Correcting Trump’s Unanswered Torrent of BS
Plus: Our Debate Reactions
Recently in The Bulwark:
BILL KRISTOL & ANDREW EGGER: It’s Not Too Late. Biden Should Step Aside.
JVL: The Sum of All Fears
SONNY BUNCH: The Fresh View of ‘Fresh Kills’
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WILL SALETAN: Correcting Trump’s Unanswered Debate Lies
“I’VE NEVER SEEN ANYBODY LIE like this guy,” Donald Trump huffed in Thursday’s debate against President Joe Biden. “Everything he does is a lie.”
The accusation was comical. For ninety minutes, Trump spewed one howler after another as Biden stared, slack-jawed, in geriatric dismay. Biden tried to rebut some of his opponent’s fabrications but couldn’t keep up. Who can?
So let’s do what Biden couldn’t do. Let’s dig into Trump’s lies.
JOHN GUASPARI: Trump’s Own Reported Golf Scores Reveal He Cheats.
LATE IN THURSDAY NIGHT’S presidential debate, Joe Biden and Donald Trump exchanged barbs about a subject neither had likely prepared to discuss: golf.
Explaining why he believes he is “in very good health,” Trump said “I just won two club championships, not even senior, two regular club championships. . . . He [Biden] doesn’t do it. He can’t hit a ball fifty yards. He challenged me to a golf match. He can’t hit a ball fifty yards.”
🎥 PODCASTS AND VIDEOS 🎧
Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller: Sarah Longwell, Jonathan V. Last, and Jonathan Martin: A Disaster
Across the Movie Aisle: Remembering Donald Sutherland
Beg to Differ: Was recorded late Friday, and will be released tomorrow morning.
Did you know? Bulwark+ members can listen to an ad-free version of these podcasts on the player of their choice.
Learn more at Bulwark+ Podcast FAQ.
📣Bulwark+ members can now listen to ad-free podcasts on Spotify! Learn more here.
ADAM KINZINGER: Biden Lost the Debate, But I’m Still Voting for Him
JOE BIDEN AND DONALD TRUMP debated. America was the loser.
From a substantive perspective, Biden did fine. He often fell too easily into rehearsed details at the expense of clear themes, but when he was audible, he was passable.
NICHOLAS GROSSMAN: Two Old Men Have a Terrible Debate
GOING INTO TONIGHT’S DEBATE, I wanted to write about policy, thinking that too much debate coverage focuses on optics and vibes. But neither candidate intelligently discussed policy. This was the first presidential debate I’ve watched where I came away thinking neither candidate could hold an in-depth discussion of today’s important issues.
JILL LAWRENCE: Donald Trump Should Not Have Been on That Stage.
DONALD TRUMP WON the first presidential debate the minute he walked onstage. His win was cemented a few minutes later, when the moderators addressed him as Mr. President. He had no business being there and his presence was stark evidence that our system is not only dysfunctional, it is impotent when we need it most.
The guardrails—the impeachment process, the Twenty-fifth Amendment, the courts—did not hold. They have proved to be a fairytale we spin to make ourselves feel better. They will remain just that: a fantasy destined to implode, over and over.
TIM MILLER: The Bidens Need to Have a Talk
BY NOW IT’S BECOME A CLICHÉ in pro-democracy media circles to say about this election that everyone needs to focus on the stakes, not the odds. And clichés become clichés because they contain an inherent truth.
The stakes of this election are unlike any in the modern era. One of the men on stage Thursday night is a convicted criminal who promised to enact retribution on his political foes and pardon the rioters who attacked our Capitol carrying his flag. If he is elected, in four years he may feel that he has to stay in power to avoid the consequences of his crimes, including the possibility of spending his golden years in jail.
🚨OVERTIME🚨
Happy Friday! It’s summer. The #heatdome is gone, but it is still hot. We’re headed into the Fourth, and I hope you have cool fun things planned.
🎵On the Jukebox…🎵 Fastball — The Way
Let’s start with some good news, from the AP: Supreme Court rejects Trump ally Steve Bannon’s bid to delay prison sentence.
Kim Wehle called it… Revisit her April article on today’s SCOTUS ruling on obstruction and January 6.
Kacsmarykmania…. continues, with the Lone Star State lone judge pushing to see how quickly he can get impeached. (Only a dozen or so have been impeached, and eight actually convicted.) Andrew Fleischman observes, and I agree: “I haven't read the opinion and I have no comment on the merits, but I think we should do a better job preventing federal plaintiffs from hand selecting their judges.”
Back in Cleveland… Happy retirement to a nerd’s nerd, Toby Radloff, who recently retired from the VA. Obscure comic book movie fans might remember him from American Splendor. While there’s no White Castle in Cleveland (they did us dirty and left!), I hope he commutes down to the nearest one in Delaware, Ohio, for some slyders.
You can't buy democracy at Wal-Mart… It's been a tough week. Friend of the newsletter and Bulwark Navigator Holly Berkeley-Fletcher has this dispatch.
The fossil vs. the felon… The great Matt Labash on last night’s debate.
Would AI have generated better debate questions? I asked ChatGPT to give me 50 questions, imagining it was Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. What do you think? Join me on Substack Notes to rate how they did.
Tech support questions? Email members@thebulwark.com. Questions for me? Respond to this message.
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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.