Solis approached the woman , who handed her an envelope .
Inside was a lawsuit from Oportun Inc. , a personal loan company Solis had turned to for years when she and her husband did n't have enough cash to cover rent , fix their cars or take a vacation .
Now , the company was suing Solis to recoup some of that money , demanding $ 4,196.23 including fees and interest .
Solis ' shock quickly gave way to anger .
Three months earlier , after she missed a few of her $ 130 bimonthly payments , she said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she had lost her jobs as a hotel housekeeper and fast food worker because of the coronavirus pandemic and needed some relief .
The 43-year-old mother of three expected the company would understand .
She was a longtime customer , after all .
Her latest loan , which she took out to repair her aging SUV , was her fifth with Oportun since 2013 , she said , and she had never missed a payment .
Staffers were always friendly and helpful .
Silicon Valley-based Oportun , a subprime installment lender that operates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a financial ally to the Latino immigrant community , its primary customer base , and had built a reputation as a more affordable and humane alternative to payday lenders .
In its business filings and on its website , the company — whose name is short for “ oportunidad , '' Spanish for opportunity — claimed to work with borrowers grappling with cash-flow problems beyond their control .
Just two weeks into the pandemic , it announced a special hardship program that postponed payment due dates as long as impacted customers notified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a series of phone calls , Solis said , Oportun agents told her there was nothing they could do to help her , even though her financial situation was particularly dire as her husband had also recently lost his job .
She said they did n't offer a payment plan or mention the hardship program .
“ I feel powerless not being able to pay them , '' Solis , who immigrated from Mexico as a teenager , said in Spanish .
Solis is among tens of thousands of Oportun borrowers who have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recent years , according to a monthslong investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune that drew on more than a million Texas court records , hundreds of pages of company financial filings , and interviews with more than a dozen consumer advocates , attorneys and industry experts .
Our reporting revealed a company that draws clients in by depicting itself as a benefactor of the Latino immigrant community yet charges high interest rates , keeps customers like Solis on the hook with repeated refinancing and routinely uses lawsuits to intimidate delinquent borrowers into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ records in nine of Texas ' largest counties — home to the vast majority of the 80 kiosks and strip mall storefronts the company operates in the state — found that Oportun has sued borrowers after they fell behind on their payments more than 47,000 times from May 2016 through July of this year .
That 's 30 lawsuits per day on average .
So far this year , Oportun has filed nearly 10,000 lawsuits against customers in those counties , with more than half of those coming after the World Health Organization @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That number of filings makes Oportun the most litigious personal loan company in Texas and one of the most litigious debt collectors in the state overall this year .
It is rivaled only by larger companies like Conn 's HomePlus , Capital One and a handful of firms that buy unrecovered debts from banks and other creditors .
Asked why it sues so many of its customers , particularly during a pandemic , Oportun referred ProPublica and the Tribune to a recent blog post from company CEO Raul Vazquez that said the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of last resort to get the small minority of our customers who have fallen behind in their payments and not answered our calls , letters , texts or emails for several months to reengage with us . ''
That was the case with Solis , according to a statement Oportun released after she gave the company permission to comment on her account .
“ According to our records , this customer did not reach out to us and was unresponsive to our repeated attempts to reach them , '' the statement said , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us they are impacted by the pandemic , they are eligible for our emergency hardship programs . ''
Vazquez defined the “ small minority '' of loans resulting in lawsuits as less than 6 % over the past five years .
Though he did n't say how many lawsuits that represented , he said that it had “ become a big number '' over time and announced that the company would drop all pending debt claims — including the one against Solis — and temporarily suspend the filing of new ones .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ filing rate by more than 60 % and cap interest rates at 36 % , an annual percentage rate that consumer advocates consider an absolute maximum for smaller personal loans .
( While the company says its average APR is already 36 % , ProPublica and the Tribune found that it has often charged rates as high as 66.99 % in Texas and California . )
The blog post came after the company discovered that reporters from ProPublica and the Tribune , as well as The Guardian , were investigating its debt collection @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We have always designed our products and practices to benefit our customers , so we asked ourselves how we can better serve our customers , especially in the current environment , while keeping our commitments to other stakeholders , '' wrote Vazquez , a former Walmart executive who grew up in El Paso .
“ After extensive discussions and with enthusiastic support from our leadership team and Board , we have decided that we can do better and I 'm writing today to share how we intend to do that on a permanent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ company had become the No .
1 filer in small claims courts in both states .
Still , the ProPublica/Tribune analysis shows Oportun has filed so many lawsuits that it would remain among the most litigious debt collectors in Texas even if it filed 60 % fewer debt claims .
The company declined to make Vazquez available for an interview or respond to an exhaustive list of written questions regarding its legal collections strategy and general business practices .
Instead , it released a one-paragraph statement that touted its high customer satisfaction scores @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said it had enrolled more than 112,000 customers in its emergency hardship deferral program since the start of the pandemic , representing a total loan balance of more than $ 300 million .
“ [ Oportun is ] consistently recognized by leading consumer advocates as a company that does right by its customers , '' the statement said .
“ We are proud to have proven that it is possible to lend responsibly in low-and-moderate income communities and we are proud to receive customer satisfaction scores that are consistently on par with beloved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ USAA . ''
But the same consumer advocates and legal aid groups who have recognized Oportun as a bright spot in the largely predatory world of subprime lending said they were disturbed by the scope of its legal collections activity .
While the share of the company 's loans that lead to lawsuits may seem low , they said the rate is far higher than that of its peers — particularly for a lender that paints itself as a flexible benefactor .
The ProPublica/Tribune analysis of the company 's loan originations show that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to well over 100,000 lawsuits .
Consumer advocates and legal aid groups also noted that the company has been certified for years as a Community Development Financial Institution , an esteemed federal designation for banks , credit unions and other lenders with clienteles that are largely low-income or in underserved communities of color , and said its collections practices fly in the face of that title .
Ann Baddour , director of the Fair Financial Services Project at the nonprofit advocacy group Texas Appleseed , said the scope of Oportun 's legal collections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ We 've generally seen them as a positive player in the marketplace , so it was really shocking to me to see them as a major filer , '' Baddour said , when informed of the publications ' findings .
“ We hope they will revisit their collections practices and look at aligning them with the community development mission that they have long highlighted as key to their business model . ''
Baddour is particularly familiar with Oportun as she recently served alongside Vazquez on the Consumer Advisory Board of the Consumer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agency formed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to better guard Americans from abusive lending practices .
Other consumer advocates say the measures Vazquez announced do n't address what they see as the root cause of the problem : Oportun lends money to people who ca n't pay it back and not just during the pandemic .
That 's evident not just from its voluminous lawsuits , but also its practice of refinancing high-interest loans , which makes it appear that borrowers have paid them off but actually keeps them on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ When we saw the announcement , we did n't immediately pop any Champagne bottles , '' said Kiran Sidhu , policy counsel for the Center for Responsible Lending 's state policy team .
( The center was started with support from the Sandler Foundation , which provided most of the original funding for ProPublica and remains its largest donor . )
Oportun — originally called Progreso Financiero — was founded in 2005 by James Gutierrez , the grandson of Mexican immigrants , who launched the company while earning his master 's in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ His vision was to help Latino immigrants gain access to mainstream financial services — and prove that subprime lending with zero collateral could be done compassionately and profitably with the right kind of underwriting .
“ I wanted to make a big impact on our social problems in America , and I wanted to do something that helped the Hispanic community find economic opportunities , '' Gutierrez told Bloomberg TV in 2009 , the year he turned 32 .
While his grad school friends joined Wall Street hedge funds , Gutierrez set up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California and spent half a year trying to prove to angel investors that he could successfully lend to people with modest incomes and negligible credit histories using a scoring system that took into account hundreds of unique attributes to determine the likelihood an applicant would repay a loan .
He never broke even , but succeeded enough .
Before he left the company in early 2012 , Gutierrez — who founded a competing firm a year later — had closed tens of millions of dollars in new funding from major players including Madrone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Walmart founder Sam Walton , and Greylock , known for its early investments in tech startups like Facebook .
The infusions bankrolled the opening of dozens of kiosks and storefronts in California and Texas , the states with the largest Latino populations .
The week after his departure from the company , Gutierrez told the Los Angeles Times that Progreso was finally on track to break even .
But that would n't happen for years , even after Vazquez took the helm .
Under Vazquez , the company has expanded into 10 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and an Oportun-branded credit card , and executed a major rebranding and overhaul of its marketing and public relations strategies .
Last September , the company went public .
To date , it 's disbursed more than 3.9 million loans totaling more than $ 9 billion .
At the end of 2019 , it had nearly 800,000 active customers , its first annual filing shows .
Revenues are up in recent years thanks to the expansion , and the company has reported five consecutive years of pre-tax profitability .
But business filings show @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , its profits have been modest and spotty .
In the first two quarters of 2020 , Oportun 's net profits dropped by $ 50 million , compared with the same period in 2019 , amid the widespread economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic .
In its 2019 year-end filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission , Oportun explained the financial challenges ahead , saying it would need to continue with its rapid expansion to “ achieve and increase profitability . ''
Even if it succeeded , it said “ we may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our level of profitability over the long term . ''
Nearly a decade ago , Texas Appleseed — Baddour 's group — highlighted Oportun in a report as one of several new , non-bank players striving to offer affordable small-dollar loans .
But , it said , few had reached significant scale .
Many statistics would indicate Oportun is bucking the trend .
It added hundreds of retail locations across the country in the past five years and has grown its active customer count by more than 300,000 since 2016 .
In a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it said that the vast majority of dollars lent had been repaid .
“ Our track record as a responsible lender is clear — 92 % of our customers have historically paid us back on time and in full , '' Oportun said in a statement to ProPublica and the Tribune , adding that its so-called loss rates compare favorably to prime lenders .
But consumer advocates say the large number of lawsuits Oportun is filing raises the question : Under what circumstances are those repayments occurring ?
The company would n't say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ reengaging '' customers via the legal system .
And the ProPublica/Tribune investigation found that the company has other ways to retain borrowers that consumer advocates describe as questionable .
Under its “ Good Customer Program , '' Oportun allows borrowers to take out larger loans with lower interest rates , which typically translates to lower monthly payments .
To qualify , they must have never missed a payment , maintained their current loan for a year or paid off 40 % of it .
“ If a customer stays with us , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their rate , '' Vazquez , the Oportun CEO , said last month in an interview with the nonprofit Financial Health Network , in which he described the average Oportun borrower as 42 years old with a family to support and a $ 45,000 annual salary .
