msnbc--2020-10-23--Last night's debate was watchable. Let's make them actually useful.

We could go through a play-by-play of how President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden fared in this latest debate — the who won , who lost , how will this affect turnout of it all .
But instead , let 's focus on how we can keep ourselves from ever having to live through a set of debates like this again .
Let 's begin with a basic fact : Presidential debates are by and large terrible , and they 've been terrible for a long time .
This is n't to say they 're `` boring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ absolutely are — but there 's no need for a debate to turn into a reality show , no matter how hard the president has tried to transform them into a political version of a `` WrestleMania '' plotline .
No , this is about their basic function , which can be framed as : `` Do these events convey information to the American public that 's worth their time ? ''
As of right now , the answer is `` no ... but we have to have them anyway . ''
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decades , political advisers and debate coaches have spent hundreds of collective hours figuring out how to game the system to avoid answering at all costs .
White House strategic communications director Alyssa Farah said as much Thursday morning : As it stands , the debate format has been tweaked slightly each cycle — the moderators , typically journalists of renown , get to choose the topics and have some leeway when it comes to allocating time between the candidates .
But if the debates still manage to feel stale , that mostly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Presidential Debates and the presidential campaigns .
Since 1987 , the Commission on Presidential Debates has organized these quadrennial showdowns , having been empowered by the major parties after a disastrous string of last-minute debates in the early 1980s , and it has slowly taken on more of the logistics ever since .
On average , the members of the commission have been doing this for a very long time .
One of the co-chairs , Frank Fahrenkopf , has been in that position since the commission was founded more than 30 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Paul G. Kirk were chairing the Republican and Democratic national committees , respectively , at the time .
Along with a third co-chair , Dorothy Ridings , the rest of the board of directors is filled out with nine other elder statesmen and women — including 92-year-old former Federal Communications Commission Chair Newton N. Minow .
The CPD , though , is just the arbitrator , not the deciding power .
The camps of both the Democratic and the Republican nominees need to agree to the rules of each verbal sparring match , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one from 2004 .
Each side wants to prevent the potential that its will nominee be embarrassed , often leading these memos to limit the ability of the moderators to press the candidates and make them answer questions .
The chances of substantive changes by the next election cycle seems slim .
The last time the CPD made a major change was in 2000 , when it instituted a rule to box out third-party campaigns , limiting general election debates to candidates polling at 15 percent or higher .
But 20 years later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 'd humbly like to pitch a new way to think about how things should go next time around .
First , I propose that we hold three debates ahead of Election Day — but the town hall format , which has often been used in the second of the three debates , has outlived its usefulness .
In theory , town halls are great , and they give the candidates a chance to answer questions presented by actual undecided voters .
In practice , however , the agreements tend to prevent any true @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2012 memo among the CPD , Obama for America and Romney for President , which was leaked after a contentious moment between Mitt Romney and moderator Candy Crowley .
So , better to do away with the pretense altogether .
Instead , the debates should revert to a previous tradition and have one night each about domestic and foreign policy .
For the last two election cycles , in particular , debates have tended to cover both each night , overweighting domestic affairs , despite the many to-do list items candidates rattle off @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ' wheelhouse .
This effectively shunts foreign policy to the side , even though most of the job description under the Constitution deals with international and military matters .
The third topic I 'd propose , using the time freed up from nixing the town hall format , would cover the most pressing issue the world faces : climate change .
The length of each debate would stay the same — 90 minutes , no commercial breaks , just long enough to hold ( most ) people 's attention .
The first half-hour @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about what a candidate would do in office : your run-of-the-mill `` What would you say to Americans who 've lost their health insurance ? ''
and `` How would your administration address the threat of white supremacists ? ''
These are the questions politicians love — usually open-ended and rarely directly answered .
They also provide the clearest avenue to dunk on one 's opponent , drawing a distinction between candidates ' proposals that can be beneficial to voters .
Round two , though , should consist of nothing but factual questions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advance to prepare , but in , for example , the foreign policy debate , expect to hear questions like `` What is the current trade deficit with China ? ''
or even `` Define what the trade deficit is . ''
No trick questions , no gotchas — just information that presidents should be able to explain to the average American .
Consider it an expanded , executive branch version of this question that Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa got asked during her debate with her challenger , Theresa Greenfield , last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ answer , the correct answers should be on display for people at home , with citations , and to the audience in the room .
VH1 managed to do this with the ancient TV show `` Pop-Up Video '' in 1996 .
There 's no reason we ca n't provide this kind of information to viewers in real time .
Round three would then move on to an open debate period , with one broad topic — for example , in the domestic policy debate , `` What should the relationship be between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ These are the sort of high-level ideas that candidates rarely engage each other over .
Moderators would be empowered to keep things on track , including , yes , keeping the ability to mute the candidates ' microphones to prevent mass chaos from breaking out .
They 'd also be authorized to rule whether statements were germane .
I can already hear the protests , that the decision of who should be the next leader of the free world should n't come down to little more than who knows the most trivia , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' And yes , that is exactly my point — the aim of the debates is , in theory , to educate the audience , not just about the differences between the candidates , but also about what they want to do for the country and the electorate .
Incorporating all three parts of the proposed format would allow for that , as well as clue voters in on who has the knowledge base the job requires .
There is admittedly the risk that the debate 's sponsors and moderators could place their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when it should be up to the voters to make their own judgments .
Before going on , I 'd be remiss not to note , though , that NBC News ' Kristen Welker was fantastic Thursday night , controlling the course of the evening and refusing to let the candidates steamroll her .
But moderators have traditionally left any corrections of incorrect information — and there was plenty of that last night — up to candidates ' opponents .
Letting moderators serve as live fact-checkers is anathema to most political campaigns .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact-check each other , '' Romney campaign lawyer Ben Ginsberg told NBC News in 2016 .
`` This debate is not about the moderators or enhancing their ratings . ''
Even before Trump came on the scene with his mission to eviscerate factuality , we 'd gotten used to candidates ' winging it on the debate stage .
Even as the pace of questioning leaves little opportunity for follow-ups and dialogue , campaigns have insisted on muzzling moderators .
These journalists , who are all too often shredded on Twitter , are the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the topics and should be able to call balls and strikes as they see them .
And the American people deserve to know when they 're being misled .
This proposed format would be a compromise , not taking away time from the candidates to verbally call out errors but giving more leeway for the moderator to direct the conversation .
A lot of this would depend on whether the CPD feels truly empowered to take on the campaigns in 2024 .
For that , the commission needs to bring in new members @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to challenge the orthodoxy and submission to the campaigns that have become baked into the process .
The CPD needs to press the campaigns and the national committees early in the election cycle , ahead of the summer 's conventions , informing them that if they 'd like to give up the free airtime of the debates , that 's on them , should they not accept the changes .
If the Democrats and the Republicans decide that they 'd rather not face the scrutiny this format would open them up to — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sponsor — that 's their choice .
But the commission 's members should also realize that they hold the cards , and they should be willing to tell the voters loudly and forcefully which standards the candidates were n't willing to meet .
If we 're going to have debates , let 's make them worth our time .
While you let the anger at having to think about 2024 already fade out of your system , here are some links to start your morning : • Politico : Ryan Lizza spent two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and says it 's even weirder on the inside than we think .
• Foreign Affairs : Matt Duss , Sen. Bernie Sanders ' top foreign policy adviser ( and , disclaimer , a former co-worker of mine ) , argues that U.S. foreign policy has never really recovered from the war on terrorism .
• Reuters : National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe is reportedly hustling to declassify a document that disputes reports of Russia 's interference in the 2016 election .
I , for one , am shocked .
• BuzzFeed News @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eating breakfast when you read this story about Sen. Mitch McConnell 's hand .
Sorry .
• NBC News : And finally , this article from Ben Collins and Brandy Zadrozny — `` Inside the campaign to 'pizzagate ' Hunter Biden '' — got Tucker Carlson so mad before it was published that he spent an entire segment attacking Brandy on his show Tuesday night .
That 's a better endorsement than I could possibly give it , so go ahead and read it now .

