Media lied to voters about the cause of President Biden’s subpar debate performance. The lie—described here in full—is unforgivable, and was intended to chill discussion of Trump’s cognitive decline.
Seth, people are missing another important factor here, which was a massive factor.
We watched a grieving father with a known stutter and a head cold have his dead son denigrated to his face.
Then we still expected him to have a pristine debate performance, and are trying to punish him because he did not.
I have lost a son. Let me be very clear.
The fact that this was allowed to happen without anyone putting a stop to it or calling it out for how absolutely low and unacceptable that was, is a problem.
I have not seen, read, or heard a single reporter, debate moderator, official, or celebrity say even one word about how wrong that was. This isn’t even being talked about at all as a factor. Friends, it was a MASSIVE one.
Had this happened to me during a debate?
1. I’d have called out the moderators for letting it stand.
2. I’d have said to my opponent: I’m happy that you’ve never lost a child, sad that you have no compassion, and wouldn’t even wish this on scum like you.
3. I’d have walked off the debate stage.
If you haven’t ever lost a child, and I sincerely hope you have not, you can’t begin to fathom what that felt like for him. He took a knockout-level punch to his most tender, vulnerable spot. In front of the entire world. And yet, he Kept Fucking Going because he understood the stakes. The courage and resolve that took is astonishing, and I’m humbled and moved by it.
Being a bereaved parent is like having a program always running in the background while you’re using your computer, but every day, at least once, it throws you a pop-up you have to actively close before you can continue. And it takes effort to close. And you have to just take a beat before you get back to whatever you were just doing.
…Except this man had a pop-up come up on his screen in front of 38 million people, placed there deliberately by a bad actor, and wasn’t able to stop for a second, collect himself, and close it. (I hope the metaphor is making sense to folks.)
And somebody needed to say that.
I in particular needed to say it by way of informing folks that I will 100% not be entertaining any conversation about “Joe Biden needs to step down.” If that’s what you think, then you don’t understand what was really going on that night, and I hope you’re never in a position to understand it the way I do.
That he doesn’t at this point walk away from US in disgust and disappointment is a testament to the magnitude of his character.
This is such important insight. To compound the strain, it’s my understanding that Trump continued to jabber while Biden was talking. Trump‘s mic was turned off, but he was so close to Biden that it was impossible to completely ignore. I think under the circumstances, Biden was able to regroup and perform incredibly well. I hope people will read the full transcript.
The Democratic Party apparatus failed once again by allowing the debate in the first place. As we say in Texas, "never get into a pissing contest with an [orange] skunk."
Heidi, one of the most cruelest activity was how republicans used Hunter’s addiction as fodder to embarrass President Biden. It hurt my heart to watch it.
He's been missing in action because those wonderful Epstein court pages were released ..remember deflection ...it's all he knows . And as far as tRumps health , he probley has STDs of every type possible. Another reason to stay as far away from him as possible , and a good reason to keep Joe as far away as possible. After the Oct 20 debate tRump tried to give Biden COVID , never trust a Repub ....they're brains are full of worms and STDs.🤷😉😉
There's even more than you can imagine . Bad enough women but little girls and young boys ..absolutely predator BS. Horrible but it answers Trump's sudden disappearance until he thinks it's dropped ,or forgotten . Over Bidens age 🤣😂🤷🤦
We should all remember that the recent frenzy about Biden's age began to be ramped up by the media when Republican Special Counsel Robert Hur made his snarky and inappropriate comments about Biden's age. The press made this a major story for way too long and then Comer made his play for the tapes of the interviews.
I just d'cd my 22-year subscription to the New York Times. There is ample evidence that the mainstream media vigor re: the "Biden stampede" started well before the debate, and has as much to do with Biden standing up to Netanyahu as anything else.
In addition, years of evidence show mainstream media never understood Trump's Gish Gallop, and certainly never dissected same for the public.
MSM has focused on the Democratic Party's "Gaza issue" by throwing liberal/progressive discord directly onto Biden's lap, as if Biden has all-towering influence over the extremist led governance messes across the Middle East.