“ A customer should see a benefit for performing well on their loan . ''
But consumer advocates and attorneys say the program can trap consumers in a cycle of debt because they are repeatedly rewriting potentially unaffordable loans , thus paying more interest than principal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that pushes refinancing is not a good idea , '' said Lauren Saunders , associate director of the National Consumer Law Center .
“ Refinancing is masking troubles . ''
Oportun does n't disclose its refinancing rate or how many customers are enrolled in its “ Good Customer Program , '' but figures in its public filings and other publicly available information show the company depends heavily on repeat customers , which have comprised some 80 % of its principal balance since at least 2017 , according to the company 's latest annual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the company has disbursed to date have gone to about 1.7 million people , meaning each person takes out an average of more than two .
A significant share of the company 's revenue — more than 90 % — comes from interest income , though that includes late fees .
Solis , the hotel worker in Houston , said she took advantage of refinancing several times .
She does n't recall whether her payments or interest rate dropped as a result but said she found the $ 130 bimonthly payments on her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In its statement regarding Solis , Oportun said , “ Each loan came after the customer had paid down a substantial portion of their balance , each loan came with a lower APR , and the customer 's credit score was steadily improving . ''
Solis said her daughter tried to borrow from Oportun to help cover payments , but she was denied .
“ It 's really hard to get sued for something that 's out of your control , '' she said .
Despite Oportun decreasing its interest rates with each @ @ @ @ @ @ @ peddle short-term , single-payment loans with APRs that can top 400 % — they are still high .
In May 2018 , Oportun lent $ 800 at a 66.9 % interest rate to a woman in McAllen , a city on the Texas-Mexico border , who needed it to pay rent .
The terms : 15 months with bimonthly payments of $ 40 .
( That meant she would have paid a total of $ 1,189.70 , including $ 389.70 in interest . )
But even that was too much .
Struggling to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and Oportun sued her last year .
Her pro bono attorney , Amy Clark of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid , was able to settle the case by arguing that Oportun had harassed her client during the collections process by repeatedly calling the personal references the woman gave when she applied for the loan .
“ They had collected information on 'references ' as though it was to get the loan , but it was for collection purposes , '' she said .
Despite the near 67 % interest rate in her client @ @ @ @ @ @ @ average APR is 36 % .
But it does n't disclose comprehensive data on its rates or fee structure and declined to disclose its median interest rate , a better indicator of the rate it typically charges .
Some websites that review credit products for consumers have pointed to that lack of transparency as a red flag and advised consumers to seek other options before borrowing from Oportun .
“ Oportun loans are expensive , though the company is not transparent about their overall rates and fees , which vary by state , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ WalletHub , which noted that Oportun 's opaqueness brought its score down considerably despite the company 's “ positive reputation . ''
The Texas Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner , the state agency that regulates lenders , declined an open records request for Oportun 's lending disclosures , which shed light on the number of loans disbursed and interest earned , citing confidentiality .
But similar reports from California 's Department of Business Oversight show that last year Oportun charged APRs between 40 % and 69.99 % on nine out of every 10 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in that state .
With those kinds of interest rates , the main reason Oportun 's loans are more affordable is that the company allows customers to pay them back in installments with terms that range from six to 48 months .
But Baddour of Texas Appleseed said multiyear terms for these kinds of consumer loans can become burdensome for borrowers who struggle to maintain consistent income .
In 2010 , Oportun obtained its first batch of operating licenses in Texas and now has 80 grocery store kiosks and strip mall storefronts in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state .
Court records covering nine of the state 's most populous counties show that Oportun did n't start suing borrowers until 2016 , when its expansion was well underway , the ProPublica/Tribune analysis found .
That year , Oportun filed at least 3,500 debt claims in three of the largest Texas counties , those home to Houston , Dallas and Fort Worth .
Its filings have grown every year since then .
Oportun sued more than 9,000 borrowers during the first half of 2020 , nearly 2,500 more than it did in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ analysis found .
In Harris and Dallas counties , where more detailed records are available , the median claim amount this year is about $ 1,400 .
Consumer advocates and attorneys say Texas ' court system also makes it efficient for Oportun to sue .
Records show that non-attorney staffers called “ legal collections specialists '' — some of them straight out of college — file lawsuits en masse in justice of the peace courts , where claims are capped at $ 10,000 , you do n't have to be an attorney to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 50 , are hundreds of dollars less per case than in county or state courts .
“ I think it just does n't cost them that much , so why not ? ''
said Anderson Simmons , an Austin-based consumer attorney who regularly represents consumers in debt collection cases , though never against Oportun .
“ They have to pay employees to fill out the forms , but they could have someone doing that for $ 15 an hour , so it 's probably just a mass assembly line . ''
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Oportun 's legal collections activity as a success .
That 's why the company has dropped some two-thirds of the lawsuits it 's filed , he explained .
Mary Spector , who directs the civil and consumer law clinic at Southern Methodist University 's Dedman School of Law , said that suing a debtor with no intention of litigating the case is an abuse of the legal system .
“ It smells like harassment and intimidation , '' she said .
“ Especially when cases are filed in large numbers . ''
Carl @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regularly represents borrowers in Oportun suits , said Oportun staffers always move to dismiss cases as soon as they realize the borrower has an attorney .
Smart said that 's unusual because “ these kinds of cases are generally fairly easy for the creditor to win because all they have to do is prove the debt is this person 's . ''
Like Solis and other borrowers ProPublica and the Tribune interviewed for this story , Smart said it is often hard to get through to Oportun by phone .
Smart said many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do n't speak English or understand the difference between a civil and criminal lawsuit .
“ They do n't understand their rights .
They think they 're going to jail , '' Smart said .
“ I do kind of think that Oportun takes a little bit of advantage of that . ''
Oportun 's contracts say borrowers are considered in default if they miss just one payment and must immediately pay the full amount remaining on the note — and that the company does n't have to notify them in advance that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Borrowers have very little recourse unless they specifically opt out of provisions in the contract that bar them from joining a class action lawsuit against the company or taking disputes to trial , but legal aid and private consumer attorneys said that rarely happens .
Most of those provisions are standard in consumer contracts .
But they “ are what allows these companies to operate at will , because individual cases are like bug bites to them , '' said Clark of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid .
Consumer advocates and attorneys say Oportun @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because many of its borrowers are undocumented and fear the legal system .
Oportun allows borrowers to use an individual tax identification number in lieu of a Social Security number when they apply for loans , making them easily accessible to undocumented immigrants .
Even then , others may use Social Security numbers that they borrow or buy when they arrive in the country .
Oportun declined to say how many of its borrowers might be undocumented , but a review of available petitions in the 467 lawsuits Oportun filed in June in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Security numbers on file for fewer than half of the defendants .
While Oportun drops two-thirds of the lawsuits it files , Baddour noted that it files so many in Harris County — where it has the most retail locations — that it also secures more rulings there than most other debt collectors .
The vast majority of those are won by default because the defendant does n't respond to the lawsuit .
Very few Oportun defendants obtain lawyers , the ProPublica/Tribune analysis showed .
Last year in Harris County , 105 out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it made a difference : Their cases were dropped 96 % of the time before a ruling .
Like Solis , several Oportun borrowers said the lawsuits against them came as a surprise .
In late November , Augustine Ayala said he borrowed $ 300 to fix his car , but he fell behind on his payments totaling $ 30 a month after he contracted COVID-19 and was sent home from his warehouse job .
The 22-year-old , whose take-home pay was about $ 400 per week , was served at home on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ diagnostic test so he could return to work .
The lawsuit said he owed $ 305.28 .
Ayala told ProPublica/The Texas Tribune in July that he was trying to pay the loan back , but it was challenging with interest still accruing .
“ It just keeps going up and up and up , and I 'm like … can y'all work with me ? ''
he said .
“ It 's been stressful because I have to worry about still having to help my dad , I have to give him rent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still have to pay off this loan … and I do n't get that much of a check , you know . ''
Oportun declined to comment on Ayala 's account without his written consent , which he did n't provide prior to publication .
“ You Do n't Get in Debt Because You Want To '' While Oportun has dropped all pending lawsuits and says it wo n't file new ones for a while , it will remain one of the top debt collectors in the state under the measures it announced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ showed that even if Oportun reduced its legal filings by 60 % , its ranking would only drop from second to fifth by year 's end .
Vazquez also did n't specify how the 36 % rate cap would be applied , including whether the company would charge that much on all its loans , which range from $ 300 to $ 10,000 .
Consumer advocates have long considered that APR an acceptable maximum for personal loans but only for smaller ones , limited to a few thousand dollars at most .
Thirty-six @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interest rates on subprime credit cards , which hover around 25 % .
Sidhu of the Center for Responsible Lending said none of the measures address what she points to as the root cause : Oportun is lending money to a lot of people who ca n't repay , and its proprietary scoring model to determine whether an applicant will do so is n't all that accurate .
“ If they are n't radically reshifting the way they understand their clientele , I do n't see any real impetus for meaningful change , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a Venezuelan immigrant and single mother who lives in suburban Houston , the Hispanic community is “ easy prey '' for Oportun .
She said Oportun approved her for a $ 6,000 loan last year even though she needed less than half that to cover a three-month deposit on a new apartment .
In a complaint filed with the state of Texas last year , Nuñez claimed that Oportun refused to arrange a payment plan with her when she fell behind on her $ 120 bimonthly payments after her teenage daughter was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she had to quit one of her jobs to help care for her .
Nuñez is among at least three dozen people who have filed complaints against Oportun with the Texas Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since 2011 .
Complaints range from refusal to offer a payment plan to harassing phone calls to a legal threat .
Nuñez and Oportun resolved the matter without going to court , records show .
She said she paid off her loan earlier this year after she got her income tax return @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ordeal had profound and long-lasting financial implications .
In a second complaint filed last December , Nuñez said that her credit score had been damaged after Oportun charged off her account , meaning it did n't expect to be repaid , despite the fact that she had resumed payments .
Because of that , Nuñez said she was unable to purchase a special breathing machine that her daughter needed .
“ You do n't get in debt because you want to , '' she said in an interview .
“ Their best weapon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know that closes a lot of doors . ''
Oportun declined to comment on Nuñez 's account without her written consent , which she did not provide prior to publication .
But in its one-paragraph statement , it suggested the number of complaints Texans have lodged against it is small in comparison to the more than 800,000 loans it has disbursed in the state since 2014 .
“ Each of those complaints was investigated and cleared with no finding of any impropriety , '' the statement said .
In Houston , Solis has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ months now , but she 's also the sole provider for her household — her husband has n't been able to find another job — and is still struggling to catch up on bills after being unemployed for so long .
She received an email from Oportun on Aug. 5 saying it was dropping the lawsuit against her .
She said it gave her some relief but that she is still uneasy knowing she ca n't pay back what she owes .
“ They have no compassion for what you 're going through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only care about the money . ''