We could go through a play-by-play of how President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden fared in this latest debate — the who won, who lost, how will this affect turnout of it all. But instead, let's focus on how we can keep ourselves from ever having to live through a set of debates like this again.
Let's begin with a basic fact: Presidential debates are by and large terrible, and they've been terrible for a long time. This isn't to say they're "boring" to the average viewer — they absolutely are — but there's no need for a debate to turn into a reality show, no matter how hard the president has tried to transform them into a political version of a "WrestleMania" plotline. No, this is about their basic function, which can be framed as: "Do these events convey information to the American public that's worth their time?" As of right now, the answer is "no ... but we have to have them anyway."
And presidential campaigns know this. For three decades, political advisers and debate coaches have spent hundreds of collective hours figuring out how to game the system to avoid answering at all costs. White House strategic communications director Alyssa Farah said as much Thursday morning:
WH director of strategic communications Alyssa Farah previewed this evening’s presidential debate saying Trump will answer the questions he wants to answer and “whether it’s asked or he has the opportunity to bring it up, he’s going to get into this issue of Hunter Biden.” — Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) October 22, 2020
As it stands, the debate format has been tweaked slightly each cycle — the moderators, typically journalists of renown, get to choose the topics and have some leeway when it comes to allocating time between the candidates. But if the debates still manage to feel stale, that mostly falls on two groups: the Commission on Presidential Debates and the presidential campaigns.
Since 1987, the Commission on Presidential Debates has organized these quadrennial showdowns, having been empowered by the major parties after a disastrous string of last-minute debates in the early 1980s, and it has slowly taken on more of the logistics ever since. On average, the members of the commission have been doing this for a very long time. One of the co-chairs, Frank Fahrenkopf, has been in that position since the commission was founded more than 30 years ago. He and former Co-Chair Paul G. Kirk were chairing the Republican and Democratic national committees, respectively, at the time. Along with a third co-chair, Dorothy Ridings, the rest of the board of directors is filled out with nine other elder statesmen and women — including 92-year-old former Federal Communications Commission Chair Newton N. Minow.
The CPD, though, is just the arbitrator, not the deciding power. The camps of both the Democratic and the Republican nominees need to agree to the rules of each verbal sparring match, signing off on detailed memos like this one from 2004. Each side wants to prevent the potential that its will nominee be embarrassed, often leading these memos to limit the ability of the moderators to press the candidates and make them answer questions.
The chances of substantive changes by the next election cycle seems slim. The last time the CPD made a major change was in 2000, when it instituted a rule to box out third-party campaigns, limiting general election debates to candidates polling at 15 percent or higher. But 20 years later, changes are needed, and I'd humbly like to pitch a new way to think about how things should go next time around.
First, I propose that we hold three debates ahead of Election Day — but the town hall format, which has often been used in the second of the three debates, has outlived its usefulness. In theory, town halls are great, and they give the candidates a chance to answer questions presented by actual undecided voters. In practice, however, the agreements tend to prevent any true spontaneity. That's seen in the 2012 memo among the CPD, Obama for America and Romney for President, which was leaked after a contentious moment between Mitt Romney and moderator Candy Crowley. So, better to do away with the pretense altogether.
Instead, the debates should revert to a previous tradition and have one night each about domestic and foreign policy. For the last two election cycles, in particular, debates have tended to cover both each night, overweighting domestic affairs, despite the many to-do list items candidates rattle off, many of which fall in Congress' wheelhouse. This effectively shunts foreign policy to the side, even though most of the job description under the Constitution deals with international and military matters. The third topic I'd propose, using the time freed up from nixing the town hall format, would cover the most pressing issue the world faces: climate change.
The length of each debate would stay the same — 90 minutes, no commercial breaks, just long enough to hold (most) people's attention. The first half-hour would feature the traditional set of questions about what a candidate would do in office: your run-of-the-mill "What would you say to Americans who've lost their health insurance?" and "How would your administration address the threat of white supremacists?"
These are the questions politicians love — usually open-ended and rarely directly answered. They also provide the clearest avenue to dunk on one's opponent, drawing a distinction between candidates' proposals that can be beneficial to voters.
Round two, though, should consist of nothing but factual questions. Candidates could be given subtopics in advance to prepare, but in, for example, the foreign policy debate, expect to hear questions like "What is the current trade deficit with China?" or even "Define what the trade deficit is." No trick questions, no gotchas — just information that presidents should be able to explain to the average American. Consider it an expanded, executive branch version of this question that Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa got asked during her debate with her challenger, Theresa Greenfield, last week:
Moreover, as the candidates answer, the correct answers should be on display for people at home, with citations, and to the audience in the room. VH1 managed to do this with the ancient TV show "Pop-Up Video" in 1996. There's no reason we can't provide this kind of information to viewers in real time.
Round three would then move on to an open debate period, with one broad topic — for example, in the domestic policy debate, "What should the relationship be between the federal government and individuals?" These are the sort of high-level ideas that candidates rarely engage each other over. Moderators would be empowered to keep things on track, including, yes, keeping the ability to mute the candidates' microphones to prevent mass chaos from breaking out. They'd also be authorized to rule whether statements were germane.
I can already hear the protests, that the decision of who should be the next leader of the free world shouldn't come down to little more than who knows the most trivia, a high-stakes game of "Jeopardy!" And yes, that is exactly my point — the aim of the debates is, in theory, to educate the audience, not just about the differences between the candidates, but also about what they want to do for the country and the electorate. Incorporating all three parts of the proposed format would allow for that, as well as clue voters in on who has the knowledge base the job requires.
There is admittedly the risk that the debate's sponsors and moderators could place their thumbs too heavily on the scale, when it should be up to the voters to make their own judgments. Before going on, I'd be remiss not to note, though, that NBC News' Kristen Welker was fantastic Thursday night, controlling the course of the evening and refusing to let the candidates steamroll her. But moderators have traditionally left any corrections of incorrect information — and there was plenty of that last night — up to candidates' opponents. Letting moderators serve as live fact-checkers is anathema to most political campaigns.
"Those candidates are up there to fact-check each other," Romney campaign lawyer Ben Ginsberg told NBC News in 2016. "This debate is not about the moderators or enhancing their ratings."
Even before Trump came on the scene with his mission to eviscerate factuality, we'd gotten used to candidates' winging it on the debate stage. Even as the pace of questioning leaves little opportunity for follow-ups and dialogue, campaigns have insisted on muzzling moderators. These journalists, who are all too often shredded on Twitter, are the experts in the room — they know the topics and should be able to call balls and strikes as they see them. And the American people deserve to know when they're being misled. This proposed format would be a compromise, not taking away time from the candidates to verbally call out errors but giving more leeway for the moderator to direct the conversation.
A lot of this would depend on whether the CPD feels truly empowered to take on the campaigns in 2024. For that, the commission needs to bring in new members and voices, ones who are willing to challenge the orthodoxy and submission to the campaigns that have become baked into the process. The CPD needs to press the campaigns and the national committees early in the election cycle, ahead of the summer's conventions, informing them that if they'd like to give up the free airtime of the debates, that's on them, should they not accept the changes.
If the Democrats and the Republicans decide that they'd rather not face the scrutiny this format would open them up to — potentially ditching the CPD for a new sponsor — that's their choice. But the commission's members should also realize that they hold the cards, and they should be willing to tell the voters loudly and forcefully which standards the candidates weren't willing to meet. If we're going to have debates, let's make them worth our time.
While you let the anger at having to think about 2024 already fade out of your system, here are some links to start your morning:
Politico: Ryan Lizza spent two weeks inside the Trump campaign's bubble and says it's even weirder on the inside than we think.
Foreign Affairs: Matt Duss, Sen. Bernie Sanders' top foreign policy adviser (and, disclaimer, a former co-worker of mine), argues that U.S. foreign policy has never really recovered from the war on terrorism.
While the first and best thing Americans can do for the cause of human freedom, democracy, and dignity is to defend those values at home, they still have considerable tools and influence with which they can support those values around the world. An honest accounting of the war on terror will make the United States far more effective in doing so. A genuine reckoning with the post-9/11 period would spur not a U.S. withdrawal from the world but rather deeper engagement with it. The main challenges of today—the coronavirus pandemic and climate change foremost among them—are shared. The United States must commit to a sustained multilateral approach to meet these challenges, rather than continuing to unilaterally abrogate and undermine the very norms and conventions that it helped to establish.


msnbc--2020-10-23--Trump allies tried to use this picture to shame Joe Biden. Here's why it backfired.

