Second Presidential Debate Thread (at 9pm ET)

[wbrocks67]

Pretty astonishing that the CNN poll was R-leaning (I feel like this never happens either, they always say that its D-leaning), and yet Biden still won by 14% and his favorability ended up at 56%, while Trumps dropped a pt to 41%. Says it all really. Also proves that Indies are not happy with Trump this year.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Trump needs a vaccine to change the tragectory of the race, he never should have promised a vaccine that he told the American people that it was on its way, it backfired in him. But, as we know, there isn't a cure for the common cold, thats why they are telling people to prevent Covid, get your annual flu shot. In the Winter, we are gonna have a spiral of cases due to flu season

[pantsaregood]

Trump needs a vaccine to change the tragectory of the race, he never should have promised a vaccine that he told the American people that it was on its way, it backfired in him. But, as we know, there isn't a cure for the common cold, thats why they are telling people to prevent Covid, get your annual flu shot. In the Winter, we are gonna have a spiral of cases due to flu season

But what about HEGAR?

[Buzz]

Pretty astonishing that the CNN poll was R-leaning (I feel like this never happens either, they always say that its D-leaning), and yet Biden still won by 14% and his favorability ended up at 56%, while Trumps dropped a pt to 41%. Says it all really. Also proves that Indies are not happy with Trump this year.

it’s not astonishing at all.  It’s literally almost identical to their last debate poll of 2016.  Trump lost by 13 and it was R leaning

[Inmate Trump]

Last night's debate was significantly more civil and watchable than the first one.  Well, for the most part.  Trump started to unravel again towards the middle and end of the debate, but overall it was far different from the first debate and there was - get this - actual policy discussion.

Having said that, it was still a pretty bad debate and a bad sign for America's future if we continue down this path.  In recent years, Donald Trump has set the bar so low that simply anything forming a somewhat coherent message that can be easily understood is now considered a good debate performance - even if that message is entirely false.  Donald Trump has made it so that truth is not important in matters of public discourse.

Biden didn't do any harm to his campaign, and Trump probably solidified whatever soft support is left for him.  Because of Trump's more calm demeanor, I do think he'll see more of a rise in the polls than Biden will...but by the same token, I doubt Biden will see any decline in his poll numbers.  The debate will be seen as basically a wash.

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

Yeah these checkout, I know even a housecat kills a bunch of birds and rodents per year if it has any kind of woods around it.

A friend of mine texted me today that she found a mouse in her house. And then 3 minutes later she said her cat killed it and was playing with the corpse, lol.

I love cats

If there's a mouse in our house, one of our cats comes to get us, meowing at us to follow her. She leads us to where she knows the mouse is, and gets all agitated and excited.

[wbrocks67]

Last night's debate was significantly more civil and watchable than the first one.  Well, for the most part.  Trump started to unravel again towards the middle and end of the debate, but overall it was far different from the first debate and there was - get this - actual policy discussion.

Having said that, it was still a pretty bad debate and a bad sign for America's future if we continue down this path.  In recent years, Donald Trump has set the bar so low that simply anything forming a somewhat coherent message that can be easily understood is now considered a good debate performance - even if that message is entirely false.  Donald Trump has made it so that truth is not important in matters of public discourse.

Biden didn't do any harm to his campaign, and Trump probably solidified whatever soft support is left for him.  Because of Trump's more calm demeanor, I do think he'll see more of a rise in the polls than Biden will...but by the same token, I doubt Biden will see any decline in his poll numbers.  The debate will be seen as basically a wash.

If the NC undecided voter panel is any indication, then no, I don't think that's the case. It sounds like undecided voters in general lean Biden.

[woodley park]

Last night's debate was significantly more civil and watchable than the first one.  Well, for the most part.  Trump started to unravel again towards the middle and end of the debate, but overall it was far different from the first debate and there was - get this - actual policy discussion.

Having said that, it was still a pretty bad debate and a bad sign for America's future if we continue down this path.  In recent years, Donald Trump has set the bar so low that simply anything forming a somewhat coherent message that can be easily understood is now considered a good debate performance - even if that message is entirely false.  Donald Trump has made it so that truth is not important in matters of public discourse.

Biden didn't do any harm to his campaign, and Trump probably solidified whatever soft support is left for him.  Because of Trump's more calm demeanor, I do think he'll see more of a rise in the polls than Biden will...but by the same token, I doubt Biden will see any decline in his poll numbers.  The debate will be seen as basically a wash.