Solis approached the woman, who handed her an envelope.
Inside was a lawsuit from Oportun Inc., a personal loan company Solis had turned to for years when she and her husband didn't have enough cash to cover rent, fix their cars or take a vacation.
Now, the company was suing Solis to recoup some of that money, demanding $4,196.23 including fees and interest.
Solis' shock quickly gave way to anger. Three months earlier, after she missed a few of her $130 bimonthly payments, she said she called Oportun to tell the company she had lost her jobs as a hotel housekeeper and fast food worker because of the coronavirus pandemic and needed some relief.
The 43-year-old mother of three expected the company would understand.
She was a longtime customer, after all. Her latest loan, which she took out to repair her aging SUV, was her fifth with Oportun since 2013, she said, and she had never missed a payment. Staffers were always friendly and helpful.
Silicon Valley-based Oportun, a subprime installment lender that operates in 12 states, also portrayed itself as a financial ally to the Latino immigrant community, its primary customer base, and had built a reputation as a more affordable and humane alternative to payday lenders. In its business filings and on its website, the company — whose name is short for “oportunidad," Spanish for opportunity — claimed to work with borrowers grappling with cash-flow problems beyond their control. Just two weeks into the pandemic, it announced a special hardship program that postponed payment due dates as long as impacted customers notified the company in advance.
But over a series of phone calls, Solis said, Oportun agents told her there was nothing they could do to help her, even though her financial situation was particularly dire as her husband had also recently lost his job. She said they didn't offer a payment plan or mention the hardship program.
“I feel powerless not being able to pay them," Solis, who immigrated from Mexico as a teenager, said in Spanish.
Solis is among tens of thousands of Oportun borrowers who have found themselves in a similar predicament in recent years, according to a monthslong investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune that drew on more than a million Texas court records, hundreds of pages of company financial filings, and interviews with more than a dozen consumer advocates, attorneys and industry experts.
Our reporting revealed a company that draws clients in by depicting itself as a benefactor of the Latino immigrant community yet charges high interest rates, keeps customers like Solis on the hook with repeated refinancing and routinely uses lawsuits to intimidate delinquent borrowers into paying again.
An analysis of court records in nine of Texas' largest counties — home to the vast majority of the 80 kiosks and strip mall storefronts the company operates in the state — found that Oportun has sued borrowers after they fell behind on their payments more than 47,000 times from May 2016 through July of this year. That's 30 lawsuits per day on average.
So far this year, Oportun has filed nearly 10,000 lawsuits against customers in those counties, with more than half of those coming after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic in mid-March.
That number of filings makes Oportun the most litigious personal loan company in Texas and one of the most litigious debt collectors in the state overall this year. It is rivaled only by larger companies like Conn's HomePlus, Capital One and a handful of firms that buy unrecovered debts from banks and other creditors.
Asked why it sues so many of its customers, particularly during a pandemic, Oportun referred ProPublica and the Tribune to a recent blog post from company CEO Raul Vazquez that said the company used lawsuits as “a mechanism of last resort to get the small minority of our customers who have fallen behind in their payments and not answered our calls, letters, texts or emails for several months to reengage with us."
That was the case with Solis, according to a statement Oportun released after she gave the company permission to comment on her account.
“According to our records, this customer did not reach out to us and was unresponsive to our repeated attempts to reach them," the statement said, adding that “if a customer tells us they are impacted by the pandemic, they are eligible for our emergency hardship programs."
Vazquez defined the “small minority" of loans resulting in lawsuits as less than 6% over the past five years. Though he didn't say how many lawsuits that represented, he said that it had “become a big number" over time and announced that the company would drop all pending debt claims — including the one against Solis — and temporarily suspend the filing of new ones. He also vowed to reduce the company's filing rate by more than 60% and cap interest rates at 36%, an annual percentage rate that consumer advocates consider an absolute maximum for smaller personal loans. (While the company says its average APR is already 36%, ProPublica and the Tribune found that it has often charged rates as high as 66.99% in Texas and California.)
The blog post came after the company discovered that reporters from ProPublica and the Tribune, as well as The Guardian, were investigating its debt collection practices in Texas and California.
“We have always designed our products and practices to benefit our customers, so we asked ourselves how we can better serve our customers, especially in the current environment, while keeping our commitments to other stakeholders," wrote Vazquez, a former Walmart executive who grew up in El Paso. “After extensive discussions and with enthusiastic support from our leadership team and Board, we have decided that we can do better and I'm writing today to share how we intend to do that on a permanent basis."
Vazquez acknowledged that his company had become the No. 1 filer in small claims courts in both states. Still, the ProPublica/Tribune analysis shows Oportun has filed so many lawsuits that it would remain among the most litigious debt collectors in Texas even if it filed 60% fewer debt claims.
The company declined to make Vazquez available for an interview or respond to an exhaustive list of written questions regarding its legal collections strategy and general business practices.
Instead, it released a one-paragraph statement that touted its high customer satisfaction scores and rates of repayment. It also said it had enrolled more than 112,000 customers in its emergency hardship deferral program since the start of the pandemic, representing a total loan balance of more than $300 million.
“[Oportun is] consistently recognized by leading consumer advocates as a company that does right by its customers," the statement said. “We are proud to have proven that it is possible to lend responsibly in low-and-moderate income communities and we are proud to receive customer satisfaction scores that are consistently on par with beloved brands like Ritz-Carlton, Apple, and USAA."
But the same consumer advocates and legal aid groups who have recognized Oportun as a bright spot in the largely predatory world of subprime lending said they were disturbed by the scope of its legal collections activity. While the share of the company's loans that lead to lawsuits may seem low, they said the rate is far higher than that of its peers — particularly for a lender that paints itself as a flexible benefactor. The ProPublica/Tribune analysis of the company's loan originations show that its 6% filing rate would translate to well over 100,000 lawsuits.
Consumer advocates and legal aid groups also noted that the company has been certified for years as a Community Development Financial Institution, an esteemed federal designation for banks, credit unions and other lenders with clienteles that are largely low-income or in underserved communities of color, and said its collections practices fly in the face of that title.
Ann Baddour, director of the Fair Financial Services Project at the nonprofit advocacy group Texas Appleseed, said the scope of Oportun's legal collections activity is “really problematic."
“We've generally seen them as a positive player in the marketplace, so it was really shocking to me to see them as a major filer," Baddour said, when informed of the publications' findings. “We hope they will revisit their collections practices and look at aligning them with the community development mission that they have long highlighted as key to their business model."
Baddour is particularly familiar with Oportun as she recently served alongside Vazquez on the Consumer Advisory Board of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the federal watchdog agency formed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to better guard Americans from abusive lending practices.
Other consumer advocates say the measures Vazquez announced don't address what they see as the root cause of the problem: Oportun lends money to people who can't pay it back and not just during the pandemic. That's evident not just from its voluminous lawsuits, but also its practice of refinancing high-interest loans, which makes it appear that borrowers have paid them off but actually keeps them on the hook, sometimes for years.
“When we saw the announcement, we didn't immediately pop any Champagne bottles," said Kiran Sidhu, policy counsel for the Center for Responsible Lending's state policy team. (The center was started with support from the Sandler Foundation, which provided most of the original funding for ProPublica and remains its largest donor.)
Oportun's Origin Story
Oportun — originally called Progreso Financiero — was founded in 2005 by James Gutierrez, the grandson of Mexican immigrants, who launched the company while earning his master's in business administration at Stanford Business School. His vision was to help Latino immigrants gain access to mainstream financial services — and prove that subprime lending with zero collateral could be done compassionately and profitably with the right kind of underwriting.
“I wanted to make a big impact on our social problems in America, and I wanted to do something that helped the Hispanic community find economic opportunities," Gutierrez told Bloomberg TV in 2009, the year he turned 32.
While his grad school friends joined Wall Street hedge funds, Gutierrez set up folding card tables at Latino supermarkets in California and spent half a year trying to prove to angel investors that he could successfully lend to people with modest incomes and negligible credit histories using a scoring system that took into account hundreds of unique attributes to determine the likelihood an applicant would repay a loan.
He never broke even, but succeeded enough.
Before he left the company in early 2012, Gutierrez — who founded a competing firm a year later — had closed tens of millions of dollars in new funding from major players including Madrone Capital, run by the eldest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton, and Greylock, known for its early investments in tech startups like Facebook. The infusions bankrolled the opening of dozens of kiosks and storefronts in California and Texas, the states with the largest Latino populations.
The week after his departure from the company, Gutierrez told the Los Angeles Times that Progreso was finally on track to break even. But that wouldn't happen for years, even after Vazquez took the helm.
Under Vazquez, the company has expanded into 10 more states, started offering auto loans and an Oportun-branded credit card, and executed a major rebranding and overhaul of its marketing and public relations strategies. Last September, the company went public.
To date, it's disbursed more than 3.9 million loans totaling more than $9 billion. At the end of 2019, it had nearly 800,000 active customers, its first annual filing shows.
Revenues are up in recent years thanks to the expansion, and the company has reported five consecutive years of pre-tax profitability. But business filings show that as its operating expenses have soared, its profits have been modest and spotty.
In the first two quarters of 2020, Oportun's net profits dropped by $50 million, compared with the same period in 2019, amid the widespread economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In its 2019 year-end filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Oportun explained the financial challenges ahead, saying it would need to continue with its rapid expansion to “achieve and increase profitability."
Even if it succeeded, it said “we may not be able to maintain or increase our level of profitability over the long term."
Oportun's Business Model
Nearly a decade ago, Texas Appleseed — Baddour's group — highlighted Oportun in a report as one of several new, non-bank players striving to offer affordable small-dollar loans. But, it said, few had reached significant scale.
Many statistics would indicate Oportun is bucking the trend. It added hundreds of retail locations across the country in the past five years and has grown its active customer count by more than 300,000 since 2016. In a filing announcing its initial public offering, it said that the vast majority of dollars lent had been repaid.
“Our track record as a responsible lender is clear — 92% of our customers have historically paid us back on time and in full," Oportun said in a statement to ProPublica and the Tribune, adding that its so-called loss rates compare favorably to prime lenders.
But consumer advocates say the large number of lawsuits Oportun is filing raises the question: Under what circumstances are those repayments occurring?
The company wouldn't say how much money it has recouped after “reengaging" customers via the legal system. And the ProPublica/Tribune investigation found that the company has other ways to retain borrowers that consumer advocates describe as questionable.
Under its “Good Customer Program," Oportun allows borrowers to take out larger loans with lower interest rates, which typically translates to lower monthly payments. To qualify, they must have never missed a payment, maintained their current loan for a year or paid off 40% of it.
“If a customer stays with us, we give them more capital and drop their rate," Vazquez, the Oportun CEO, said last month in an interview with the nonprofit Financial Health Network, in which he described the average Oportun borrower as 42 years old with a family to support and a $45,000 annual salary. “A customer should see a benefit for performing well on their loan."