President Donald Trump and his allies have tried a series of increasingly desperate tactics to derail former Vice President Joe Biden 's campaign momentum .
As these would-be October surprises fall flat , Trump surrogates appear to have reverted to the oldest tool in their political arsenal : attacking Biden 's masculinity .
On Wednesday , John Cardillo , a host on Newsmax , a Trump-aligned media network , tweeted out a photo of Biden holding his son Hunter and kissing him on the cheek .
`` Does this look like an appropriate father/son interaction to you ? ''
Cardillo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ official Trump surrogate , his attacks are very much in line with Trump 's incessant bullying of his opponent 's masculinity .
From mocking him for the size of his masks to simply calling him physically weak , Trump has n't been subtle .
Many male voters have taken notice .
Because like many other institutions in America , fatherhood is changing .
Men want to be able to express their love for other men , especially their sons .
And they want to be able to do this without being called weak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't just old-fashioned ; it perpetuates a toxic societal cycle that can have dangerous consequences for young men and boys .
Biden has n't bought into these stereotypes , either .
`` What is this macho thing , ' I 'm not going to wear a mask ' ? ''
he said at a recent town hall .
`` What 's the deal here ?
Big deal !
Does it hurt you ?
Be patriotic , for God 's sake . ''
Shortly after , a pro-Trump Fox News contributor responded : `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that mask , Joe . ''
Make no mistake : The presidential election will be a referendum on masculinity .
And there is no better example of the contrasting attitudes of these two men than their behavior as fathers .
While Trump believes that men who change their children 's diapers are `` acting like the wife , '' Biden took on every single one of his first wife 's responsibilities ( and far more ) when she suddenly died in a car accident along their daughter .
While Trump is known for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ publicly lauded his son Beau — calling him a better politician than he could ever be — after Beau passed away from brain cancer .
Even when Trump tried to rattle Biden during the first presidential debate by calling his son Hunter a cocaine addict , Biden 's unconditional and warm paternal response turned one of the ugliest moments in presidential debate history into a heartwarming one .
`` My son , like a lot of people ... had a drug problem , '' Biden said .
`` He 's fixed it .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ I 'm proud of him .
I 'm proud of my son . ''
But perhaps nothing else typifies Trump 's questionable approach to fatherhood more than the way he treats his daughters .
From openly flirting with and inappropriately touching his grown daughter Ivanka or speculating about the future breast size of his daughter Tiffany when she was but a toddler , Trump has objectified his children in strange and sometimes creepy ways .
And Trump does n't just want to talk about his daughters ' bodies — he wants to take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only 22 , Trump told Howard Stern that she had `` got the best body , '' and he bragged about the money she made modeling .
`` You know who 's one of the great beauties of the world , according to everybody ?
And I helped create her .
Ivanka . ''
No wonder Ivanka Trump left fathers out of her parental leave policy proposal in 2016 .
It 's not clear she ever had one .
While we have always expected moms to be nurturing and physically affectionate , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of emotional involvement and empathetic parenting from men .
Fathers are still more likely to sing to their daughters and roughhouse with their sons , but all of this is changing rapidly .
According to the Pew Research Center , fathers are spending far more time with their kids than in 1965 .
Fathers are also much more likely than mothers to report feeling like they do n't see their kids enough .
Men are growing up to become very different from their own fathers .
A study by Dove Men+Care in 2015 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( 86 percent , to be exact ) believe masculinity means something different to them from what it meant to their fathers .
But only 7 percent of the men surveyed said the guys they see on TV and in movies reflect their own attitudes toward masculinity .
I 've spent the past few years speaking to men around the country .
And what I 've learned is that a lot of guys are yearning for permission to connect with others — male and female — and are eager for a gender revolution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , affection and intimacy without their manhood 's being scrutinized or questioned .
I want to live in a world where boys are hugged more , not less .
Especially during one of the darkest years in this nation 's history .
America needs a big warm hug and — and it needs a president man enough to do it .

President Donald Trump and his allies have tried a series of increasingly desperate tactics to derail former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign momentum. As these would-be October surprises fall flat, Trump surrogates appear to have reverted to the oldest tool in their political arsenal: attacking Biden's masculinity.
Does this look like an appropriate father/son interaction to you? pic.twitter.com/XDMIsgjUKI — John Cardillo (@johncardillo) October 22, 2020
On Wednesday, John Cardillo, a host on Newsmax, a Trump-aligned media network, tweeted out a photo of Biden holding his son Hunter and kissing him on the cheek. "Does this look like an appropriate father/son interaction to you?" Cardillo asked.
While Cardillo isn't an official Trump surrogate, his attacks are very much in line with Trump's incessant bullying of his opponent's masculinity. From mocking him for the size of his masks to simply calling him physically weak, Trump hasn't been subtle. Many male voters have taken notice. Because like many other institutions in America, fatherhood is changing. Men want to be able to express their love for other men, especially their sons. And they want to be able to do this without being called weak. To deny them this ability isn't just old-fashioned; it perpetuates a toxic societal cycle that can have dangerous consequences for young men and boys.
Biden hasn't bought into these stereotypes, either. "What is this macho thing, 'I'm not going to wear a mask'?" he said at a recent town hall. "What's the deal here? Big deal! Does it hurt you? Be patriotic, for God's sake." Shortly after, a pro-Trump Fox News contributor responded: "Might as well carry a purse with that mask, Joe."
Make no mistake: The presidential election will be a referendum on masculinity. And there is no better example of the contrasting attitudes of these two men than their behavior as fathers. While Trump believes that men who change their children's diapers are "acting like the wife," Biden took on every single one of his first wife's responsibilities (and far more) when she suddenly died in a car accident along their daughter. While Trump is known for reportedly calling his son dumb, Biden publicly lauded his son Beau — calling him a better politician than he could ever be — after Beau passed away from brain cancer.
Even when Trump tried to rattle Biden during the first presidential debate by calling his son Hunter a cocaine addict, Biden's unconditional and warm paternal response turned one of the ugliest moments in presidential debate history into a heartwarming one. "My son, like a lot of people ... had a drug problem," Biden said. "He's fixed it. He's worked on it. And I'm proud of him. I'm proud of my son."
But perhaps nothing else typifies Trump's questionable approach to fatherhood more than the way he treats his daughters. From openly flirting with and inappropriately touching his grown daughter Ivanka or speculating about the future breast size of his daughter Tiffany when she was but a toddler, Trump has objectified his children in strange and sometimes creepy ways. And Trump doesn't just want to talk about his daughters' bodies — he wants to take credit for them. When Ivanka was only 22, Trump told Howard Stern that she had "got the best body," and he bragged about the money she made modeling. "You know who's one of the great beauties of the world, according to everybody? And I helped create her. Ivanka." No wonder Ivanka Trump left fathers out of her parental leave policy proposal in 2016. It's not clear she ever had one.
While we have always expected moms to be nurturing and physically affectionate, we're beginning to expect the same kind of emotional involvement and empathetic parenting from men. Fathers are still more likely to sing to their daughters and roughhouse with their sons, but all of this is changing rapidly. According to the Pew Research Center, fathers are spending far more time with their kids than in 1965. Fathers are also much more likely than mothers to report feeling like they don't see their kids enough. Men are growing up to become very different from their own fathers. A study by Dove Men+Care in 2015 suggested that the vast majority of men (86 percent, to be exact) believe masculinity means something different to them from what it meant to their fathers. But only 7 percent of the men surveyed said the guys they see on TV and in movies reflect their own attitudes toward masculinity.
A lot of guys are yearning for permission to connect with others — male and female.
I've spent the past few years speaking to men around the country. And what I've learned is that a lot of guys are yearning for permission to connect with others — male and female — and are eager for a gender revolution that sets them free to reveal vulnerability, affection and intimacy without their manhood's being scrutinized or questioned.
I want to live in a world where boys are hugged more, not less. Especially during one of the darkest years in this nation's history. America needs a big warm hug and — and it needs a president man enough to do it.


msnbc--2020-10-22--'Borat' is more than just the Giuliani prank. It's a tour de force of humiliations.

