Thread by @kohenari

Well, they haven’t said a word and it’s already terrible.

Starting on the Supreme Court vacancy, Donald Trump is calmly explaining that having power is all that matters. “We won the election so we have the right to do it.” Biden says what Mitch McConnell said in 2016, except the election has already started this time.

Biden actually answers the question and notes that what matters is that Republicans want to get rid of the Affordable Care Act and are trying to do it right. Ties it to women, people with pre-existing conditions.

Trump keeps interrupting Biden. Biden’s not having it. Nice to see. Brings in COVID deaths. Trump won’t stop talking over everyone. This is already exhausting. Biden just said, “Donald, would you just be quiet for a minute.” Wallace is completely useless as a moderator.

What the hell are we watching?!

Biden can’t believe his luck right now. The President and the moderator just yelling over one another. Biden, weirdly, keeps trying to explain actual policies. He just said, about Trump, “I’m not going to listen to him.” “Everything he’s said so far is a lie.”

Biden: “Folks, do you have any idea what this clown is doing?”

“He doesn’t know how to do that. He has never offered a plan.”

Trump is just saying a bunch of nonsense words.

There is no point to this hour and a half. Trump didn’t prepare so he’s just yelling over everyone, grinding the debate to a halt.

Biden: “Will you shut up, man? This is so unpresidential. Keep yapping, man.”

That segment was on the Supreme Court and also maybe health care? So now it’s the COVID segment.

Biden is now cataloging the Trump administration’s failure. Hammering the downplaying of the virus. Hammering “It is what it is.” Trump is listening to this part quietly, weirdly.

Biden: “I laid out in March & again in July what we should be doing. You should get out of your bunker & out of the sand trap & do what needs to be done to save lives.”

Trump blames China. Talks about how great it was to ban (some) travelers from China. Decides he saved millions

Trump tries to hit Biden on H1N1. Biden rightly won’t have it. Makes an emotional appeal directly to the camera and Trump keeps trying to interrupt but he’s losing to Biden on this one pretty badly.

Wallace is now pushing Trump on the way he contradicts all the doctors and scientists. Trump says he talked to the companies and they could go much faster but the Left makes it all political. Biden responds, “This is the same man who said it would go away by Easter.”

Biden keeps talking right to the camera. It’s the only effective thing that’s happened so far tonight. “A lot of people and a lot more people are going to die if he doesn’t get a lot smarter really fast.” Hits a massive raw nerve with Trump, who can’t stand to be called not-smart

Biden keeps focusing on Trump’s lack of a plan. Biden talks about how effective masks are and that the CDC says wearing masks will save 100,000 lives. Trump stupidly, dangerously repeats the baseless claim that masks are not good. Biden says Trump has been totally irresponsible.

Trump seems to honestly believe that Democrats want the economy to be destroyed. Biden says that millionaires and billionaires have done really well, but “you folks at home...how well are you doing?” Hits Trump on the $750 in taxes. Talks about job loss.

“You can’t fix the economy until you fix the COVID crisis and he has no intention of helping you folks at home. They’ve done nothing to help small business. They’re closing. They need to get on the job so we can openly safely.” Trump’s response is that people want things open.

“I’m the one who brought back football. People in Ohio are very proud of me.”

Now we’re moving to Trump’s taxes. Trump says he paid millions of dollars in income taxes. Biden keeps saying, “show us your tax returns.” Wallace asks again. Federal income taxes. He says millions.

There is no doubt that he’s lying directly to the American people right now, on national television, in the middle of a presidential debate. Biden says Trump pays less in taxes than a school teacher.

Trump yells over everyone, says whatever he wants, there’s no effective moderation. Meanwhile, Biden managed to get in, “You are the worst President we have ever had.”

Biden is interrupted by Trump on every question; Wallace’s response to that is to then ask Trump a question.

I don’t understand why Chris Wallace is sitting there and allowing this nonsense to continue. Trump is yelling about Hunter Biden and China and Burisma. Every time Biden talks, Trump interrupts. Biden says, “He doesn’t want to let me answer because he knows I have the truth.”

Biden turns to the camera again: “He doesn’t want to talk about what you need. You. This is about you. He doesn’t want to talk about you.”

Oh, good. Now we’re going to talk about race. Biden talks about equity. He talks about the antisemitism of Charlottesville. “Very fine people on both sides.” When George Floyd was killed, Trump tear gassed protesters so he could walk to the church with a Bible.

