Presidential Debates

Campaigns require conviction—but must also be able to absorb bad news and pull out signal from noise.

For the President to insist on remaining the Democratic candidate would be an act not only of self-delusion but of national endangerment.

The President’s political decision-making has long been shaped by two instincts: bouncing back and reading the room. They could lead him in opposite directions in the days ahead.

The President’s supporters have long treated his age as a superficial issue. The Times commentator explains why that position has become untenable.

Notes on a disastrous night for the Democrats.

One of the many asymmetries of the Presidential race is that incoherence helps Trump and hurts Biden.

The oldest-ever President has been a groundbreaking leader. The debate gives him a chance to get that message across.

Biden’s challenge was that the President lies in a manner that is so unanchored to reality that it becomes disorienting for anyone watching.

In the end, the topic that matters isn’t Hunter Biden but the pandemic.

Debate Night: Confusion vs. Delusion.

A new documentary paints a fuller picture of the power-plant worker in the red sweater whose image went viral during the 2016 Presidential campaign.

The President’s negligence about the coronavirus is of a piece with who he is—and during Tuesday night’s debate it was easy to wonder just how many forms of harm Trump might be willing to inflict on the country.

After President Trump’s grotesque display at Tuesday night’s debate, none of us can be sure that the precious rite and process of public engagement in politics will ever be restored.

That was rough.

After the debate, staffers were baffled that Trump could appear so off-putting and odious after being prepped by two of the nation’s most beloved and appealing public figures.

Trump talked and talked on Tuesday night, but, politically speaking, it added up to nothing.

The President wants a television stage so encompassing that it subsumes the experience of a suffering country, while his Democratic challenger wants to open the windows and let the news of the rest of the world in.

“Can I call you back? We’re about to watch the debate.”

Bernie Sanders challenged Joe Biden to confront the system. The former Vice-President preferred to talk about the emergency.

Someone may yet emerge who can successfully challenge Sanders, who is now the undisputed front-runner, but it hasn’t happened yet.