But consumer advocates and attorneys say the program can trap consumers in a cycle of debt because they are repeatedly rewriting potentially unaffordable loans, thus paying more interest than principal.
“In general, a model that pushes refinancing is not a good idea," said Lauren Saunders, associate director of the National Consumer Law Center. “Refinancing is masking troubles."
Oportun doesn't disclose its refinancing rate or how many customers are enrolled in its “Good Customer Program," but figures in its public filings and other publicly available information show the company depends heavily on repeat customers, which have comprised some 80% of its principal balance since at least 2017, according to the company's latest annual filing. And the 3.8 million loans the company has disbursed to date have gone to about 1.7 million people, meaning each person takes out an average of more than two.
A significant share of the company's revenue — more than 90% — comes from interest income, though that includes late fees.
Solis, the hotel worker in Houston, said she took advantage of refinancing several times. She doesn't recall whether her payments or interest rate dropped as a result but said she found the $130 bimonthly payments on her most recent $6,000 loan reasonable.
In its statement regarding Solis, Oportun said, “Each loan came after the customer had paid down a substantial portion of their balance, each loan came with a lower APR, and the customer's credit score was steadily improving."
Solis said her daughter tried to borrow from Oportun to help cover payments, but she was denied.
“It's really hard to get sued for something that's out of your control," she said.
Despite Oportun decreasing its interest rates with each refinance — compared with payday lenders that peddle short-term, single-payment loans with APRs that can top 400% — they are still high.
In May 2018, Oportun lent $800 at a 66.9% interest rate to a woman in McAllen, a city on the Texas-Mexico border, who needed it to pay rent. The terms: 15 months with bimonthly payments of $40. (That meant she would have paid a total of $1,189.70, including $389.70 in interest.)
But even that was too much. Struggling to juggle other loans, the woman defaulted, and Oportun sued her last year.
Her pro bono attorney, Amy Clark of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, was able to settle the case by arguing that Oportun had harassed her client during the collections process by repeatedly calling the personal references the woman gave when she applied for the loan.
“They had collected information on 'references' as though it was to get the loan, but it was for collection purposes," she said.
Despite the near 67% interest rate in her client's loan, Oportun maintains that its average APR is 36%. But it doesn't disclose comprehensive data on its rates or fee structure and declined to disclose its median interest rate, a better indicator of the rate it typically charges.
Some websites that review credit products for consumers have pointed to that lack of transparency as a red flag and advised consumers to seek other options before borrowing from Oportun.
“Oportun loans are expensive, though the company is not transparent about their overall rates and fees, which vary by state," according to a May review in WalletHub, which noted that Oportun's opaqueness brought its score down considerably despite the company's “positive reputation."
The Texas Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner, the state agency that regulates lenders, declined an open records request for Oportun's lending disclosures, which shed light on the number of loans disbursed and interest earned, citing confidentiality. But similar reports from California's Department of Business Oversight show that last year Oportun charged APRs between 40% and 69.99% on nine out of every 10 loans under $2,500 issued or refinanced in that state.
With those kinds of interest rates, the main reason Oportun's loans are more affordable is that the company allows customers to pay them back in installments with terms that range from six to 48 months. But Baddour of Texas Appleseed said multiyear terms for these kinds of consumer loans can become burdensome for borrowers who struggle to maintain consistent income.
The Lawsuits
In 2010, Oportun obtained its first batch of operating licenses in Texas and now has 80 grocery store kiosks and strip mall storefronts in more than a dozen counties across the state.
Court records covering nine of the state's most populous counties show that Oportun didn't start suing borrowers until 2016, when its expansion was well underway, the ProPublica/Tribune analysis found.
That year, Oportun filed at least 3,500 debt claims in three of the largest Texas counties, those home to Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth. Its filings have grown every year since then.
Oportun sued more than 9,000 borrowers during the first half of 2020, nearly 2,500 more than it did in the same period of 2019, the analysis found. In Harris and Dallas counties, where more detailed records are available, the median claim amount this year is about $1,400.
Consumer advocates and attorneys say Texas' court system also makes it efficient for Oportun to sue.
Records show that non-attorney staffers called “legal collections specialists" — some of them straight out of college — file lawsuits en masse in justice of the peace courts, where claims are capped at $10,000, you don't have to be an attorney to sue and filing fees, typically about $50, are hundreds of dollars less per case than in county or state courts.
“I think it just doesn't cost them that much, so why not?" said Anderson Simmons, an Austin-based consumer attorney who regularly represents consumers in debt collection cases, though never against Oportun. “They have to pay employees to fill out the forms, but they could have someone doing that for $15 an hour, so it's probably just a mass assembly line."
In his July blog post, Vazquez described Oportun's legal collections activity as a success. That's why the company has dropped some two-thirds of the lawsuits it's filed, he explained.
Mary Spector, who directs the civil and consumer law clinic at Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law, said that suing a debtor with no intention of litigating the case is an abuse of the legal system.
“It smells like harassment and intimidation," she said. “Especially when cases are filed in large numbers."
Carl Smart, a Dallas-based consumer attorney who regularly represents borrowers in Oportun suits, said Oportun staffers always move to dismiss cases as soon as they realize the borrower has an attorney.
Smart said that's unusual because “these kinds of cases are generally fairly easy for the creditor to win because all they have to do is prove the debt is this person's."
Like Solis and other borrowers ProPublica and the Tribune interviewed for this story, Smart said it is often hard to get through to Oportun by phone.
Smart said many of his clients are Latino immigrants who don't speak English or understand the difference between a civil and criminal lawsuit.
“They don't understand their rights. They think they're going to jail," Smart said. “I do kind of think that Oportun takes a little bit of advantage of that."
Oportun's contracts say borrowers are considered in default if they miss just one payment and must immediately pay the full amount remaining on the note — and that the company doesn't have to notify them in advance that it will demand they do so.
Borrowers have very little recourse unless they specifically opt out of provisions in the contract that bar them from joining a class action lawsuit against the company or taking disputes to trial, but legal aid and private consumer attorneys said that rarely happens.
Most of those provisions are standard in consumer contracts. But they “are what allows these companies to operate at will, because individual cases are like bug bites to them," said Clark of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid.
Consumer advocates and attorneys say Oportun's legal strategy is also likely effective because many of its borrowers are undocumented and fear the legal system.
Oportun allows borrowers to use an individual tax identification number in lieu of a Social Security number when they apply for loans, making them easily accessible to undocumented immigrants. Even then, others may use Social Security numbers that they borrow or buy when they arrive in the country.
Oportun declined to say how many of its borrowers might be undocumented, but a review of available petitions in the 467 lawsuits Oportun filed in June in Harris County shows the company had Social Security numbers on file for fewer than half of the defendants.
While Oportun drops two-thirds of the lawsuits it files, Baddour noted that it files so many in Harris County — where it has the most retail locations — that it also secures more rulings there than most other debt collectors. The vast majority of those are won by default because the defendant doesn't respond to the lawsuit.
Very few Oportun defendants obtain lawyers, the ProPublica/Tribune analysis showed. Last year in Harris County, 105 out of 7,600 of them did, and it made a difference: Their cases were dropped 96% of the time before a ruling.
Like Solis, several Oportun borrowers said the lawsuits against them came as a surprise.
In late November, Augustine Ayala said he borrowed $300 to fix his car, but he fell behind on his payments totaling $30 a month after he contracted COVID-19 and was sent home from his warehouse job.
The 22-year-old, whose take-home pay was about $400 per week, was served at home on June 11 while awaiting a second negative diagnostic test so he could return to work. The lawsuit said he owed $305.28.
Ayala told ProPublica/The Texas Tribune in July that he was trying to pay the loan back, but it was challenging with interest still accruing.
“It just keeps going up and up and up, and I'm like … can y'all work with me?" he said. “It's been stressful because I have to worry about still having to help my dad, I have to give him rent money every month, and then I still have to pay off this loan … and I don't get that much of a check, you know."
Oportun declined to comment on Ayala's account without his written consent, which he didn't provide prior to publication.
“You Don't Get in Debt Because You Want To"
While Oportun has dropped all pending lawsuits and says it won't file new ones for a while, it will remain one of the top debt collectors in the state under the measures it announced in late July. The ProPublica/Tribune analysis showed that even if Oportun reduced its legal filings by 60%, its ranking would only drop from second to fifth by year's end.
Vazquez also didn't specify how the 36% rate cap would be applied, including whether the company would charge that much on all its loans, which range from $300 to $10,000. Consumer advocates have long considered that APR an acceptable maximum for personal loans but only for smaller ones, limited to a few thousand dollars at most.
Thirty-six percent is also still far higher than interest rates on subprime credit cards, which hover around 25%.
Sidhu of the Center for Responsible Lending said none of the measures address what she points to as the root cause: Oportun is lending money to a lot of people who can't repay, and its proprietary scoring model to determine whether an applicant will do so isn't all that accurate.
“If they aren't radically reshifting the way they understand their clientele, I don't see any real impetus for meaningful change," she said.
To Carla Nuñez, a Venezuelan immigrant and single mother who lives in suburban Houston, the Hispanic community is “easy prey" for Oportun.
She said Oportun approved her for a $6,000 loan last year even though she needed less than half that to cover a three-month deposit on a new apartment.
In a complaint filed with the state of Texas last year, Nuñez claimed that Oportun refused to arrange a payment plan with her when she fell behind on her $120 bimonthly payments after her teenage daughter was hospitalized with a rare breathing disorder and she had to quit one of her jobs to help care for her.
Nuñez is among at least three dozen people who have filed complaints against Oportun with the Texas Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since 2011. Complaints range from refusal to offer a payment plan to harassing phone calls to a legal threat.
Nuñez and Oportun resolved the matter without going to court, records show. She said she paid off her loan earlier this year after she got her income tax return. Still, she said, the ordeal had profound and long-lasting financial implications.
In a second complaint filed last December, Nuñez said that her credit score had been damaged after Oportun charged off her account, meaning it didn't expect to be repaid, despite the fact that she had resumed payments. Because of that, Nuñez said she was unable to purchase a special breathing machine that her daughter needed.
“You don't get in debt because you want to," she said in an interview. “Their best weapon is hurting your credit, because they know that closes a lot of doors."
Oportun declined to comment on Nuñez's account without her written consent, which she did not provide prior to publication. But in its one-paragraph statement, it suggested the number of complaints Texans have lodged against it is small in comparison to the more than 800,000 loans it has disbursed in the state since 2014.
“Each of those complaints was investigated and cleared with no finding of any impropriety," the statement said.
In Houston, Solis has been back at work for about two months now, but she's also the sole provider for her household — her husband hasn't been able to find another job — and is still struggling to catch up on bills after being unemployed for so long.
She received an email from Oportun on Aug. 5 saying it was dropping the lawsuit against her. She said it gave her some relief but that she is still uneasy knowing she can't pay back what she owes.
“They have no compassion for what you're going through," Solis said. “They only care about the money."