Biden says Trump uses dog whistles. Says Trump doesn’t care at all about the African American community. Trump talks about the crime bill from 1994 and says he’s letting people out of jail now. We’re talking about race and Trump is talking about law enforcement supporting him.

Now Trump is yelling about law and order and the radical Left. Remember, this question was about why the American people should trust him to deal with race issues.

Biden just flat out says there’s systemic injustice in America. Says he’ll work out the issues with policing by bringing everyone together. Says police have to be held accountable.

Trump says racial sensitivity training is racist. That’s why he ended it. He says we were paying to teach very bad and very sick ideas, teaching people to hate our country. “And I’m not going to allow that to happen.” I think Biden just said “He’s a racist.” Might’ve misheard.

Biden: “This isn’t 1950. These dog whistles don’t work anymore. What’s really a threat to the suburbs is his failure to deal with COVID and with the environment.”

Biden explains the changes to policing that he would propose. Trump interrupts to say it’s not what Biden will do, despite Biden just saying that’s what he’s proposing. Trump inanely says that law enforcement groups don’t support him, as if that’s some kind of evidence.

Chris Wallace wants to know why Biden hasn’t called the leaders in Oregon to bring in the National Guard. Biden explains that he doesn’t currently hold national office. He’s called for an end to violence. He says Trump pours gas on the fire because it’s good for him.

Wallace asks Trump to condemn white supremacists. Trump can’t do it. He cannot do it. Immediately pivots to antifa. Wallace is laughing about how badly this is going but it’s not funny at all.

Trump says there has never been an administration that has done what he has done. I still can’t get over the fact that he COULD NOT condemn white supremacist violence a minute ago. The man is explicitly telling you who he is. He was told, go ahead and do it. And he didn’t do it.

Wallace tells Trump, again, that his side agreed to two uninterrupted minutes and he keeps interrupting Biden. Biden says to the camera, “He never keeps his word.” Biden is hammering Trump on his comments about the military. Trump starts to hammer Biden on Hunter Biden.

I’ll be honest. I can’t believe that Biden doesn’t walk over and punch Trump in the face. I don’t know how he manages to stand there and listen to this disgusting crap.

Now it’s the segment where Trump pretends that he’s doing things that are good for the environment. Moronic forest management. When asked about climate science, he says we need to do everything to have air and immaculate water. Then it’s back to cleaning the ground in forests.

This man is an absolute buffoon. He doesn’t know anything at all about climate science. He says he rolled back environmental standards because it’s expensive. His argument is that money is the reason we can’t protect the environment. That’s it right there.

Good luck to Joe Biden responding to that long list of nonsense from Trump. Biden unrolls an actual plan rather than responding to Trump’s forest management nonsense. He talks about green jobs, not costing jobs. A new, green infrastructure. Rejoining the Paris Climate Accord.

Trump goes off on the Green New Deal: “They want to take out the cows.” Wallace actually read Biden’s plan and asks him about it. Biden says it’ll create jobs, not cost money.

“Please, sir, stop.” Chris Wallace doesn’t know what to do with someone like Trump, who has no ideas, refuses to play by the rules, yells and screams and calls names. He’s been completely lost throughout this “debate.” It’s pathetic and awful.

Biden encourages people to vote. Says there’s no evidence of fraud. Says Trump wants to dissuade people from voting. Biden turns to the camera. “You will determine the outcome of this election. He cannot stop you.”

Biden says, “If we get the votes, he can’t stay in power. Is it going to change or will it be 4 more years of these lies?”

Trump goes off on a bunch of nonsense about an Obama/Hillary coup against him. Transitions to how we’re going to have fraud.

There is nothing more dangerous than what Trump has just done. He is being given opportunity after opportunity to discredit the upcoming election and he very happily takes every opportunity. Says he’s counting on the Supreme Court. Says mailmen are selling ballots.

Biden says, “He’s just afraid of counting the votes.” Wallace asks if they’ll urge supporters to stay calm and pledge they won’t declare victory until the election has been independently verified. Trump does not do this. He urges his supporters to go watch the polls.

Trump is very straightforwardly explaining that he will not tell his supporters to stay calm. Instead says the Democrats cheat.

Biden says yes, he’ll urge his supporters to remain calm and will wait for the results. He says the process is honest, there’s no fraud.

Biden says “I’ll accept it and he will too. Once all the votes are counted, that’ll be the end of it. Biden says he’ll be president for everyone.” Trump just keeps yelling.

What an awful, awful night. This is absolutely how democracy dies.