“ Borat Subsequent Moviefilm : Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan ” is the eternal name of Sacha Baron Cohen 's new picture , viewable starting Friday on Amazon Prime .
It is , I think , a superhero movie .
Since the original “ Borat , ” Baron Cohen has made himself into a sort of comedy Robin Hood who metes out a little justice where there isn ’ t any to be had from the institutions that ought to serve us .
I hated this instinct when I saw @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Borat movie ; who did Baron Cohen think he was ?
Watching him dodge security checkpoints at the Conservative Political Action Conference and make fun of gun-wielding neo-Nazis at their own rally , I admire it tremendously now .
Borat ’ s most valuable skill in these dangerous moments is as a distraction : The security guards and police all swarm around the giant clown in the ridiculous outfit shouting in a stupid accent ; the people escaping with the goods are the director , Jason Woliner , and his team of plainclothes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slip out and assemble the footage elsewhere while the authorities try in vain to inconvenience a wealthy movie star .
Want more articles like this ?
Follow THINK on Instagram to get updates on the week 's most important political analysis Take what we already knew from news coverage of one signature stunt : On Feb. 27 , just before noon , a tall man in an elaborate Donald Trump wig , makeup and fat suit ran at top speed from the men ’ s room in the Gaylord National Resort in Fort @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , D.C. — and through the doors of the Potomac Ballroom , where Vice President Mike Pence was speaking to influential Republicans at CPAC .
The man , carrying a young woman in a green dress and laddered stockings over one shoulder , proceeded to yell over Pence ’ s speech , offering him the girl .
“ Michael Pennis !
” he shouted in a suspicious accent .
“ Michael Pennis !
I brought girl for you !
Don ’ t worry , I not get jealous !
She like Ivanka !
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the speech while Pence looked on , disgusted .
The same man tried to crash the conference the following day , as well — Mediaite ’ s Zachary Petrizzo got a good video of him being frog-marched out the second time .
“ When asked by Mediaite why he continues to conduct the stunt , ” wrote Petrizzo , “ the impersonator responded with a thumbs-up and a smirk.
” This man , of course , was Borat — or rather , Baron Cohen , the movie 's co-writer and star .
( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kazakh journalist on “ Da Ali G Show , ” on British television . )
Baron Cohen is a howlingly funny comedian , of course , but he ’ s also a kind of avenger , skewering cruel people who are insulated from every other kind of hurt , using every underhanded trick in the moviemaker ’ s book .
( “ Worth noting that there are no fewer than four security checkpoints here at CPAC , including TSA and Secret Service searches of all bags and jackets , ” observed politics columnist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . )
All of that makes “ Borat Subsequent Moviefilm ” both a barrel of laughs and a welcome catharsis : If we can ’ t see Pence face any legal consequences for his role in the Trump administration ’ s horrors , we can at least laugh at his elaborate degradation .
There is more connective tissue holding together this movie than in Borat 's previous moviefilm — for one thing , Borat now has his daughter , Tutar ( a remarkable Maria Bakalova ) , in tow , and Tutar is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The movie opens with Borat serving hard time in Kazakhstan as punishment for his involvement in the first outing ; through some nonsensical meanderings , he ends up in the U.S. with Tutar and a mission from Premier Nazarbayev ( Dani Popescu , playing a real-life Kazakh strongman who laughed off the last flick ) : to give her as a present to Pence .
But the actual subtext — and thesis — of both Borat movies is that Americans are generally willing to put up with far too much to avoid rocking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a dangerous quality .
In an early scene , for instance , Borat asks a hardware store owner how much propane he will need to pipe into the back of his truck to kill a gypsy ; when Borat clarifies that he may want to gas several gypsies to death , the merchant gamely recommends a larger propane tank .
Later on , Borat asks a baker to write “ Jews Will Not Replace Us ” in icing on a chocolate cake ; she doesn ’ t even bat an eye .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ segments , Borat and Tutar go to a “ crisis pregnancy center ” and accidentally tell the counselor — a pro-life pastor — that Borat ’ s daughter is pregnant and he is the father .
The pastor refuses to listen to their explanation for why they are there seeking help , and , in a setting that looks far too much like a doctor ’ s office , instead lectures Tutar about the sanctity of life .
The movie ’ s subjects are object lessons : they ’ re being embarrassed ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ given Baron Cohen ’ s history ) because we catch them doing something wrong .
It ’ s easy to pick on the annoying bigots who live next door — which was what bothered me about the first movie — if you ’ re a movie star who lives in another country , but it ’ s a very different matter to dodge the Secret Service at CPAC or to go to a rally with hundreds of members of a violent far-right militant group , wearing a bulletproof vest under your overalls , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leading a racist singalong .
And , of course , there ’ s the pièce de résistance , which has dominated the news : the Rudy Giuliani prank .
It 's hard to feel bad for any of them .
The Trump administration has ripped apart families , orphaning hundreds of children for no reason at all ( Borat gets a high five from the hardware store owner over this ) and botched the coronavirus response so badly that hundreds of thousands are dead .
In response , legislators who are supposed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much more than fundraise and , with their newfound legal and social impunity , Trump and cronies like Pence and Giuliani have grown ever more cruel .
The laypeople who support them have grown more blatant , too , staging murderous riots with the help of police all over the country and then lying about their motivations when cornered after the fact .
“ Three Percenters reject racist ideologies such as white nationalism , ” said the leader of the Washington Three Percenters in June , after catching Borat at their rally .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t .
We all watched them when they were given the chance to reject racism , and they didn ’ t take it .
If our institutions won ’ t keep us safe from them , Borat will at least let us laugh at them .
• Netflix 'Rebecca ' adaptation is more modern , but it loses the novel 's distinctiveness • In 'American Utopia , ' David Byrne and Spike Lee show hope comes from solidarity • Aaron Sorkin makes a comeback with Oscar-bait 'Trial of the Chicago 7 @ @ @