alternet--2020-09-30--'Desperate' Trump blasted for calling on supporters to engage in voter intimidation

Among the stream of authoritarian remarks President Donald Trump let loose during his disastrous performance at Tuesday night 's presidential debate , one of the most alarming to voting rights advocates came at the tail-end of the 90-minute event , when the incumbent openly encouraged his supporters to `` go into the polls and watch very carefully . ''
Though poll watching is authorized in states across the U.S. , the activity is restricted by specific rules and guidelines aimed at preventing a candidate 's backers from showing up at polling places and intimidating voters attempting to cast their ballots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , observers warned , went well beyond a call for legally sanctioned and qualified election observers .
`` He was n't talking about poll watching .
He was talking about voter intimidation , '' tweeted Nevada 's Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford .
`` FYI—voter intimidation is illegal in Nevada .
Believe me when I say it : You do it , and you will be prosecuted . ''
Asked by debate moderator Chris Wallace whether he would pledge to `` not declare victory until the election has been independently certified , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lie he first spread on social media ahead of Tuesday night 's event .
`` As you know , today there was a big problem , '' the president said .
`` In Philadelphia , they went in to watch .
They 're called poll watchers , a very safe , very nice thing .
They were thrown out .
They were n't allowed to watch .
You know why ?
Because bad things happen in Philadelphia .
Bad things .
And I am urging my people—I hope it 's going to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Philadelphia Inquirer pointed out , `` there were several reasons why elections staff did not allow members of the public to arbitrarily enter their offices . ''
`` The Trump campaign has no poll watchers approved to work in Philadelphia at the moment , '' the Inquirer noted .
`` There are no actual polling places open in the city right now .
And elections officials are following coronavirus safety regulations , such as those limiting the number of people indoors . ''
`` Trump is brazenly demanding voter intimidation from his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ founder and president of advocacy group Stand Up America .
In a joint statement following the debate , during which the president also repeated a number of falsehoods about mail-in voting , Eldridge and Indivisible co-executive director Leah Greenberg said that `` the confusion and doubt that Donald Trump tried to sow about the election tonight is the behavior of a desperate man and a losing candidate . ''
`` We are building a broad network of people who are working to make sure every vote is counted and preparing to mobilize if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The voters will have the last word , '' said Eldridge and Greenberg .
`` While we work to resoundingly defeat Donald Trump in this election , preparing to also protect the results of this election is n't just reasonable , it 's necessary . ''
The Inquirer reported that on Tuesday afternoon , as early voting began in Pennsylvania , `` a woman approached the supervisor at the entrance of the satellite office at Overbrook Elementary School '' claiming that `` she was there to monitor 'the integrity of the election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inside the building .
`` The woman did not present any sort of certificate of being an official poll watcher , but calmly stated that she had a right to be inside , '' according to the outlet .
`` The woman told the Inquirer she was 'hired by the Trump campaign to oversee the integrity of the election . '
She said she was paid to monitor the West Philadelphia site .
She would not provide her name or any further information , and she left the area shortly afterward . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Donald Trump Jr. , the president 's eldest son , called on Trump supporters to `` enlist '' in the campaign 's `` election security operation '' and falsely claimed that the president 's opponents `` plan to add millions of fraudulent ballots that can cancel your vote and overturn the election . ''
On the second day of early voting in Virginia on September 19 , Trump supporters heeded the campaign 's repeated calls to show up at polling places en masse , offering a potential preview of the chaos the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country .
As the New York Times reported , a crowd of Trump supporters gathered near a polling location in Fairfax and formed `` a line that voters had to walk around outside the site . ''
`` County election officials eventually were forced to open up a larger portion of the Fairfax County Government Center to allow voters to wait inside away from the Trump enthusiasts , '' the Times noted .
Bryan Graham , the chairman of the Fairfax County Democrats , tweeted at the time that `` Republicans are straight-up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Center .
Circling the parking lots with their Trump flags and horns blaring . ''