I dunno, I thought Trump's behavior was pretty atrocious throughout the debate, with his regurgitation of the Hunter Biden story, his mockery of Biden's appeals to struggling Americans at their kitchen table, his shrugging off safety measures like plexiglass, his call for Americans to just ignore the virus and go back to regular life, and his indifference to (what folks should call) 'catch and cage' representing notable lows.

I went on Twitter expecting to see the pundits basically forming consensus around how bad a job he did, as they noted last time, yet instead I saw Amy "Van Jones" Walter talking about Trump's restraint, and Josh Kraushaar concern trolling about Biden's comments on oil. So in terms of Biden doing no harm, it would appear the pundit 'luminaries' disagree. Either their takes are bad, or I just reacted very differently to the debate than they did. Who the hell knows.

[Use Your Illusion]

Last night's debate was significantly more civil and watchable than the first one.  Well, for the most part.  Trump started to unravel again towards the middle and end of the debate, but overall it was far different from the first debate and there was - get this - actual policy discussion.

Having said that, it was still a pretty bad debate and a bad sign for America's future if we continue down this path.  In recent years, Donald Trump has set the bar so low that simply anything forming a somewhat coherent message that can be easily understood is now considered a good debate performance - even if that message is entirely false.  Donald Trump has made it so that truth is not important in matters of public discourse.

Biden didn't do any harm to his campaign, and Trump probably solidified whatever soft support is left for him.  Because of Trump's more calm demeanor, I do think he'll see more of a rise in the polls than Biden will...but by the same token, I doubt Biden will see any decline in his poll numbers.  The debate will be seen as basically a wash.

A sign that we need a new generation of leadership

[CellarDoor]

Last night's debate was significantly more civil and watchable than the first one.  Well, for the most part.  Trump started to unravel again towards the middle and end of the debate, but overall it was far different from the first debate and there was - get this - actual policy discussion.

Having said that, it was still a pretty bad debate and a bad sign for America's future if we continue down this path.  In recent years, Donald Trump has set the bar so low that simply anything forming a somewhat coherent message that can be easily understood is now considered a good debate performance - even if that message is entirely false.  Donald Trump has made it so that truth is not important in matters of public discourse.

Biden didn't do any harm to his campaign, and Trump probably solidified whatever soft support is left for him.  Because of Trump's more calm demeanor, I do think he'll see more of a rise in the polls than Biden will...but by the same token, I doubt Biden will see any decline in his poll numbers.  The debate will be seen as basically a wash.

If the NC undecided voter panel is any indication, then no, I don't think that's the case. It sounds like undecided voters in general lean Biden.

Which is not really surprising. Virtually all polls throughout this cycle have shown undecideds are composed of demographics favorable to Biden. A chunk of these undecideds won't vote at all, but my guess is that those who decided to watch the debate were looking for a reason to vote for Biden, and might have found one. Biden had a strong night.  

Trump has put himself in a place where his only play is to energize his base and try to suppress Biden's. He isn't going to win over large chunks of new and undecided voters.

[Woody]

Trump won, especially when it came to race (crime bill) and the fracking exchange.

[BaldEagle1991]

I just can't but laugh when Trump said he was the least racist person in the room...

...when this damn room contains the moderator Kristen Welker a Black-Native American woman and Joe Biden who was the VP to a Black man for 8 years.

[TopShelfGoal]

In sports terms, Trump was down 4-1 in a hockey game in the 3rd period with 8 minutes left in the game and he got a 5 minute major PP and he didn't score, yeah he didn't get scored on which would have been worst but now he only has 3 minutes left to score 3 goals. He needed to score 2 goals in that game changing moment and he didn't.

[TopShelfGoal]

I just can't but laugh when Trump said he was the least racist person in the room...

...when this damn room contains the moderator Kristen Welker a Black-Native American woman and Joe Biden who was the VP to a Black man for 8 years.

I legitimately laughed out loud when he said he has done more for African Americans than any other president with the exception of maybe Lincoln. The "maybe" got me- he didn't even unequivocally say that Lincoln had done more for AA community than him.

[Joe Biden is your president. Deal with it.]

Biden missed an opportunity to counterattack Trump when he was ripping him for “hiding in the basement”. Biden should’ve countered with something like “says the one who hid in a bunker in the White House from the BLM protesters”

[BaldEagle1991]

I just can't but laugh when Trump said he was the least racist person in the room...

...when this damn room contains the moderator Kristen Welker a Black-Native American woman and Joe Biden who was the VP to a Black man for 8 years.