In the next months, tens-of-millions of Americans will get a personal dose of reality that will feel very much like a bucket of cold water thrown to rouse the somnolent out of bed.
I am seriously ready to cancel them and WaPo, which has really gotten out of hand. They are both playing into the same damn narrative as 2016 but even worse this time around. It's disgusting how they seem to have it in for Biden no matter what even though we are facing the worst crisis this country has seen since the Civil War. But hey, those ad dollars and eyeballs are all they seem to care about.
I'm beyond angry that they are putting out garbage worthy of Faux et al. I fight back in the comments sections of both papers, it's easier to do in WaPo and many of the commenters re: Biden are expressing the same sentiments as me - enough with the ageist bullshit and attempts to undermine his candidacy, we are fighting to keep our democracy and keep out the christo-fascists tying to turn us into a real life Republic of Gilead. The NYT, however, is very selective about what they will post for comments and more often than not, my comments don't get posted when I tell them to knock it off with the daily multiple articles about Biden dropping out, being replaced, too old, etc.
Thank you for this detailed accounting that lays it all out. I have been shaking my head and feeling heartsick lately, reading MSM (stands for mainstream media, which I recently figured out, hah.) I refuse to give in to hopelessness and part of how I continue to believe in the power of those of us who believe in supporting democracy while unmasking the heinous lies of those who work ceaselessly towards its demise is seeing people like you who work tirelessly to serve up the truth.
The Sulzberger Sniper, the Bezos Bugle, and the Cretin News Network stand revealed as the liars and connivers they are. Along with the rest of the over-educated, under-intelligent, otherwise-unemployables of the DC Press Corpse. The Sniper and the Bugle have recorded record subscription cancellations since the debate, while ratings for the Cretin News Network continue to crater. They finally did themselves in yesterday with that entitled white boy scream of rage in the White House briefing room, where they got their heads handed to them.
And the Diaper Democrats are now running to the nearest microphone to proclaim their support of President Biden. Nadler was the most abject, being forced to say "I was wrong" on the record.
CNN just laid off hundreds of news people because their ratings cratered after the debate. May the same fate befall NYTimes, WAPO, FOX, MSNBC and WSJ. My life is more peaceful since I shut them all out.
Yes, it appears that Silly Season is still with us. There must be something in the air back there, even Pelosi has managed to "step in one." And to top it off, The Most Overrated Man In Hollywood - George Clooney - is now "done" with Biden. The man who has fucked up every movie he gets to do since his fluke success in "ER" now judges Biden to not be "smart enough." (After having been in Hollywood for 40 years and been able to see these "legends in their own minds" close enough that I didn't need my opera glasses, let me assure you most of their opinions on anything aren't as good as what you hear from the drunk at the end of the bar.)
That is a good description. George is a nice guy to know; it's impossible to dislike him, which is the secret of his success and why people who should know better keep saying yes to his movie ideas. But when it comes to knowing what the Big Issues are and what to do with them, he's no different from any other rando at the end of the bar.
He’s my senator, and he is most assuredly an asshole. He’s done a good deal of environmental work while in Congress, but he often does not exercise common sense when it comes to political decisions.
Investigative journalism, something I've been missing greatly, and a rarity these days. Thank you for doing the hard work and leaving it "lengthy" for those of us who still read. For someone who has known what trump is since first reading up on him in the early 80s, it wouldn't matter who was running against that school yard bully, they'd have my vote.
Thank you for the clarity. My Twitter (I refuse to call it ‘X’) groups have already started a MSM blackout because so many are disgusted with the obvious anti-Biden hit pieces streaming daily.
I would love it if you added your expertise to the Epstein docs just released. Whats actually true and what’s the backstory. Seems this is truly a blockbuster if it’s all true.
I think they can but they choose not to. There are some good in depth pieces, I think, at both, shedding light on some bad things in this country and elsewhere, such as the immigrant children working at slaughterhouses and roofing jobs. But this debate aftermath is just unbelievable and reckless. I cancelled asubscriptions at NY Times, WaPo and The Guardian (a particularly snarky article there by a young woman (Tina?) that was ridiculous).
all of this insanity has been driven by the polling-
Which I'm just not sure I believe.