Among the stream of authoritarian remarks President Donald Trump let loose during his disastrous performance at Tuesday night's presidential debate, one of the most alarming to voting rights advocates came at the tail-end of the 90-minute event, when the incumbent openly encouraged his supporters to "go into the polls and watch very carefully."
Though poll watching is authorized in states across the U.S., the activity is restricted by specific rules and guidelines aimed at preventing a candidate's backers from showing up at polling places and intimidating voters attempting to cast their ballots. The president's comments Tuesday night, observers warned, went well beyond a call for legally sanctioned and qualified election observers.
"He wasn't talking about poll watching. He was talking about voter intimidation," tweeted Nevada's Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford. "FYI—voter intimidation is illegal in Nevada. Believe me when I say it: You do it, and you will be prosecuted."
Asked by debate moderator Chris Wallace whether he would pledge to "not declare victory until the election has been independently certified," Trump ignored the question and repeated a lie he first spread on social media ahead of Tuesday night's event.
"As you know, today there was a big problem," the president said. "In Philadelphia, they went in to watch. They're called poll watchers, a very safe, very nice thing. They were thrown out. They weren't allowed to watch. You know why? Because bad things happen in Philadelphia. Bad things. And I am urging my people—I hope it's going to be a fair election."
But as the Philadelphia Inquirerpointed out, "there were several reasons why elections staff did not allow members of the public to arbitrarily enter their offices."
"The Trump campaign has no poll watchers approved to work in Philadelphia at the moment," the Inquirer noted. "There are no actual polling places open in the city right now. And elections officials are following coronavirus safety regulations, such as those limiting the number of people indoors."
"Trump is brazenly demanding voter intimidation from his supporters," tweeted Sean Eldridge, founder and president of advocacy group Stand Up America.
In a joint statement following the debate, during which the president also repeated a number of falsehoods about mail-in voting, Eldridge and Indivisible co-executive director Leah Greenberg said that "the confusion and doubt that Donald Trump tried to sow about the election tonight is the behavior of a desperate man and a losing candidate."
"We are building a broad network of people who are working to make sure every vote is counted and preparing to mobilize if Trump attempts to undermine the valid results. The voters will have the last word," said Eldridge and Greenberg. "While we work to resoundingly defeat Donald Trump in this election, preparing to also protect the results of this election isn't just reasonable, it's necessary."
The Inquirer reported that on Tuesday afternoon, as early voting began in Pennsylvania, "a woman approached the supervisor at the entrance of the satellite office at Overbrook Elementary School" claiming that "she was there to monitor 'the integrity of the election'" and asking to be allowed inside the building.
"The woman did not present any sort of certificate of being an official poll watcher, but calmly stated that she had a right to be inside," according to the outlet. "The woman told the Inquirer she was 'hired by the Trump campaign to oversee the integrity of the election.' She said she was paid to monitor the West Philadelphia site. She would not provide her name or any further information, and she left the area shortly afterward."
In a video posted online last week, Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, called on Trump supporters to "enlist" in the campaign's "election security operation" and falsely claimed that the president's opponents "plan to add millions of fraudulent ballots that can cancel your vote and overturn the election."
On the second day of early voting in Virginia on September 19, Trump supporters heeded the campaign's repeated calls to show up at polling places en masse, offering a potential preview of the chaos the president is attempting to provoke across the country. As the New York Timesreported, a crowd of Trump supporters gathered near a polling location in Fairfax and formed "a line that voters had to walk around outside the site."
"County election officials eventually were forced to open up a larger portion of the Fairfax County Government Center to allow voters to wait inside away from the Trump enthusiasts," the Times noted.
Bryan Graham, the chairman of the Fairfax County Democrats, tweeted at the time that "Republicans are straight-up attempting to intimidate voters at the Government Center. Circling the parking lots with their Trump flags and horns blaring."


