Donald Trump didn’t have a good debate tonight. He rambled, lied, made personal attacks, and refused to answer several questions. He had to be asked three times if he’d accept the election results no matter the outcome. At one point, he boasted about winning golf tournaments at his own clubs. He didn’t have a good debate, but he won. He had a good night because President Joe Biden had a bad night. Actually, describing it as a bad night is an understatement.
Biden had the first turn at the mic and Democratic hopes went down the drain within seconds. Biden was slow, came off confused, lost his train of thought, started new sentences in the middle of sentences, and had a hoarse voice throughout the debate. While he had his moments defending his record and calling Trump a felon, sucker, loser, and whiner, he struggled throughout the rest of the night. While Trump was speaking, Biden seemed to be staring off into the distance, often with his mouth open. When he’d struggle for his train of thought, his eyes would blink rapidly.
Yes, the president has a stutter which showed up several times throughout the evening. He started the debate as if he was nervous. Trump is never nervous about speaking publicly.
Trump was loud, with a clear voice, and wasn’t slow at all. Sure, everything he said was bullshit, but he won the optics. He didn’t even go off the rails. Turning off the mics seemed to benefit him.
At one point, Biden said right before his mic was cut off, “We beat Medicare.” I think that’s when I got the idea for this cartoon. It’s also when my heart sank.
Republicans and MAGAts are celebrating tonight, not because Trump did so well but because Biden did so poorly.
Before the debate was over, Democrats were making calls about finding a replacement for Biden. During the middle of the debate, the Biden Campaign informed the press that the president had a cold. Even they know how bad it went for them because they didn’t release that excuse before the debate. The first thing the CNN analyst discussed when the debate was over was Biden’s disaster. Not one of the analysts on CNN thought he had a good night. Even Van Jones talked about replacing Biden.
For months, I’ve been arguing with MAGAts over the labels they’ve given President Biden, like sleepy, demented, and cadaver. I don’t think he came off demented but tonight, he was sleepy. Hell, he was even like a cadaver. Even people who don’t like Biden may have been uncomfortable watching the debate tonight.
Unfortunately, unlike normal people, I had to watch the entire thing. When it went past 10:30, I started cursing at the TV because I wanted it to be over.
I knew this cartoon would piss off Democrats, but they’re not facing reality Even Vice President Kamala Harris was forced to admit the president started slowly. But she struggled to defend Biden’s performance as much as he struggled to find the right words tonight.
Biden won both debates against Trump in 2020, but the Biden we got tonight wasn’t the same candidate. He won this debate too…on substance. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to overcome his optics.
In 1960, viewers believed John F Kennedy beat Richard Nixon in their debate but people who listened to it on the radio thought Nixon won. I don’t think it would matter if you watched or listened to this debate to know that Biden bombed.
Debates don’t win elections, but they can lose them. Right now, as much as I appreciate Biden for all he’s done, he needs to step aside.
Joe Biden being the man inside the White House isn’t as important as keeping Donald Trump out of it.
Update: I’ve had a few people tell me they’re not going to follow me anymore after this cartoon. It’s funny when liberals act like MAGAts. If you don’t like this cartoon, then you’re probably not going to like the cartoons from any liberal cartoonist over the next few days.
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Watch me draw:
CLAYTOONZ 
That faint thudding you hear is my heart down at the bottom of my toes.
What a shame.
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It was heartbreaking, but I think it’s too early for him to give up. Rachel Maddow (or one of the other pundits on MSNBC tonight) was saying that there is a history of other Presidents doing poorly on their first debates leading up to their 2nd term in office, Obama being one of them. So despite what I saw with my own eyes, I’m not ready to give up on my guy yet! I also can’t see how switching candidates this close to the election would work – has that ever happened before? I’ll google it, but probably not til tomorrow since I still have crap to deal with tonight…
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‘twas CNN that lost the debate. Journalists were expected not to fact check. That is the horshit in all this. I did not watch tonight. I expected nothing of cnn and that is what people got. The pubic lost.
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The 2024 election boils down to whether or not we let Trump return to the Oval Office and finish destroying democracy once and for all.
Most Americans (even republicans) and our allies agree on this reality.
The mainstream media’s refusal to participate in reporting, or even acknowledging this reality will be the end of us.
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I didn’t watch, because I can’t bear to look at The Orange Menace nor tolerate the sound of his voice and his perpetual word salad. Still, I keep up with what people in one of my groups have been saying, and there’s general agreement that CNN really dropped the ball in moderating this thing. CNN has long been my go-to news source, so that’s another huge disappointment.
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My decision has been made with careful consideration and is now irrevocable. All necessary arrangements for the upcoming November event have been meticulously planned and finalized. It is important to recognize that a single occurrence, no matter its nature, cannot overshadow or negate the series of achievements he has amassed over time. His track record stands as a testament to his dedication and skill, and these accomplishments remain firmly intact, undiminished by any recent developments.
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Agree totally about how he looked. Very sad but disappointing. Trump was on and lying constantly but was clear
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The debates are, nothing more than a, FREAK SHOW, as most who watched it, may havealready made up their minds on who they want to, vote for already, and, the debate becomes, nothing more than, a form.of, “entertainment”, and, it’s NOT that good, the debates are, nothing important, just an, “afterthought”…and, it’s not, as if, these candidates are, ever going to, kerp yheir, csmpaign promises anyways.
