democrats have learned nothing in the last four years. (Neither did Trump F.Y.I.) Either way, regardless of who wins, America has still a long road ahead of them before being a great country back again. Biden would've lost every election except for this one, where most people just want Trump to get out, instead of Uncle Joe getting elected. It's time to build a leftist opposition against president Biden after the election is over. That's what America needs, a huge leftist opposition movement, incl. Sanders, AOC, Yang, Warren, The Squad and more).

Imagine being on Atlas for the entire last year and still thinking that Biden is offering nothing for America.

This tired leftie talking point is just so damn ignorant.  Biden discussed, or at least tried to discuss, plenty of different policy proposals last night, and if you go to his website there's dozens more.  If you watch any of his speeches or town halls he has plenty that he is offering the country.

To still be sitting here on September 30, 2020 and believing (assuming you're not just trolling) that "Biden offers nothing to America" is just so astonishingly ignorant.  How can you comment on an election every day without having made even the slightest effort to pay attention to what Joe Biden says or stands for?

I don't think you appreciate the extent to which much of the support for Biden is a vote against Donald Trump, and not a vote of confidence in Biden himself, or his policy proposals. I'm not going to say that Biden offers nothing for America-as I've noted elsewhere, he pointed out the holes in Trump's record, and he has made substantive policy proposals on issues such as police brutality and the like. But most voters see this election as either a quest to "stop the radical left" (Trumpists) or as a mission to restore some basic decency to the country (Biden supporters). Progressives and Sanders supporters, on balance, dislike Trump just as much as the rest of the base, but have legitimate concerns about policy that extend back years, and were highlighted during the 2016 election.

[GeneralMacArthur]

I'm glad i don't have to vote. Biden is unworthy of my vote. A bland, boring choice who offers nothing to America and change nothing, except for undo everything Trump did, which is arguably a net win compared to "four more years of Trump who hasn't grown into office". This debate showed that Democrats have learned nothing in the last four years. (Neither did Trump F.Y.I.) Either way, regardless of who wins, America has still a long road ahead of them before being a great country back again. Biden would've lost every election except for this one, where most people just want Trump to get out, instead of Uncle Joe getting elected. It's time to build a leftist opposition against president Biden after the election is over. That's what America needs, a huge leftist opposition movement, incl. Sanders, AOC, Yang, Warren, The Squad and more).

Imagine being on Atlas for the entire last year and still thinking that Biden is offering nothing for America.

This tired leftie talking point is just so damn ignorant.  Biden discussed, or at least tried to discuss, plenty of different policy proposals last night, and if you go to his website there's dozens more.  If you watch any of his speeches or town halls he has plenty that he is offering the country.

To still be sitting here on September 30, 2020 and believing (assuming you're not just trolling) that "Biden offers nothing to America" is just so astonishingly ignorant.  How can you comment on an election every day without having made even the slightest effort to pay attention to what Joe Biden says or stands for?

I don't think you appreciate the extent to which much of the support for Biden is a vote against Donald Trump, and not a vote of confidence in Biden himself, or his policy proposals. I'm not going to say that Biden offers nothing for America-as I've noted elsewhere, he pointed out the holes in Trump's record, and he has made substantive policy proposals on issues such as police brutality and the like. But most voters see this election as either a quest to "stop the radical left" (Trumpists) or as a mission to restore some basic decency to the country (Biden supporters). Progressives and Sanders supporters, on balance, dislike Trump just as much as the rest of the base, but have legitimate concerns about policy that extend back years, and were highlighted during the 2016 election.

Oh that's fine, I absolutely love Joe but I would say that voting against Trump is of much greater consequences to me than voting for Biden.  I suppose that means my support for Joe is mostly a vote "against Trump."

But to try to act like Biden hasn't made any substantive policy proposals, or that he's running on nothing but "I'm not Trump", is just a tired old left-wing talking point that is 100% untrue.  It's 100% false.  And anyone repeating it is either ignorant or maliciously lying to smear Joe.

If you're a progressive and have policy disagreements with Biden, good for you.  That's not what Laki said.  What he said was:

"I'm glad i don't have to vote. Biden is unworthy of my vote. A bland, boring choice who offers nothing to America and change nothing, except for undo everything Trump did, which is arguably a net win compared to "four more years of Trump who hasn't grown into office". This debate showed that Democrats have learned nothing in the last four years. (Neither did Trump F.Y.I.)"

Complete lie.  Absolute, 100%, complete lie.

[Calthrina950]

I'm glad i don't have to vote. Biden is unworthy of my vote. A bland, boring choice who offers nothing to America and change nothing, except for undo everything Trump did, which is arguably a net win compared to "four more years of Trump who hasn't grown into office". This debate showed that Democrats have learned nothing in the last four years. (Neither did Trump F.Y.I.) Either way, regardless of who wins, America has still a long road ahead of them before being a great country back again. Biden would've lost every election except for this one, where most people just want Trump to get out, instead of Uncle Joe getting elected. It's time to build a leftist opposition against president Biden after the election is over. That's what America needs, a huge leftist opposition movement, incl. Sanders, AOC, Yang, Warren, The Squad and more).

Imagine being on Atlas for the entire last year and still thinking that Biden is offering nothing for America.

This tired leftie talking point is just so damn ignorant.  Biden discussed, or at least tried to discuss, plenty of different policy proposals last night, and if you go to his website there's dozens more.  If you watch any of his speeches or town halls he has plenty that he is offering the country.

To still be sitting here on September 30, 2020 and believing (assuming you're not just trolling) that "Biden offers nothing to America" is just so astonishingly ignorant.  How can you comment on an election every day without having made even the slightest effort to pay attention to what Joe Biden says or stands for?

I don't think you appreciate the extent to which much of the support for Biden is a vote against Donald Trump, and not a vote of confidence in Biden himself, or his policy proposals. I'm not going to say that Biden offers nothing for America-as I've noted elsewhere, he pointed out the holes in Trump's record, and he has made substantive policy proposals on issues such as police brutality and the like. But most voters see this election as either a quest to "stop the radical left" (Trumpists) or as a mission to restore some basic decency to the country (Biden supporters). Progressives and Sanders supporters, on balance, dislike Trump just as much as the rest of the base, but have legitimate concerns about policy that extend back years, and were highlighted during the 2016 election.

Oh that's fine, I absolutely love Joe but I would say that voting against Trump is of much greater consequences to me than voting for Biden.  I suppose that means my support for Joe is mostly a vote "against Trump."

But to try to act like Biden hasn't made any substantive policy proposals, or that he's running on nothing but "I'm not Trump", is just a tired old left-wing talking point that is 100% untrue.  It's 100% false.  And anyone repeating it is either ignorant or maliciously lying to smear Joe.

If you're a progressive and have policy disagreements with Biden, good for you.  That's not what Laki said.  What he said was:

"I'm glad i don't have to vote. Biden is unworthy of my vote. A bland, boring choice who offers nothing to America and change nothing, except for undo everything Trump did, which is arguably a net win compared to "four more years of Trump who hasn't grown into office". This debate showed that Democrats have learned nothing in the last four years. (Neither did Trump F.Y.I.)"

Complete lie.  Absolute, 100%, complete lie.

I'm not a progressive-I'm a moderate independent, as I've said many times on this forum (I've lost track of how many times). And Laki's criticism is precisely the criticism that many progressives and Sanders supporters have of Biden-that he will reverse what Trump has done (which is a good thing), but that his policy proposals aren't ones that will substantively advance policy goals that they consider to be of great importance-such as the implementation of universal healthcare and the elimination of student loan debt.

For many progressives, the Democratic and Republican establishments have both advanced policies that have been harmful to America over the past thirty years-whether it be the crime bill, NAFTA, welfare reform, or whatever else. I don't think it would be wise for Democrats to dismiss all of these criticisms, and fortunately, it seems like they are not doing so. Again, the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, for the most part, wants Trump out, but that doesn't mean that they will refrain from supporting candidates that advance their policy priorities in the future.

[GeneralMacArthur]

If he's not going to advance your particular favorite policies, that's very different from saying he stands for nothing and has no policies other than undoing whatever Trump did.

Example:  Biden has a very comprehensive climate and green energy plan that reaches net-zero emissions by 2050.  This is a policy where he's gone into plenty of detail, both in debates and in speeches.  This policy was a key point of difference between him and Bernie -- they spent 15 minutes talking about in their debate (remember "good, but nowhere near enough"?)  This is a policy goal Biden has worked towards at previous points in his career, both in the Obama administration and as a senator.

I'm sorry that's not the Green New Deal.  I'm sorry Joe Biden doesn't want to completely dismantle the economy and spend $90 Trillion implementing a 28-year-old freshman representative's Mock Congress essay.  I'm sorry that he has his own plan that he came up with himself that achieves a green economy and net-zero carbon emissions much more efficiently and effectively.  But to act like, because he doesn't have your particular plan, that he "has no plan" or that there's "no reason for you to vote for him" or "he doesn't stand for anything" is just a complete lie.

[Calthrina950]

If he's not going to advance your particular favorite policies, that's very different from saying he stands for nothing and has no policies other than undoing whatever Trump did.

Example:  Biden has a very comprehensive climate and green energy plan that reaches net-zero emissions by 2050.  This is a policy where he's gone into plenty of detail, both in debates and in speeches.  This policy was a key point of difference between him and Bernie -- they spent 15 minutes talking about in their debate (remember "good, but nowhere near enough"?)  This is a policy goal Biden has worked towards at previous points in his career, both in the Obama administration and as a senator.

I'm sorry that's not the Green New Deal.  I'm sorry Joe Biden doesn't want to completely dismantle the economy and spend $90 Trillion implementing a 28-year-old freshman representative's Mock Congress essay.  I'm sorry that he has his own plan that he came up with himself that achieves a green economy and net-zero carbon emissions much more efficiently and effectively.  But to act like, because he doesn't have your particular plan, that he "has no plan" or that there's "no reason for you to vote for him" or "he doesn't stand for anything" is just a complete lie.

Once again, you missed the points that I was trying to make, and your view that it is "my way or the highway" isn't one that will help mend the divides between moderates and progressives within the Democratic Party. But I think I've said enough here, and I'm not going to drag myself further into this debate.

[GeneralMacArthur]

your view that it is "my way or the highway" isn't one that will help mend the divides between moderates and progressives within the Democratic Party.

Biden has adopted plenty of progressive policy positions, most notably the $15 minimum wage.  You guys just completely ignore those and focus on the ones he hasn't adopted, and then lie lie lie by mischaracterizing that as "my way or the highway."

If Biden were to come out tomorrow and say "I plan on implementing AOC's Green New Deal on my first day in office" the new talking point would be "I can't vote for Biden, he stands for nothing, why won't he adopt M4A, he isn't going to earn progressive votes with this my way or the highway approach."  And so it would continue on, forever and always, the long and winding road of bad-faith rhetoric that ends with everyone just wasting their time as usual.