“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” is the eternal name of Sacha Baron Cohen's new picture, viewable starting Friday on Amazon Prime. It is, I think, a superhero movie.
Since the original “Borat,” Baron Cohen has made himself into a sort of comedy Robin Hood who metes out a little justice where there isn’t any to be had from the institutions that ought to serve us. I hated this instinct when I saw it 14 years ago in his first Borat movie; who did Baron Cohen think he was? Watching him dodge security checkpoints at the Conservative Political Action Conference and make fun of gun-wielding neo-Nazis at their own rally, I admire it tremendously now.
Borat’s most valuable skill in these dangerous moments is as a distraction: The security guards and police all swarm around the giant clown in the ridiculous outfit shouting in a stupid accent; the people escaping with the goods are the director, Jason Woliner, and his team of plainclothes camera and microphone operators, who quietly slip out and assemble the footage elsewhere while the authorities try in vain to inconvenience a wealthy movie star.
Take what we already knew from news coverage of one signature stunt: On Feb. 27, just before noon, a tall man in an elaborate Donald Trump wig, makeup and fat suit ran at top speed from the men’s room in the Gaylord National Resort in Fort Washington, Maryland — just outside Washington, D.C. — and through the doors of the Potomac Ballroom, where Vice President Mike Pence was speaking to influential Republicans at CPAC. The man, carrying a young woman in a green dress and laddered stockings over one shoulder, proceeded to yell over Pence’s speech, offering him the girl. “Michael Pennis!” he shouted in a suspicious accent. “Michael Pennis! I brought girl for you! Don’t worry, I not get jealous! She like Ivanka!” He was immediately dragged out of the speech while Pence looked on, disgusted.
If we can’t see Pence face any consequences for his role in the Trump administration, we can at least laugh at his degradation.
The same man tried to crash the conference the following day, as well — Mediaite’s Zachary Petrizzo got a good video of him being frog-marched out the second time. “When asked by Mediaite why he continues to conduct the stunt,” wrote Petrizzo, “the impersonator responded with a thumbs-up and a smirk.”
This man, of course, was Borat — or rather, Baron Cohen, the movie's co-writer and star. (He originated the character of the indelible Kazakh journalist on “Da Ali G Show,” on British television.)
Baron Cohen is a howlingly funny comedian, of course, but he’s also a kind of avenger, skewering cruel people who are insulated from every other kind of hurt, using every underhanded trick in the moviemaker’s book. (“Worth noting that there are no fewer than four security checkpoints here at CPAC, including TSA and Secret Service searches of all bags and jackets,” observed politics columnist Anthony L. Fisher of the CPAC prank.) All of that makes “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” both a barrel of laughs and a welcome catharsis: If we can’t see Pence face any legal consequences for his role in the Trump administration’s horrors, we can at least laugh at his elaborate degradation.
Sacha Baron Cohen in 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm'. Courtesy Amazon Studios
There is more connective tissue holding together this movie than in Borat's previous moviefilm — for one thing, Borat now has his daughter, Tutar (a remarkable Maria Bakalova), in tow, and Tutar is just as entertaining as her dad. The movie opens with Borat serving hard time in Kazakhstan as punishment for his involvement in the first outing; through some nonsensical meanderings, he ends up in the U.S. with Tutar and a mission from Premier Nazarbayev (Dani Popescu, playing a real-life Kazakh strongman who laughed off the last flick): to give her as a present to Pence.
But the actual subtext — and thesis — of both Borat movies is that Americans are generally willing to put up with far too much to avoid rocking the boat, and that this is a dangerous quality.
The thesis of both Borat movies is that Americans are generally willing to put up with far too much to avoid rocking the boat, and that this is dangerous.
In an early scene, for instance, Borat asks a hardware store owner how much propane he will need to pipe into the back of his truck to kill a gypsy; when Borat clarifies that he may want to gas several gypsies to death, the merchant gamely recommends a larger propane tank. Later on, Borat asks a baker to write “Jews Will Not Replace Us” in icing on a chocolate cake; she doesn’t even bat an eye.
In one of the movie’s best segments, Borat and Tutar go to a “crisis pregnancy center” and accidentally tell the counselor — a pro-life pastor — that Borat’s daughter is pregnant and he is the father. The pastor refuses to listen to their explanation for why they are there seeking help, and, in a setting that looks far too much like a doctor’s office, instead lectures Tutar about the sanctity of life.
The movie’s subjects are object lessons: they’re being embarrassed (possibly at least a little unfairly, given Baron Cohen’s history) because we catch them doing something wrong. It’s easy to pick on the annoying bigots who live next door — which was what bothered me about the first movie — if you’re a movie star who lives in another country, but it’s a very different matter to dodge the Secret Service at CPAC or to go to a rally with hundreds of members of a violent far-right militant group, wearing a bulletproof vest under your overalls, and get caught in the act of leading a racist singalong.
And, of course, there’s the pièce de résistance, which has dominated the news: the Rudy Giuliani prank.
It's hard to feel bad for any of them.
The Trump administration has ripped apart families, orphaning hundreds of children for no reason at all (Borat gets a high five from the hardware store owner over this) and botched the coronavirus response so badly that hundreds of thousands are dead. In response, legislators who are supposed to advocate for their constituents have not done much more than fundraise and, with their newfound legal and social impunity, Trump and cronies like Pence and Giuliani have grown ever more cruel. The laypeople who support them have grown more blatant, too, staging murderous riots with the help of police all over the country and then lying about their motivations when cornered after the fact.
“Three Percenters reject racist ideologies such as white nationalism,” said the leader of the Washington Three Percenters in June, after catching Borat at their rally. Here’s the thing: They don’t. We all watched them when they were given the chance to reject racism, and they didn’t take it. If our institutions won’t keep us safe from them, Borat will at least let us laugh at them.
Related:


msnbc--2020-10-23--Coronavirus case increase sets new U.S. record

Trump says virus spikes have gone away when they have n't

Meacham: Pence probably saved the republic, but I don't always want to count on one person to do it 08:18


msnbc--2020-10-23--Joy Reid: 'Zero evidence' that Black Lives Matter has pushed for violence

On Trump’s false claim regarding a Black Lives Matter chant that insinuated violence, Joy says “There is absolutely zero, none, zero evidence that Black Lives Matter has ever pushed for anything violent … Black Lives Matter is about one thing: Stop killing Black people.”Oct. 23, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-23--Meacham: Biden's running for president, Trump's auditioning for FOX News

Pulitzer prize-winning presidential biographer Jon Meacham, who was one of the few in the room during the final Biden-Trump debate, reacts to the two different performances from the two candidates.Oct. 23, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-23--Will most voters even get Trump's conspiracy theory attacks?

Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post reacts to some of the attacks about Hunter Biden and laptops and China and more Trump used against Biden in the final debate, and wondered if mainstream voters would understand these rightwing media stories.Oct. 23, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-23--Lawrence: The person calling themselves the least racist person in the room is usually the most raci

Lawrence: The person calling themselves the least racist person in the room is usually the most racist
MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell analyzes the performances of Donald Trump and Joe Biden in the final presidential debate and reacts to the lies the president told throughout the event.Oct. 23, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-23--Soboroff: The conditions of migrant children Trump described as 'well taken care of' made me sick


msnbc--2020-10-23--'What are you hiding?': Biden attacks Trump for not releasing tax returns

Protesters in Minneapolis take knee , chant names of people who have died at hands of police

'We are on the road to success': Trump on what he would say to those who did not vote for him 01:13


msnbc--2020-10-24--The states Trump can’t afford to lose: Kornacki breaks down the road to 270

Chris Hayes on Trump ’ s ‘ massive payout ’ to farmers and the hypocrisy of the GOP

The states Trump can’t afford to lose: Kornacki breaks down the road to 270
It will take at least 270 electoral votes for a presidential candidate to win the 2020 election. Steve Kornacki looks at the battleground polling to determine which states Trump can’t afford to lose.Oct. 24, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-23--Jason Johnson:  ‘Trumpism is not dead even if Donald Trump is removed from office’

Jason Johnson: ‘Trumpism is not dead even if Donald Trump is removed from office’
Jason Johnson, Professor at Morgan State University, discusses the complicated history of Trumpism and reveals that even if Trump is removed from office, there is the potential another politician with similar policies and tactics could rise within the Republican partyOct. 23, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-23--Trump accused Biden of 'socialist' policies in the final debate. Perhaps he could use a history less

Trump accused Biden of 'socialist' policies in the final debate. Perhaps he could use a history lesson.