I legitimately laughed out loud when he said he has done more for African Americans than any other president with the exception of maybe Lincoln. The "maybe" got me- he didn't even unequivocally say that Lincoln had done more for AA community than him.

That was another laughable moment cause if they were the case he’d be polling 50% + among African Americans. Cause Lincoln’s a high standard.

[GeneralMacArthur]

In sports terms, Trump was down 4-1 in a hockey game in the 3rd period with 8 minutes left in the game and he got a 5 minute major PP and he didn't score, yeah he didn't get scored on which would have been worst but now he only has 3 minutes left to score 3 goals. He needed to score 2 goals in that game changing moment and he didn't.

It reminds me of Oscar's goal at the 90' mark in the 7-1 Brazil-Germany World Cup game.

Good job, you got 'em, I guess it's not a complete start-to-finish blowout now.  That's not at all enough to undo the failures of the rest of the game, and it's not going to turn anything around.  It's still the mineiraço.  Just you managed to find a way to not humiliate yourself in the final 5 minutes.

[Badger]

The fact that Trump's jaw-dropping assertion that he's done more for African Americans than any president with the possible exception of Lincoln as just Trump shows just How Far We've descended as a country. Leave aside the notion of whether or not Trump is racist or not (though he obviously is). The fact that someone could make such a megalomaniac statement while still sitting in the Oval Office and 45% of Americans just shrug or nod their heads in agreement is - - - mind-blowing and utterly disappointing at the same time.

[emailking]

He's made this claim on Twitter like half a dozen times by the way. For a few years now.

[GP270watch]

The fact that Trump's jaw-dropping assertion that he's done more for African Americans than any president with the possible exception of Lincoln as just Trump shows just How Far We've descended as a country. Leave aside the notion of whether or not Trump is racist or not (though he obviously is). The fact that someone could make such a megalomaniac statement while still sitting in the Oval Office and 45% of Americans just shrug or nod their heads in agreement is - - - mind-blowing and utterly disappointing at the same time.

 This statement is aimed at his base and not African Americans.

[GP270watch]

 Why does Trump and in some instance the public believe the stock market will do worse under Biden? Historically the stock market does about the same to slightly better under Democrats. Obama/Biden have beat Trump on near month to month basis in S&P 500 returns even before the pandemic.

https://www.macrotrends.net/2481/stock-market-performance-by-president

[Stranger in a strange land]

The fact that Trump's jaw-dropping assertion that he's done more for African Americans than any president with the possible exception of Lincoln as just Trump shows just How Far We've descended as a country. Leave aside the notion of whether or not Trump is racist or not (though he obviously is). The fact that someone could make such a megalomaniac statement while still sitting in the Oval Office and 45% of Americans just shrug or nod their heads in agreement is - - - mind-blowing and utterly disappointing at the same time.

 This statement is aimed at his base and not African Americans.

This is true, but it's still an outrageous claim to make.

[Calthrina950]

The fact that Trump's jaw-dropping assertion that he's done more for African Americans than any president with the possible exception of Lincoln as just Trump shows just How Far We've descended as a country. Leave aside the notion of whether or not Trump is racist or not (though he obviously is). The fact that someone could make such a megalomaniac statement while still sitting in the Oval Office and 45% of Americans just shrug or nod their heads in agreement is - - - mind-blowing and utterly disappointing at the same time.

 This statement is aimed at his base and not African Americans.

This is true, but it's still an outrageous claim to make.

And it also demonstrates how mind-numbingly ignorant Trump is about American history, and history in general. Lyndon Johnson, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and even Presidents such as Ulysses S. Grant have done more for black Americans than Trump.

[Badger]

Why does Trump and in some instance the public believe the stock market will do worse under Biden? Historically the stock market does about the same to slightly better under Democrats. Obama/Biden have beat Trump on near month to month basis in S&P 500 returns even before the pandemic.

https://www.macrotrends.net/2481/stock-market-performance-by-president

A combination of "muh socialism" and blind worship of the infallible orange God Emperor.

[Asta]

Why does Trump and in some instance the public believe the stock market will do worse under Biden? Historically the stock market does about the same to slightly better under Democrats. Obama/Biden have beat Trump on near month to month basis in S&P 500 returns even before the pandemic.

https://www.macrotrends.net/2481/stock-market-performance-by-president

Stocks are grossly overvalued right now anyway. It should not have rebounded after the covid-crash. Trump is really lucky that it is his only saving grace at this point and that Wall Street still has modicum of faith left in him.