alternet--2020-09-30--Here's why culture and politics are complicating Midwestern efforts to defeat the coronavirus

As a Californian with family in the Midwest , my Instagram feed has become a slideshow of two jarringly different pandemic experiences .
I see acquaintances in Kansas having large parties , no masks in sight , literally popping bottles of champagne indoors .
An old friend having a big wedding in Wisconsin , and a gender reveal party in Illinois , too , were both mask-free affairs .
This observation of the digital world transcends into the real one : a close friend who just returned from Iowa said it looked like the pandemic `` never happened . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ San Francisco Bay Area , where I live , is much different .
In many ways , life still feels like it did in March , when the region first descended into a shelter-in-place status .
I do n't know anyone here in California who 's hosted or attended a gathering with more than 10 people without observing the recommended mitigation strategies like wearing a mask , being outside and social distancing .
Salons , gyms and hotels are just starting to open .
Indeed , the difference between the Midwest and California @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases rise in the Midwest .
According to the Covid Tracking Project , the Midwest is currently experiencing a coronavirus surge .
And while there 's a mix of reasons behind this new surge— including the ( possibly premature ) reopening of some cities , universities and schools , and big gatherings like the the Sturgis motorcycle rally— there is a strong link between the low likelihood of public mask-wearing and the places where cases are rising , as The New York Times has reported .
Indeed , the Midwest seems to struggle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ county-level data reveals .
Given what we know about the success of mitigation strategies like donning a mask , it may seem peculiar for states like Iowa to suddenly surge in cases .
That suggests that the midwestern surge originates not because of lack of public health knowledge , but because of cultural reasons , or because of the politicized nature of masks , or both — something that is borne out by locals ' observations .
Take Polk County , Iowa , for example .
Over the summer , the state of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nola Aigner Davis , Public Health Communications Officer of the Polk County Health Department in Iowa , told Salon Polk County remains one of the top 10 hotspots in the United States .
Davis emphasized that it 's been difficult to get the coronavirus under control in part due to the lack of people wearing masks and social distancing .
`` There are people who are still skeptical about this disease and [ how ] dangerous and deadly it can be .
.
.
.
or it 's just people who this is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like wearing a mask or social distancing , '' Davis said .
`` Well , we see every day that people are hospitalized and people are dying from this disease . ''
Davis said she 's concerned about her constituent having `` COVID-19 fatigue , '' a neologism that describes the condition in which the constant stress of the pandemic eventually leads to complacency , and the inability to make good decisions .
Davis said COVID-19 fatigue reveals itself when , for instance , people who are awaiting coronavirus test results do n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or not their are positive .
`` This is something that no one thought would last this long , '' Davis added .
`` We would not be wearing masks this long , we would not be social distancing this long ; I think when you develop a new way of life that people are not accustomed to , and you want your old life back , it 's just very tiresome . ''
Brady Kirkpatrick , who lives in Omaha , Nebraska , said the state has been `` mostly lax '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In Omaha , where coronavirus cases were rising in the summer , the city council passed a mask mandate .
However , Kirkpatrick said that in his experience , `` most businesses only require you to wear your mask upon entry . ''
`` At the gym , about half the members wear masks while working out , '' Kirkpatrick said .
`` It seems that most people are n't very concerned about it since the cases here are fairly low , and the city is pretty spaced out . ''
Omaha is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , even if not everyone is taking it seriously as Kirkpatrick says .
However , according to AP News , the state 's seven-day rolling average for positivity rate is rising .
`` Overall , many people here are sick of COVID and the rules that have been enforced , '' Kirkpatrick said .
The state of Wisconsin is currently in a state of emergency , as hospitals in the northeast part of the state are near capacity and local resources remain strained .
In Dane County , where the University of Wisconsin–Madison @ @ @ @ @ @ @ county experienced its first significant surge in September since the pandemic began , according to Dane County Executive Joe Parisi , which it 's still battling .
The University started in-person classes , but paused them one week later because of a coronavirus outbreak .
However , the county 's health officials say in-person classes were n't the only reason behind the surge .
`` The number of cases associated with UW is a concern , but plenty of virus is spreading elsewhere in the community too , '' Janel Heinrich , Director @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said in a statement .
In Louisville , Kentucky , Lori Cheek told Salon over email that it 's hard to `` comprehend '' how `` most of the people are dealing with this pandemic at this point . ''
Wearing a mask is not the norm where she lives , Cheek says .
`` I 'm scared to go inside the public areas in my own apartment building , '' Cheek said .
`` I only take the elevator to and from my 6th floor apartment when I 'm taking my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and every time the door opens , there 's someone trying to get in the elevator with me without a mask . ''
According to a Gallup poll published in mid-July , forty-four percent of U.S. adults say they `` always '' wear a mask when outside their homes , and 28 percent say they do so `` very often . ''
Interestingly , a majority of those who wear masks are either women or Democrats .
The poll found that 61 percent of Democrats polled said they always wear a mask @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them said they wear masks infrequently .
A Pew Research Center study found a similar partisan divide .
Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) and the World Health Organization ( WHO ) recommend cloth masks for the general public .
Health experts strongly agree that the evidence is clear that masks can help prevent the spread of COVID-19 .
Yet the act of wearing a mask has become politicized in part due to President Trump 's rhetoric and resistance around it .
In Wisconsin , where there 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conservative law firm is asking a state court to block the enforcement—despite the state 's health department 's recommendations to wear them and avoid large gatherings .
`` It is a proven method to prevent the spread of COVID-19 , '' Jennifer Miller , a spokesperson at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services , told Salon in an email .
`` That said , masks and/or face coverings do not take the place of social and physical distancing , so we also encourage people to stay home as much as possible , maintain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ themselves and others when they must go out , avoid large gatherings , and follow simple health hygiene habits like washing their hands frequently and thoroughly and covering coughs and sneezes . ''
According to the World Health Organization , there have been 33,249,563 confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the world and over one million deaths .
The United States accounts for more than 20 percent of the global death toll .
Indeed , many are wondering how the United States will ever overcome this pandemic , especially as states in the Midwest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` If we do n't practice these mitigation strategies , we 're never going to see this virus go away , '' Davis from the Polk County Health Department in Iowa said .

As a Californian with family in the Midwest, my Instagram feed has become a slideshow of two jarringly different pandemic experiences. I see acquaintances in Kansas having large parties, no masks in sight, literally popping bottles of champagne indoors. An old friend having a big wedding in Wisconsin, and a gender reveal party in Illinois, too, were both mask-free affairs. This observation of the digital world transcends into the real one: a close friend who just returned from Iowa said it looked like the pandemic "never happened."
The culture around the pandemic in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I live, is much different. In many ways, life still feels like it did in March, when the region first descended into a shelter-in-place status. I don't know anyone here in California who's hosted or attended a gathering with more than 10 people without observing the recommended mitigation strategies like wearing a mask, being outside and social distancing. Salons, gyms and hotels are just starting to open. Indeed, the difference between the Midwest and California is a bit confusing, particularly as cases rise in the Midwest.
According to the Covid Tracking Project, the Midwest is currently experiencing a coronavirus surge. And while there's a mix of reasons behind this new surge— including the (possibly premature) reopening of some cities, universities and schools, and big gatherings like the the Sturgis motorcycle rally— there is a strong link between the low likelihood of public mask-wearing and the places where cases are rising, as The New York Times has reported. Indeed, the Midwest seems to struggle uniquely with mask-wearing, as the Times county-level data reveals.
Given what we know about the success of mitigation strategies like donning a mask, it may seem peculiar for states like Iowa to suddenly surge in cases. That suggests that the midwestern surge originates not because of lack of public health knowledge, but because of cultural reasons, or because of the politicized nature of masks, or both — something that is borne out by locals' observations.
Take Polk County, Iowa, for example. Over the summer, the state of Iowa emerged as a coronavirus hotspot. Nola Aigner Davis, Public Health Communications Officer of the Polk County Health Department in Iowa, told Salon Polk County remains one of the top 10 hotspots in the United States. Davis emphasized that it's been difficult to get the coronavirus under control in part due to the lack of people wearing masks and social distancing.
"There are people who are still skeptical about this disease and [how] dangerous and deadly it can be. . . . or it's just people who this isn't something they're accustomed to, like wearing a mask or social distancing," Davis said. "Well, we see every day that people are hospitalized and people are dying from this disease."
Davis said she's concerned about her constituent having "COVID-19 fatigue," a neologism that describes the condition in which the constant stress of the pandemic eventually leads to complacency, and the inability to make good decisions. Davis said COVID-19 fatigue reveals itself when, for instance, people who are awaiting coronavirus test results don't stay home until they've discovered whether or not their are positive.
"This is something that no one thought would last this long," Davis added. "We would not be wearing masks this long, we would not be social distancing this long; I think when you develop a new way of life that people are not accustomed to, and you want your old life back, it's just very tiresome."
Brady Kirkpatrick, who lives in Omaha, Nebraska, said the state has been "mostly lax" about the pandemic since the beginning. In Omaha, where coronavirus cases were rising in the summer, the city council passed a mask mandate. However, Kirkpatrick said that in his experience, "most businesses only require you to wear your mask upon entry."
"At the gym, about half the members wear masks while working out," Kirkpatrick said. "It seems that most people aren't very concerned about it since the cases here are fairly low, and the city is pretty spaced out."
Omaha is seeing lower cases after the mask mandate, even if not everyone is taking it seriously as Kirkpatrick says. However, according to AP News, the state's seven-day rolling average for positivity rate is rising.
"Overall, many people here are sick of COVID and the rules that have been enforced," Kirkpatrick said.
The state of Wisconsin is currently in a state of emergency, as hospitals in the northeast part of the state are near capacity and local resources remain strained. In Dane County, where the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW) is located, the county experienced its first significant surge in September since the pandemic began, according to Dane County Executive Joe Parisi, which it's still battling. The University started in-person classes, but paused them one week later because of a coronavirus outbreak. However, the county's health officials say in-person classes weren't the only reason behind the surge.
"The number of cases associated with UW is a concern, but plenty of virus is spreading elsewhere in the community too," Janel Heinrich, Director of Public Health Madison & Dane County, said in a statement.
In Louisville, Kentucky, Lori Cheek told Salon over email that it's hard to "comprehend" how "most of the people are dealing with this pandemic at this point." Wearing a mask is not the norm where she lives, Cheek says.
"I'm scared to go inside the public areas in my own apartment building," Cheek said. "I only take the elevator to and from my 6th floor apartment when I'm taking my bike in and out of the building, and every time the door opens, there's someone trying to get in the elevator with me without a mask."
According to a Gallup poll published in mid-July, forty-four percent of U.S. adults say they "always" wear a mask when outside their homes, and 28 percent say they do so "very often." Interestingly, a majority of those who wear masks are either women or Democrats. The poll found that 61 percent of Democrats polled said they always wear a mask. Among Republicans, a majority of them said they wear masks infrequently. A Pew Research Center study found a similar partisan divide.
Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend cloth masks for the general public. Health experts strongly agree that the evidence is clear that masks can help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Yet the act of wearing a mask has become politicized in part due to President Trump's rhetoric and resistance around it. In Wisconsin, where there's currently a statewide mask mandate, a conservative law firm is asking a state court to block the enforcement—despite the state's health department's recommendations to wear them and avoid large gatherings.
"It is a proven method to prevent the spread of COVID-19," Jennifer Miller, a spokesperson at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, told Salon in an email. "That said, masks and/or face coverings do not take the place of social and physical distancing, so we also encourage people to stay home as much as possible, maintain at least six feet of separation between themselves and others when they must go out, avoid large gatherings, and follow simple health hygiene habits like washing their hands frequently and thoroughly and covering coughs and sneezes."
According to the World Health Organization, there have been 33,249,563 confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the world and over one million deaths. The United States accounts for more than 20 percent of the global death toll. Indeed, many are wondering how the United States will ever overcome this pandemic, especially as states in the Midwest enter the autumn and winter seasons.
"If we don't practice these mitigation strategies, we're never going to see this virus go away," Davis from the Polk County Health Department in Iowa said.