My fear is that democrats like Michael Bennet will force Biden to withdraw by claiming he can't be elected and then proceed to go after Kamala Harris before the convention because she will be down in the polls too.
and then we have NOTHING but total chaos in the party.
I totally agree with this. How does anyone know that one candidate would do better against Trump than another? There are people who love Biden, there are people who love Kamala, etc. Would you lose some and gain some by switching? The emphasis should be IMO on how terrible (well illustrate din this piece by Seth) to convince those who are on the fence over Trump v. Biden, or about whether to vote at all.
Another point must be that Biden was probably reeling from the staggering number of outright UNCHECKED and UNSTOPPED lies spewing from the cloaca mouth of Donald Trump. Who could have prepared for this? Why was it not stopped? Why did the media give him an outright pass? This was not a debate, it was an unchecked shitshow.
Yes. "Gish gallop" is a thing. I'm guessing that "the media" is covering for CNN's abysmal failure, on the "there but for fortune" theory. Which isn't just a theory, because most of them are equally incapable of dealing with reality.
Exactly. It would have turned him into the de facto fact checker which is not fair although a clever strategy could have served him if his handlers were creative, such as holding fingers up every time Trump lied, something like that.
Seth, people are missing another important factor here, which was a massive factor.
We watched a grieving father with a known stutter and a head cold have his dead son denigrated to his face.
Then we still expected him to have a pristine debate performance, and are trying to punish him because he did not.
I have lost a son. Let me be very clear.
The fact that this was allowed to happen without anyone putting a stop to it or calling it out for how absolutely low and unacceptable that was, is a problem.
I have not seen, read, or heard a single reporter, debate moderator, official, or celebrity say even one word about how wrong that was. This isn’t even being talked about at all as a factor. Friends, it was a MASSIVE one.
Had this happened to me during a debate?
1. I’d have called out the moderators for letting it stand.
2. I’d have said to my opponent: I’m happy that you’ve never lost a child, sad that you have no compassion, and wouldn’t even wish this on scum like you.
3. I’d have walked off the debate stage.
If you haven’t ever lost a child, and I sincerely hope you have not, you can’t begin to fathom what that felt like for him. He took a knockout-level punch to his most tender, vulnerable spot. In front of the entire world. And yet, he Kept Fucking Going because he understood the stakes. The courage and resolve that took is astonishing, and I’m humbled and moved by it.
Well said. Yes.
Being a bereaved parent is like having a program always running in the background while you’re using your computer, but every day, at least once, it throws you a pop-up you have to actively close before you can continue. And it takes effort to close. And you have to just take a beat before you get back to whatever you were just doing.
…Except this man had a pop-up come up on his screen in front of 38 million people, placed there deliberately by a bad actor, and wasn’t able to stop for a second, collect himself, and close it. (I hope the metaphor is making sense to folks.)
And somebody needed to say that.
I in particular needed to say it by way of informing folks that I will 100% not be entertaining any conversation about “Joe Biden needs to step down.” If that’s what you think, then you don’t understand what was really going on that night, and I hope you’re never in a position to understand it the way I do.
That he doesn’t at this point walk away from US in disgust and disappointment is a testament to the magnitude of his character.
This is such important insight. To compound the strain, it’s my understanding that Trump continued to jabber while Biden was talking. Trump‘s mic was turned off, but he was so close to Biden that it was impossible to completely ignore. I think under the circumstances, Biden was able to regroup and perform incredibly well. I hope people will read the full transcript.
The transcript is so different from what we saw.
Right? I wish folks could be walked through it online or on a cable news show.
The Democratic Party apparatus failed once again by allowing the debate in the first place. As we say in Texas, "never get into a pissing contest with an [orange] skunk."
They were hoping to turn the polling around.
that was an epic fail.
I wish you were the publisher of the New York Times. I cannot imagine how hard you have been working to turn this out so quickly. Thank you.
Heidi, one of the most cruelest activity was how republicans used Hunter’s addiction as fodder to embarrass President Biden. It hurt my heart to watch it.
He's been missing in action because those wonderful Epstein court pages were released ..remember deflection ...it's all he knows . And as far as tRumps health , he probley has STDs of every type possible. Another reason to stay as far away from him as possible , and a good reason to keep Joe as far away as possible. After the Oct 20 debate tRump tried to give Biden COVID , never trust a Repub ....they're brains are full of worms and STDs.🤷😉😉
are the Epstein court papers for real?
and if they are, why isn't anyone publishing them?
From what I have seen, they are DISGUSTING.
But I'm not sure they are authentic.
There's even more than you can imagine . Bad enough women but little girls and young boys ..absolutely predator BS. Horrible but it answers Trump's sudden disappearance until he thinks it's dropped ,or forgotten . Over Bidens age 🤣😂🤷🤦
We should all remember that the recent frenzy about Biden's age began to be ramped up by the media when Republican Special Counsel Robert Hur made his snarky and inappropriate comments about Biden's age. The press made this a major story for way too long and then Comer made his play for the tapes of the interviews.
Seth, you called it, again.
I just d'cd my 22-year subscription to the New York Times. There is ample evidence that the mainstream media vigor re: the "Biden stampede" started well before the debate, and has as much to do with Biden standing up to Netanyahu as anything else.
In addition, years of evidence show mainstream media never understood Trump's Gish Gallop, and certainly never dissected same for the public.
MSM has focused on the Democratic Party's "Gaza issue" by throwing liberal/progressive discord directly onto Biden's lap, as if Biden has all-towering influence over the extremist led governance messes across the Middle East.
In the next months, tens-of-millions of Americans will get a personal dose of reality that will feel very much like a bucket of cold water thrown to rouse the somnolent out of bed.
I canceled them back in December I got so sick of them.
I'm getting close to cancelling them.
I am seriously ready to cancel them and WaPo, which has really gotten out of hand. They are both playing into the same damn narrative as 2016 but even worse this time around. It's disgusting how they seem to have it in for Biden no matter what even though we are facing the worst crisis this country has seen since the Civil War. But hey, those ad dollars and eyeballs are all they seem to care about.
I'm beyond angry that they are putting out garbage worthy of Faux et al. I fight back in the comments sections of both papers, it's easier to do in WaPo and many of the commenters re: Biden are expressing the same sentiments as me - enough with the ageist bullshit and attempts to undermine his candidacy, we are fighting to keep our democracy and keep out the christo-fascists tying to turn us into a real life Republic of Gilead. The NYT, however, is very selective about what they will post for comments and more often than not, my comments don't get posted when I tell them to knock it off with the daily multiple articles about Biden dropping out, being replaced, too old, etc.
Yup! When I canceled NYT in December I kicked WaPo to the curb at the same time. Haven't missed them and their right wing propaganda.
Thank you for this detailed accounting that lays it all out. I have been shaking my head and feeling heartsick lately, reading MSM (stands for mainstream media, which I recently figured out, hah.) I refuse to give in to hopelessness and part of how I continue to believe in the power of those of us who believe in supporting democracy while unmasking the heinous lies of those who work ceaselessly towards its demise is seeing people like you who work tirelessly to serve up the truth.
Seth, this is a great piece. Your work continues to amaze me. Thanks for all you are doing.
The Sulzberger Sniper, the Bezos Bugle, and the Cretin News Network stand revealed as the liars and connivers they are. Along with the rest of the over-educated, under-intelligent, otherwise-unemployables of the DC Press Corpse. The Sniper and the Bugle have recorded record subscription cancellations since the debate, while ratings for the Cretin News Network continue to crater. They finally did themselves in yesterday with that entitled white boy scream of rage in the White House briefing room, where they got their heads handed to them.
And the Diaper Democrats are now running to the nearest microphone to proclaim their support of President Biden. Nadler was the most abject, being forced to say "I was wrong" on the record.
The Revolt of the DC Useless is over.
I thought it was over.
Then Bennet went on CNN.
that asshole.
CNN just laid off hundreds of news people because their ratings cratered after the debate. May the same fate befall NYTimes, WAPO, FOX, MSNBC and WSJ. My life is more peaceful since I shut them all out.
Yes, it appears that Silly Season is still with us. There must be something in the air back there, even Pelosi has managed to "step in one." And to top it off, The Most Overrated Man In Hollywood - George Clooney - is now "done" with Biden. The man who has fucked up every movie he gets to do since his fluke success in "ER" now judges Biden to not be "smart enough." (After having been in Hollywood for 40 years and been able to see these "legends in their own minds" close enough that I didn't need my opera glasses, let me assure you most of their opinions on anything aren't as good as what you hear from the drunk at the end of the bar.)
Clooney is a good guy who is TOTALLY out of his depth.
That is a good description. George is a nice guy to know; it's impossible to dislike him, which is the secret of his success and why people who should know better keep saying yes to his movie ideas. But when it comes to knowing what the Big Issues are and what to do with them, he's no different from any other rando at the end of the bar.
He’s my senator, and he is most assuredly an asshole. He’s done a good deal of environmental work while in Congress, but he often does not exercise common sense when it comes to political decisions.
I hope you are right about it being over.
Biden for the Win by the people,for the people. Vote 💙
The Wealthy can pay their fair share of taxes.
Vote in your primaries to get the Wealthy out of office.
We need to be heard.
Seth, Bravo 👏
Long read but packed with information.
Thank You.
Investigative journalism, something I've been missing greatly, and a rarity these days. Thank you for doing the hard work and leaving it "lengthy" for those of us who still read. For someone who has known what trump is since first reading up on him in the early 80s, it wouldn't matter who was running against that school yard bully, they'd have my vote.
You smashed this, Seth. Well done. We need to keep the pressure on major media and their outrageous mishandling of the truth.
Thank you for the clarity. My Twitter (I refuse to call it ‘X’) groups have already started a MSM blackout because so many are disgusted with the obvious anti-Biden hit pieces streaming daily.
I would love it if you added your expertise to the Epstein docs just released. Whats actually true and what’s the backstory. Seems this is truly a blockbuster if it’s all true.
Great work, once again. Simple, fact-based, and straightforward. Why can't the WAPO and NYT write like this?
Because they're actually Republicans.
I think they can but they choose not to. There are some good in depth pieces, I think, at both, shedding light on some bad things in this country and elsewhere, such as the immigrant children working at slaughterhouses and roofing jobs. But this debate aftermath is just unbelievable and reckless. I cancelled asubscriptions at NY Times, WaPo and The Guardian (a particularly snarky article there by a young woman (Tina?) that was ridiculous).
Money trumps truth.
all of this insanity has been driven by the polling-
Which I'm just not sure I believe.
My fear is that democrats like Michael Bennet will force Biden to withdraw by claiming he can't be elected and then proceed to go after Kamala Harris before the convention because she will be down in the polls too.
and then we have NOTHING but total chaos in the party.
Because we are panicking over the polling-
Which very well might be wrong.
I totally agree with this. How does anyone know that one candidate would do better against Trump than another? There are people who love Biden, there are people who love Kamala, etc. Would you lose some and gain some by switching? The emphasis should be IMO on how terrible (well illustrate din this piece by Seth) to convince those who are on the fence over Trump v. Biden, or about whether to vote at all.
Another point must be that Biden was probably reeling from the staggering number of outright UNCHECKED and UNSTOPPED lies spewing from the cloaca mouth of Donald Trump. Who could have prepared for this? Why was it not stopped? Why did the media give him an outright pass? This was not a debate, it was an unchecked shitshow.
Yes. "Gish gallop" is a thing. I'm guessing that "the media" is covering for CNN's abysmal failure, on the "there but for fortune" theory. Which isn't just a theory, because most of them are equally incapable of dealing with reality.
Exactly. It would have turned him into the de facto fact checker which is not fair although a clever strategy could have served him if his handlers were creative, such as holding fingers up every time Trump lied, something like that.