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I think that’s usually the case (that people’s minds are already made up) but it’s is still pretty early and many people are still undecided, mainly due to the age of both of them. I felt this was a really good opportunity for Biden to show that he was still on the ball (which he normally is, as we can see by all the good he’s done) and a way for others to get a good comparison of a “healthy brain” vs a “nut case”. Sadly, neither guy looked particularly sharp during the debate – tRump was his crazy, lying, asshole, self but not slurring his words like he usually does and Biden acted like he had just escaped from the old-folks home, despite getting more into the groove towards the end of the evening. He was down-right perky and alive on the live clips they showed of him online after the debate interacting with people at a Waffle House, and at a gathering of supporters in Atlanta right afterward. I wish he’d been that perky on stage!
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Very seldom, if ever, does a president have to make a decision in seconds and have a minute or two to respond.
Jake Tapper & Dana Bash let scores of exaggerations and baldfaced lies go uncorrected. They NORMALIZED his LIES by responding with “Thank you, Mr. President.”
Joe Biden outlined plans. He described his past performance.
When Trump was asked questions which required an answer, even a simple yes, or no, all he had was lies and personal attacks on Joe Biden.
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And they called him “Mr. President”! HE’S NOT!
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Unfortunately, he is. All presidents retain the title.
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You are so correct with your assessment of the debate. I appreciate your candor always and especially in this moment. It hurt to watch Biden last night. Thank you for your thoughts. I always appreciate them.
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I understand why you had to do this Cartoon. Unfortunately, the truth hurts. However I’m with Gavin Newson, We need to support President Biden. One incident doesn’t change anything and I’m still backing President Biden, as the alternative is too horrible to even joke about. The good news is that there’s three months to the election. The orange menace can still do a lot of damage to himself And most likely will. Plus, his sentencing is coming up. That can’t be a good look for a presidential candidate.
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The eveing did not go well for Prsdient Biden – there are so manythings worng with the presentation but thThe evening did not go well for President Biden – there are so many things wrong with the debate presentation but they mean nothing because President Biden contrasted so badly with the lying convicted felon who took the opportunity to spew his vile hatred and lies. I watched their comments on the live YouTube channels (those brave enough not to disable them) and I think this morning’s echo chamber of “how well” the convicted felon did may be over-stated. When that echo dies down and people go back to what the convicted felon actually said and he starts showing off his over confidence in his “success” we will revert many to realizing what he actually is and what he actually will do should he win. Just because a person can put on a suit, have a tie and talk gibberish with confidence does not mean they are electable or should even be elected. The convicted felon confirmed his stands on abortion and women’s rights, immigrants, the economy, international politics, as well as his undying and persistent adoration for the Pootun bloody bear, the North Korean fat boy, the Chinese honey bear….. yikes! What is it about the 10 minutes of fame that Americans cannot get over thinking that translate into a safe and strong America for the next 4 years (possibly more if he invokes his Article 2 beliefs)? I listened to some of the focus groups comments this morning and if they think the convicted felon instills confidence in them, they are a wacko and cultist as the kool-aide drinking MAGAits. I heard so many lies and exaggerations spewed from the orange convicted felon’s mouth last night, I got physically sick. And yes, I wanted it to end because President Biden bombed but also because I wanted the convicted felon off a quasi-legitimate news time slot and for him to go back to his mud hole surrounded by the treasonous individuals who want to turn American into a one-party-cultist dictatorship.
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I don’t know why we continue to have these charades called debates. I only watched about 10 minutes and was so sad seeing Biden and listening to Trump just spout his rally drivel. To compound my dismay I looked at the opinions handed down by SCOTUS and they ruled in favor of the Jan. 6 rioters. I feel like the hand basket is picking up speed. Yikes, indeed.
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As a good friend posted about all this crap, “Here’s an idea: keep feeding the we’re screwed and Biden’s toast narrative and help Donald Trump get reelected so that when Thomas and Alito retire he can pick their replacements. Sound good? We screamed Supreme Court from the rooftops in 2016 but it didn’t help. What the hell is wrong with us?” Stand by the most successful leader this country has seen since Roosevelt. I can’t believe people, especially the people I admire, are so quick to call him frail and finished because of one bad night after years of successes in his administration.
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I’ve been hearing this all day from people. Stand by Biden. I’d love to stand by Biden but it’s not getting better. We need to stand with this country, not personalities. We’re not MAGAts. Whatever keeps Trump out of the White House.
Biden didn’t just have a bad night. He killed his campaign. We’re running out of time.
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I was not happy with your blog today that’s the first time since I started following over a year ago. You have two choices for this election to keep our democracy and freedom you vote for Biden. To turn this country into a fascist third rate banana republic you vote for Trump and his henchmen (GOP). Now you could do a cartoon that gets that point across to all of those sitting on the fence that would be a big help. I have watch and listened there is a whole population that don’t want to vote for Biden because of the Gaza/Israel war try to make them understand that we need to put our country first before we can do anything more for those people. Not voting is not the answer!!! Cartoons covering these subjects would be helpful. And just so you know I am a senior lady who is married to a 20 year Air Force Veteran I’ve live in other countries and states and home is in the U.S. as long as our democracy holds.
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The Sky isn’t falling, but there is a lot of work to do.
It’s amazing how everyone just ignores all the Lies that Trump told and just focuses on Biden’s Stumbles. Jeff Danzinger seemed to have the most accurate /honest cartoon on GoComics today. And often his comics are surreal!
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hellooo is AOC available and electetable?
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While after giving the matter much thought, I disagree with you about Biden stepping side, I’m certainly still following your blog! You’re one of the best cartoonists out there! And people are allowed to disagree sometimes … it’s rather in our nature!
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Of course we can disagree. I appreciate that we can.
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