alternet--2020-09-30--Trump campaign is plotting to steal Pennsylvania's electoral votes — here's how we can stop him cold

It was one of the most chilling stories in a campaign that 's already been one of the most disturbing of all time : Just last week , The Atlantic reported that Donald Trump 's campaign is preparing to ask Republican lawmakers in swing states they control to ignore the popular vote and appoint members to the Electoral College who will vote for Trump—a power explicitly reserved to state legislatures under the Constitution .
Making this nascent effort to slaughter democracy even more alarming , the chair of the Republican Party in Pennsylvania—one of the most critical states up for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he 'd talked to the Trump campaign about this very possibility .
`` I hope they 're thinking about it , '' Lawrence Tabas said .
`` It is one of the available legal options set forth in the Constitution . ''
And state Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman , one of the men who 'd be responsible for implementing such a scheme , refused to rule the idea out .
But we can stop this despicable plot dead in its tracks by flipping just one chamber of the Pennsylvania legislature , making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the will of the people .
That 's because new legislators in the Keystone State assume office on Dec. 1 every even-numbered year under the state constitution—a much earlier date than in most other states , which typically defer the changing of the guard until January .
Crucially , election results in Pennsylvania typically are not certified until later in December : In 2016 , for instance , the Department of State finalized that year 's results—and with them the state 's slate of electors—on Dec. 12 .
No matter how dastardly they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hell of a time if they try to put forth their own set of electors before election officials even have a chance to finish counting the votes .
That , relatively speaking , is the simple part .
The hard part is actually beating Republicans , because they 've gerrymandered the district lines to within an inch of their lives .
But despite the rigged maps , Democrats made big gains in Pennsylvania two years ago , and they 're fielding a fantastic slate of candidates this fall .
To capitalize on this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fierce progressives running for the state House , where we need to win nine GOP-held seats in order to take the chamber : Pennsylvania Republicans know that for Trump to cling to power , they have to cling to power , too , and they 'll use every nasty trick they can come up with—and then some .
But together , we can make sure our candidates have the resources they need to fight back against the GOP dirty money machine by countering corporate cash with people power .
Nothing less than the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

It was one of the most chilling stories in a campaign that's already been one of the most disturbing of all time: Just last week, TheAtlantic reported that Donald Trump's campaign is preparing to ask Republican lawmakers in swing states they control to ignore the popular vote and appoint members to the Electoral College who will vote for Trump—a power explicitly reserved to state legislatures under the Constitution.
Making this nascent effort to slaughter democracy even more alarming, the chair of the Republican Party in Pennsylvania—one of the most critical states up for grabs in the 2020 elections—openly admitted that he'd talked to the Trump campaign about this very possibility. "I hope they're thinking about it," Lawrence Tabas said. "It is one of the available legal options set forth in the Constitution." And state Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, one of the men who'd be responsible for implementing such a scheme, refused to rule the idea out.
But we can stop this despicable plot dead in its tracks by flipping just one chamber of the Pennsylvania legislature, making it impossible for the GOP to defy the will of the people. That's because new legislators in the Keystone State assume office on Dec. 1 every even-numbered year under the state constitution—a much earlier date than in most other states, which typically defer the changing of the guard until January.
Crucially, election results in Pennsylvania typically are not certified until later in December: In 2016, for instance, the Department of State finalized that year's results—and with them the state's slate of electors—on Dec. 12. No matter how dastardly they're feeling, Republicans will have a hell of a time if they try to put forth their own set of electors before election officials even have a chance to finish counting the votes.
That, relatively speaking, is the simple part. The hard part is actually beating Republicans, because they've gerrymandered the district lines to within an inch of their lives. But despite the rigged maps, Democrats made big gains in Pennsylvania two years ago, and they're fielding a fantastic slate of candidates this fall. To capitalize on this energy, Daily Kos has endorsed 11 fierce progressives running for the state House, where we need to win nine GOP-held seats in order to take the chamber:
Pennsylvania Republicans know that for Trump to cling to power, they have to cling to power, too, and they'll use every nasty trick they can come up with—and then some. But together, we can make sure our candidates have the resources they need to fight back against the GOP dirty money machine by countering corporate cash with people power. Nothing less than the fate of our democracy depends on it.


alternet--2020-09-30--Trump slammed for ‘avalanche of lying’ in brutal takedown by CNN fact-checker

CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale provided a brutal dose of reality after President Donald Trump constantly mislead Americans with his false claims during the first 2020 general election presidential debate .
CNN 's Wolf Blitzer introduced Dale by recapping that , in his opinion , `` clearly this debate was an embarrassment for the United States of America — a clear embarrassment . ''
`` How much was fact ? ''
Blitzer asked .
`` How much was false ? ''
`` Well , it depended Wolf on who we were listening to , '' Dale replied .
`` I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to say when both sides are not alike — and they were not alike tonight , '' he explained .
`` We had an avalanche of lying from President Trump , '' he continued .
`` Biden , conversely , made at least a couple false or misleading claims , but honestly , he was largely accurate . ''
`` There were times during this debate , Wolf , when President Trump 's every line — specifically on mail voting — almost every single thing he said during that concluding section of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` And the other thing that stood out to me , Wolf , was these were largely false claims the president has made before .
These were n't one-time slips or gaffes or errors — these have been fact-checked and he keeps saying them and they 're still wrong , '' Dale concluded .
`` And the other thing that stood out to me , Wolf , was these were largely false claims the president has made before .
These were n't one-time slips or gaffes or errors — these have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they 're still wrong , '' Dale concluded .

CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale provided a brutal dose of reality after President Donald Trump constantly mislead Americans with his false claims during the first 2020 general election presidential debate.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer introduced Dale by recapping that, in his opinion, "clearly this debate was an embarrassment for the United States of America — a clear embarrassment."
"How much was fact?" Blitzer asked. "How much was false?"
"Well, it depended Wolf on who we were listening to," Dale replied.
"I think it's important for us as journalists to say when both sides are not alike — and they were not alike tonight," he explained.
"We had an avalanche of lying from President Trump," he continued. "Biden, conversely, made at least a couple false or misleading claims, but honestly, he was largely accurate."
"There were times during this debate, Wolf, when President Trump's every line — specifically on mail voting — almost every single thing he said during that concluding section of the debate was inaccurate," Dale noted.
"And the other thing that stood out to me, Wolf, was these were largely false claims the president has made before. These weren't one-time slips or gaffes or errors — these have been fact-checked and he keeps saying them and they're still wrong," Dale concluded.
"And the other thing that stood out to me, Wolf, was these were largely false claims the president has made before. These weren't one-time slips or gaffes or errors — these have been fact-checked and he keeps saying them and they're still wrong," Dale concluded.


alternet--2020-09-30--CNN's Jake Tapper: Trump-Biden debate was 'a hot mess, inside a dumpster fire, inside a train wreck'

CNN 's Jake Tapper on Tuesday offered a succinct analysis of the 2020 presidential debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden , calling the spectacle `` a hot mess , inside a dumpster fire , inside a train wreck . ''
`` That was the worst debate I have ever seen , '' Tapper said .
`` In fact , it was n't even a debate .
It was a disgrace . ''
Tapper put the majority of the blame on President Trump , who he said `` spent the entire time interrupting , not abiding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lying , maliciously attacking the son of the vice president . ''
`` I can tell you one thing for sure : the American people lost tonight , '' Tapper argued .
`` Because that was horrific . ''
`` You took the words right out of my mouth , '' CNN Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash replied , noting Tapper used some `` high-minded language '' in his description of the event .
`` I 'm going to say it like it is : '' she continued .
`` That was a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agreed , calling the debate `` a complete disaster , on all fronts . ''
`` If you came into this thinking that two men , in their 70 's , who want to be the leader of the free world for the next four years , could have a reasonable exchange of ideas… you came away from the debate thinking it 's not possible , '' Phillip said .
As moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News noted , the president and vice president have agreed to participate in two more debates before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ below , via CNN :

CNN's Jake Tapper on Tuesday offered a succinct analysis of the 2020 presidential debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, calling the spectacle "a hot mess, inside a dumpster fire, inside a train wreck."
"That was the worst debate I have ever seen," Tapper said. "In fact, it wasn't even a debate. It was a disgrace."
Tapper put the majority of the blame on President Trump, who he said "spent the entire time interrupting, not abiding by the rules he agreed to, lying, maliciously attacking the son of the vice president."
"I can tell you one thing for sure: the American people lost tonight," Tapper argued. "Because that was horrific."
"You took the words right out of my mouth," CNN Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash replied, noting Tapper used some "high-minded language" in his description of the event.
"I'm going to say it like it is:" she continued. "That was a shit show."
Correspondent Abby Phillip agreed, calling the debate "a complete disaster, on all fronts."
"If you came into this thinking that two men, in their 70's, who want to be the leader of the free world for the next four years, could have a reasonable exchange of ideas… you came away from the debate thinking it's not possible," Phillip said.
As moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News noted, the president and vice president have agreed to participate in two more debates before the November elections.
Watch the video below, via CNN: