It’s a sad irony that in the age of Zoom, America lost its mute button. The host unmuted Trump and thus began the tantric tantrum (it just went on and on) that dragged America to a place many thought didn’t exist: Lower. Throughout the debate, Trump falsely attacked the key pillar of democracy (with a blizzard of lies about voting) and showed no sign of being willing to leave office if he loses—and these wanton attacks on the democracy didn’t even command the next day’s headlines. Most of those were reserved for Trump’s refusal to criticize white supremacy, and his horrific call to the Proud Boys to “Stand by.” It’s worth noting that the only time during the entire debate when Trump let Biden finish an answer was when Biden was calling out Trump’s racism. Why? Because racism is his brand. The lie-filled, unhinged, racist, conspiracy theory riddled performance by the raging bullshitter demeaned the office and the nation on a night when the only cathartic moment came as Joe Biden channeled sane people across the globe, asking Hannibal Lecture: “Will you shut up, man?” He wouldn’t. He didn’t. He won’t. And the result was yet another American tragedy. Aside from our adversaries and enemies, the night’s only real winners were toddlers. It turns out they’ve been getting a bad rap.

+ “The country would be better served if we allowed both people to speak with fewer interruptions,” Mr. Wallace said, directly asking Mr. Trump to yield a higher civic ideal. “I’m appealing to you, sir, to do it.” … “And him, too?” the president replied defiantly, nodding at Mr. Biden. “Well, frankly, you’ve been doing more interrupting,” Mr. Wallace replied.” NYT: Chris Wallace Struggled to Rein In an Unruly Trump at First Debate. (If we learned anything, it’s that Kindergarten teachers should be paid more than debate moderators. Seriously, the next debate should be moderated by Barney.)

+ “What does the worst debate in American history look like? It looks like the debate that took place on Tuesday night between President Donald Trump and the former Vice-President Joe Biden. It was a joke, a mess, a disaster. A ‘shit show,’ a ‘dumpster fire,’ a national humiliation. No matter how bad you thought the debate would be, it was worse. Way worse. Trump shouted, he bullied, he hectored, he lied, and he interrupted, over and over again.” Susan B. Glasser in The New Yorker: Notes from the Worst Debate in American History. (Luckily, I was playing my debate drinking game. Rules: If Trump is still president, drink.)

+ Trump told the Proud Boys to ‘stand back and stand by‘ after being asked to condemn white supremacists. GOP Senator Tim Scott on Trump’s refusal to denounce white supremacy and call out to the Proud Boys: “I think he misspoke in response to Chris Wallace’s comment. He was asking Chris what he wanted to say. I think he misspoke. I think he should correct it. If he doesn’t correct it, I guess he didn’t misspeak.” (He’s been misspeaking the same thing for years. How much more pathetic can this get?)

+ “To say Proud Boys are energized by this is an understatement. They were pro-Trump before this shoutout, and they are absolutely over the moon now. Their fantasy is to fight antifa in his defense, and he apparently just asked them to do just that.” Proud Boys celebrate after Trump’s debate callout.

+ Trump claims in debate ‘Portland Sheriff’ gave him endorsement; Reese quickly responds: I ‘will never support him‘.

+ Biden Raised Record-Setting $3.8 Million in One Hour During Presidential Debate (I really hope my wife doesn’t look at our credit card bill and think ActBlue is a p-rn site.)