During the final presidential debate on Thursday night , President Donald Trump repeatedly charged his opponent , former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden , of plotting to bring socialism to America .
“ He wants socialized medicine .
And it ’ s not that he wants it .
His vice president , she is more liberal than Bernie Sanders and wants it even more .
Bernie Sanders wants it .
The Democrats want it .
You ’ re going to have socialized medicine , just like you want it with fracking , ” he said , throwing a flurry of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden ’ s plan for a government-run health care option .
Weaponizing “ socialism ” is a familiar trope from conservative politicians , but one with an incredibly poor record .
Back in 1952 , President Harry Truman explained that “ socialism ” had long stood as the reflexive response of Republicans to the New Deal .
It was , he charged on the campaign trail , simply “ a scare word they have hurled at every advance the people have made in the last 20 years.
” To prove his point , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Deal policies — Social Security , FDIC , price supports for farmers , public power and labor rights — that conservatives had denounced as “ creeping socialism.
” “ Socialism , ” the president argued , “ is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.
” Over the next decade , conservatives pushed this same “ scare word ” socialism on a surprising range of programs and proposals .
When Jonas Salk developed a polio vaccine in 1955 , for instance , Democrats proposed a federal program to distribute the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s secretary of health education and welfare ( HEW ) , a Texas millionaire named Oveta Culp Hobby , objected to the plan : “ That ’ s socialized medicine by the back door , not the front door.
” But the Eisenhower White House wasn ’ t immune to charges of socialism either .
The far-right radio commenter Clarence Manion accused the Republican administration of enabling a “ drift toward central government , ” holding up the interstate highway system as a prime example of “ creeping socialism.
” Even the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was “ an ominous affront to the last rampart of … state authority and responsibility.
” Though conservatives complained that the Eisenhower administration was , in Barry Goldwater ’ s famous phrase , a “ dime-store New Deal ” — a cheap imitation — they mostly cried “ socialism ” when Democrats were in power .
In 1961 , the Kennedy administration proposed the program for federal health insurance for senior citizens that would come to be known as Medicare .
Soon after , the former actor and conservative activist Ronald Reagan offered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , one soon widely circulated in a recording titled “ Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against Socialized Medicine.
” Urging his listeners to take action before it was too late , Reagan warned that “ if you don ’ t do this and if I don ’ t do it , one of these days you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children , and our children ’ s children , what it once was like in America when men were free.
” Likewise , when JFK unveiled what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1964 , opponents denounced it too as socialism .
Segregationist organizations in the South , for instance , took out large newspaper ads denouncing it as “ the Socialists ’ Omnibus Bill of 1963.
” “ What is being piously presented as a humane effort to redress past wrongs — the ‘ Civil Rights ’ bill — is , in fact , a cynical design to make even the least of us … subject to the whim and caprice of government bureaucrats.
” Once the Civil Rights Act and Medicare had been enacted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the larger Great Society programs of the Johnson administration — as more socialism .
“ This will be only the beginning , ” warned conservative journalist Walter Trohan of the Chicago Tribune , “ because once a country embarks on such a welfare or socialistic program , there is virtually no avenue for retreat.
” Today , of course , all these policies that were once denounced as dangerously “ socialist ” have become mainstays of the American political scene .
As he warns that his opponent will bring dangerous new forms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ promised to preserve the programs that previous generations of conservative Republicans warned were dangerous new forms of socialism .
“ We will protect Medicare and Social Security , ” he promised in his acceptance speech at this year ’ s Republican National Convention .
Ironically , if there has been “ creeping socialism ” in America , it ’ s apparently crept up on those who keep shouting about it .

During the final presidential debate on Thursday night, President Donald Trump repeatedly charged his opponent, former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden, of plotting to bring socialism to America.
Weaponizing “socialism” is a familiar trope from conservative politicians, but one with an incredibly poor record.
“He wants socialized medicine. And it’s not that he wants it. His vice president, she is more liberal than Bernie Sanders and wants it even more. Bernie Sanders wants it. The Democrats want it. You’re going to have socialized medicine, just like you want it with fracking,” he said, throwing a flurry of triggering socialism-by-association concepts into his response to Biden’s plan for a government-run health care option.
Weaponizing “socialism” is a familiar trope from conservative politicians, but one with an incredibly poor record.
Back in 1952, President Harry Truman explained that “socialism” had long stood as the reflexive response of Republicans to the New Deal. It was, he charged on the campaign trail, simply “a scare word they have hurled at every advance the people have made in the last 20 years.” To prove his point, he rattled off an array of New Deal policies — Social Security, FDIC, price supports for farmers, public power and labor rights — that conservatives had denounced as “creeping socialism.” “Socialism,” the president argued, “is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.”
Over the next decade, conservatives pushed this same “scare word” socialism on a surprising range of programs and proposals.
When Jonas Salk developed a polio vaccine in 1955, for instance, Democrats proposed a federal program to distribute the vaccine to all American schoolchildren. Eisenhower’s secretary of health education and welfare (HEW), a Texas millionaire named Oveta Culp Hobby, objected to the plan: “That’s socialized medicine by the back door, not the front door.”
But the Eisenhower White House wasn’t immune to charges of socialism either. The far-right radio commenter Clarence Manion accused the Republican administration of enabling a “drift toward central government,” holding up the interstate highway system as a prime example of “creeping socialism.” Even the new HEW Department, he said, was “an ominous affront to the last rampart of … state authority and responsibility.”
Once the Civil Rights Act and Medicare had been enacted, some conservatives still denounced them — and the larger Great Society programs of the Johnson administration — as more socialism.
Though conservatives complained that the Eisenhower administration was, in Barry Goldwater’s famous phrase, a “dime-store New Deal” — a cheap imitation — they mostly cried “socialism” when Democrats were in power. In 1961, the Kennedy administration proposed the program for federal health insurance for senior citizens that would come to be known as Medicare. Soon after, the former actor and conservative activist Ronald Reagan offered a blistering warning in a radio address, one soon widely circulated in a recording titled “Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against Socialized Medicine.” Urging his listeners to take action before it was too late, Reagan warned that “if you don’t do this and if I don’t do it, one of these days you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children, and our children’s children, what it once was like in America when men were free.”
Likewise, when JFK unveiled what would become the Civil Rights Act of 1964, opponents denounced it too as socialism. Segregationist organizations in the South, for instance, took out large newspaper ads denouncing it as “the Socialists’ Omnibus Bill of 1963.” “What is being piously presented as a humane effort to redress past wrongs — the ‘Civil Rights’ bill — is, in fact, a cynical design to make even the least of us … subject to the whim and caprice of government bureaucrats.”
Once the Civil Rights Act and Medicare had been enacted, some conservatives still denounced them — and the larger Great Society programs of the Johnson administration — as more socialism. “This will be only the beginning,” warned conservative journalist Walter Trohan of the Chicago Tribune, “because once a country embarks on such a welfare or socialistic program, there is virtually no avenue for retreat.”
Ironically, if there has been “creeping socialism” in America, it’s apparently crept up on those who keep shouting about it.
Today, of course, all these policies that were once denounced as dangerously “socialist” have become mainstays of the American political scene. As he warns that his opponent will bring dangerous new forms of socialism to America, Trump has promised to preserve the programs that previous generations of conservative Republicans warned were dangerous new forms of socialism. “We will protect Medicare and Social Security,” he promised in his acceptance speech at this year’s Republican National Convention. Ironically, if there has been “creeping socialism” in America, it’s apparently crept up on those who keep shouting about it.


msnbc--2020-10-23--Trump's immersion in a far-right bubble does him no favors

At a campaign rally in Iowa last week , Donald Trump declared with great pride , `` Do you hear the news ?
Bruce Orr is finally out of the Department of Justice . ''
The response was muted , probably because most people have no idea who Bruce Orr is , or why the president would be so excited about his change in career paths .
But for Trump , who lives in a conservative media bubble , there 's an assumption that everyone shares his fascination with the kind of assorted developments on which the far-right fixates .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jon Meacham 's reaction to the last presidential debate of the year , and his impression that the Republican was effectively auditioning to host a program on Fox News .
A New York Times analysis added that Trump `` debated at times as if the tens of millions of Americans tuning in were as intimately familiar with the internet outrages that burn bright across the right-wing media ecosystem as he is . ''
It was the first presidential debate I 've ever seen in which I thought the audience would benefit from some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ multiple references to `` AOC plus three , '' for example , as if voters would intuitively understand the reference .
He twice mentioned `` the laptop from hell , '' without explaining what that might be , or why anyone should care .
The president complained about deploying `` pillows '' to Ukraine , which probably went right over the heads of those who are n't immersed in a far-right bubble .
At one point , the Republican said of his rival , `` Joe got $ 3.5 million dollars from Russia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was friendly with the mayor of Moscow , and it was the mayor of Moscow 's wife . ''
What did this mean ?
Trump did n't really explain ; Biden had no idea ; and the rest of us were left to shrug our shoulders in befuddlement .
Eric Levitz added , `` Trump is too immersed in the Fox News Cinematic Universe to communicate clearly with people who live outside of it . ''
Slate found it necessary to publish , `` A Guide to All the Nutty Things Trump Said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Understand . ''
It 's as if there are two distinct languages -- English and conservative media speak -- and the president works from the assumption that everyone 's bilingual .
And I have no doubt that there was a small part of the population that nodded their heads in agreement last night , catching every weird far-right reference , and delighting in Trump 's obscure jabs .
But the trouble for the GOP ticket is that these voters were already loyal Trump supporters .
A presidential debate offers candidates seeking national @ @ @ @ @ @ @ national audience , not just a base .
Trump , however , seemed determined to communicate only to those who share a bubble with him .

At a campaign rally in Iowa last week, Donald Trump declared with great pride, "Do you hear the news? Bruce Orr is finally out of the Department of Justice." The response was muted, probably because most people have no idea who Bruce Orr is, or why the president would be so excited about his change in career paths.
But for Trump, who lives in a conservative media bubble, there's an assumption that everyone shares his fascination with the kind of assorted developments on which the far-right fixates.
This came to mind last night watching Jon Meacham's reaction to the last presidential debate of the year, and his impression that the Republican was effectively auditioning to host a program on Fox News.
"That may sound like an attempt at glibness, but it was the innate reaction I had to watching the president who dwells in this wilderness of mirrors, to borrow a phrase from the Cold War. Where there are these code words and language that I'm sure makes sense to a certain segment of his base, but doesn't make a lot of sense to anyone who has a nodding acquaintance with the realities of America during this pandemic."
A New York Times analysis added that Trump "debated at times as if the tens of millions of Americans tuning in were as intimately familiar with the internet outrages that burn bright across the right-wing media ecosystem as he is."
It was the first presidential debate I've ever seen in which I thought the audience would benefit from some kind of decoder ring. Trump made multiple references to "AOC plus three," for example, as if voters would intuitively understand the reference. He twice mentioned "the laptop from hell," without explaining what that might be, or why anyone should care. The president complained about deploying "pillows" to Ukraine, which probably went right over the heads of those who aren't immersed in a far-right bubble.
At one point, the Republican said of his rival, "Joe got $3.5 million dollars from Russia and it came through Putin because he was friendly with the mayor of Moscow, and it was the mayor of Moscow's wife."
What did this mean? Trump didn't really explain; Biden had no idea; and the rest of us were left to shrug our shoulders in befuddlement.
Eric Levitz added, "Trump is too immersed in the Fox News Cinematic Universe to communicate clearly with people who live outside of it." Slate found it necessary to publish, "A Guide to All the Nutty Things Trump Said That You'd Need Fox News Brain to Understand."
It's as if there are two distinct languages -- English and conservative media speak -- and the president works from the assumption that everyone's bilingual.
And I have no doubt that there was a small part of the population that nodded their heads in agreement last night, catching every weird far-right reference, and delighting in Trump's obscure jabs.
But the trouble for the GOP ticket is that these voters were already loyal Trump supporters. A presidential debate offers candidates seeking national office an opportunity to speak to a national audience, not just a base.
Trump, however, seemed determined to communicate only to those who share a bubble with him.


msnbc--2020-10-23--What to expect from Biden, Trump in final week


msnbc--2020-10-23--Fauci: Covid-19 task force meetings 'averaging one a week'

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msnbc--2020-10-23--LeBron James pushes back against misinformation aimed at Black voters

Through his ‘More than a Vote’ venture, LeBron James has worked to increase voter participation within the Black community, by recruiting thousands of poll workers, aiding NBA arenas to serve as polling stations, helping formerly incarcerated people get their right to vote back, and pointing out misinformationOct. 23, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-23--What it means that 50 million voted before final Biden-Trump debate

Tens of millions of American voters already cast their ballots before the final Biden-Trump debate. So what does that mean for the candidates still trying to convince people to vote for them? Republican Strategist Mike Murphy reacts.Oct. 23, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-23--'It's actually been a totality of failure': Sen. Booker reacts to Trump touting his record on race

'It's actually been a totality of failure': Sen. Booker reacts to Trump touting his record on race
The president had the opportunity to directly address minority families at last night's debate and he said that nobody has done more for the Black community than him. New Jersey Senator Cory Booker joins Stephanie Ruhle to react.Oct. 23, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-23--Undecided Atlanta voters react to final presidential debate

After watching the final presidential debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, undecided Atlanta voters spoke to MSNBC's Chris Jansing about their reactions and why some were still unsure about the candidates.Oct. 23, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-24--Midwest college football returns amid Covid-19 surge experts warn

Velshi : My father ’ s story taught me that voting is personal


msnbc--2020-10-24--Suburban women weigh in on Presidential election

Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) breaks down what's at stake for voting rights across America and why Trump still holds a grip on the Republican party 06:06


msnbc--2020-10-24--Trump's 'forgotten man' of 2016 isn't even an afterthought in 2020

Four years ago , President Donald Trump billed himself as the voice for the `` forgotten man . ''
In 2020 , he forgot about him .
While Trump cast himself as a candidate who could channel the grievances of average Americans in 2016 , in 2020 , the grievances he channels are squarely his own , and many of them are incomprehensible to anyone who hasn ’ t marinated for months in Fox News , Hunter Biden ’ s laptop , pizzagate or other conspiracy theories .
Although he protested that he is `` not a typical politician , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former Vice President Joe Biden ’ s son Hunter and a guy named Tony Bobulinski .
( To which tens of millions of voices probably cried out , “ Who ?
” ) Bobulinski , a former associate of Hunter Biden , was supposed to be the star of the night .
Hoping to reprise his 2016 comeback , Trump brought Bobulinski to the debate as his guest and is touting the businessman ’ s vague charges about a China business venture as fodder against his opponent .
But the bombshell turned out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As the Wall Street Journal reported , Bobulinski ’ s emails and text messages “ don ’ t show either Hunter Biden or James Biden discussing a role for Joe Biden in the venture.
” The corporate records the Journal reviewed “ show no role for Joe Biden.
” In the end , the whole affair tells us less about Biden than about Trump and where he stands in this election .
One moment in the debate in particular captured his shift from four years ago , when “ Trump erupted in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ image of middle-class families at the kitchen table , ” David Frum wrote in The Atlantic .
“ The very idea of it irked Trump.
” Here ’ s how it went .
“ If you ’ re a middle-class family , you ’ re getting hurt badly right now , ” Biden said .
“ You ’ re sitting at the kitchen table this morning deciding , ‘ Well , we can ’ t get new tires .
They ’ re bald , because we have to wait another month or so.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be able to pay the mortgage ?
’ Or , ‘ Who ’ s going to tell her she can ’ t go back to community college ?
’ They ’ re the decisions you ’ re making , and the middle-class families , like I grew up in Scranton and Claymont , they ’ re in trouble . ''
“ We should be talking about your families , but that ’ s the last thing he wants to talk about , ” Biden said .
Trump shot back , “ That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crosstalk , he continued : '' That ’ s a typical political statement .
Let ’ s get off this China thing , and then he looks , ‘ The family around the table , everything.
’ Just a typical politician when I see that .
I ’ m not a typical politician . ''
Moderator Kristen Welker tried to get him back on track .
`` Let ’ s talk about North Korea now , '' she said .
But Trump continued , “ That ’ s why I got elected .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ subject of China .
Let ’ s talk about sitting around the table.
’ Come on , Joe .
You could do better.
” Trump clearly preferred to talk about how unfairly he has been treated rather than how he can help the average American .
The IRS , he complained , treated him `` very badly , '' and `` very unfairly . ''
He was “ put through a phony witch hunt for three years .
It started before I even got elected .
They spied on my campaign .
No @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what I went through.
” If undecided voters were looking for a flash of empathy from Trump , they were watching the wrong channel .
That ’ s why Trump is losing significant demographics of his 2016 voters .
Always a prisoner of his own narcissism , he has created an alternative-reality bubble around himself that insulates him from what is happening in his own country .
He believes we are turning the corner and learning to “ live with ” the coronavirus .
But the same day as the debate , more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; nearly a thousand Americans have been dying every day from Covid-19 ; and millions of people are without jobs .
Millions may be about to lose their health insurance .
But these are not Trump ’ s problems .
Instead , he wants to talk about Hunter Biden ’ s laptop .
He wants to compare himself to Abraham Lincoln .
He wants to bask in adulation of fans who think he has made America great .
He wants sympathy for all the mean and unfair things that have been done to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump with stories about what average Americans who once voted for Trump are dealing with as they sit around the kitchen table .
In Trump ’ s 2020 America , they are the forgotten ones .

Four years ago, President Donald Trump billed himself as the voice for the "forgotten man." In 2020, he forgot about him.
While Trump cast himself as a candidate who could channel the grievances of average Americans in 2016, in 2020, the grievances he channels are squarely his own, and many of them are incomprehensible to anyone who hasn’t marinated for months in Fox News, Hunter Biden’s laptop, pizzagate or other conspiracy theories.
While Trump cast himself as a candidate who could channel the grievances of average Americans in 2016, in 2020, the grievances he channels are squarely his own.
Although he protested that he is "not a typical politician," Trump desperately wanted to talk about former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter and a guy named Tony Bobulinski. (To which tens of millions of voices probably cried out, “Who?”) Bobulinski, a former associate of Hunter Biden, was supposed to be the star of the night. Hoping to reprise his 2016 comeback, Trump brought Bobulinski to the debate as his guest and is touting the businessman’s vague charges about a China business venture as fodder against his opponent.
But the bombshell turned out to be a very damp squib indeed. As the Wall Street Journal reported, Bobulinski’s emails and text messages “don’t show either Hunter Biden or James Biden discussing a role for Joe Biden in the venture.” The corporate records the Journal reviewed “show no role for Joe Biden.” In the end, the whole affair tells us less about Biden than about Trump and where he stands in this election.
One moment in the debate in particular captured his shift from four years ago, when “Trump erupted in sneering sarcasm when Joe Biden summoned the image of middle-class families at the kitchen table,” David Frum wrote in The Atlantic. “The very idea of it irked Trump.”
Here’s how it went.
“If you’re a middle-class family, you’re getting hurt badly right now,” Biden said. “You’re sitting at the kitchen table this morning deciding, ‘Well, we can’t get new tires. They’re bald, because we have to wait another month or so.’ Or, ‘Are we going to be able to pay the mortgage?’ Or, ‘Who’s going to tell her she can’t go back to community college?’ They’re the decisions you’re making, and the middle-class families, like I grew up in Scranton and Claymont, they’re in trouble."
Trump clearly preferred to talk about how unfairly he has been treated rather than how he can help the average American.
“We should be talking about your families, but that’s the last thing he wants to talk about,” Biden said.
Trump shot back, “That is a typical statement.” After some crosstalk, he continued:
"That’s a typical political statement. Let’s get off this China thing, and then he looks, ‘The family around the table, everything.’ Just a typical politician when I see that. I’m not a typical politician."
Moderator Kristen Welker tried to get him back on track. "Let’s talk about North Korea now," she said.
But Trump continued, “That’s why I got elected. ‘Let’s get off the subject of China. Let’s talk about sitting around the table.’ Come on, Joe. You could do better.”
Trump clearly preferred to talk about how unfairly he has been treated rather than how he can help the average American. The IRS, he complained, treated him "very badly," and "very unfairly." He was “put through a phony witch hunt for three years. It started before I even got elected. They spied on my campaign. No president should ever have to go through what I went through.”
If undecided voters were looking for a flash of empathy from Trump, they were watching the wrong channel.
That’s why Trump is losing significant demographics of his 2016 voters. Always a prisoner of his own narcissism, he has created an alternative-reality bubble around himself that insulates him from what is happening in his own country.
He believes we are turning the corner and learning to “live with” the coronavirus. But the same day as the debate, more than 70,000 new coronavirus cases were reported; nearly a thousand Americans have been dying every day from Covid-19; and millions of people are without jobs. Millions may be about to lose their health insurance.
But these are not Trump’s problems. Instead, he wants to talk about Hunter Biden’s laptop. He wants to compare himself to Abraham Lincoln. He wants to bask in adulation of fans who think he has made America great. He wants sympathy for all the mean and unfair things that have been done to him.
Please don’t bother Trump with stories about what average Americans who once voted for Trump are dealing with as they sit around the kitchen table. In Trump’s 2020 America, they are the forgotten ones.


msnbc--2020-10-25--Former FBI Official Chuck Rosenberg on Iran, Russia and the presence of armed men at polling sites

Former FBI Official Chuck Rosenberg on Iran, Russia and the presence of armed men at polling sites
Former U.S. Attorney and Senior FBI Official Chuck Rosenberg discusses the news that Iran and Russia were accused of meddling in the U.S. election, as well as the impact caused by armed men intimidating voters at polling sites.Oct. 25, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-25--'It’s an unbelievable situation': Pro-bono groups lead efforts to reunite migrant families separated

'It’s an unbelievable situation': Pro-bono groups lead efforts to reunite migrant families separated by Trump administration

After the American Civil Liberties Union this week reported they are unable to find the parents of 545 migrant children separated, President Trump at the last presidential debate said “we’re working on it”. But as the Deputy Director of the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project, Lee Gelernt, points out, this task has fallen on groups like his. Gelernt joins MSNBC’s "American Voices" host Alicia Menendez and NBC News National Security and Justice Correspondent Julia Ainsley on the efforts to reunite these families and how this happened.Oct. 25, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-24--Trump sycophant Lou Dobbs attacks Lindsey Graham

Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, who has been obsequious in his praise of Trump, went after Lindsey Graham for not doing enough for the president. Peter Baker of The New York Times reacts.Oct. 24, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-24--Child separations at border now key voter issue for 2020

The Donald Trump administration’s child separation policy is now a key 2020 issue, in the wake of reports that over 500 separated children’s parents cannot be found. María Teresa Kumar and her panel discuss.Oct. 24, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-24--Biden: 'I'm not banning fracking in Pennsylvania or anywhere else'

Biden: 'I'm not banning fracking in Pennsylvania or anywhere else'
During a campaign event in Pennslyvania, former vice president Joe Biden discussed climate change and said he is not banning fracking in Pennsylvania or anywhere else.Oct. 24, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-24--Trump needs women and voters of color if he wants to beat Biden

Trump needs women and voters of color if he wants to beat Biden
With just days left in the 2020 campaign, will Trump be able to capture enough women and voters of color to be competitive against Biden? We discuss that with Jenna Arnold and Baratunde Thurston.Oct. 24, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-25--Mark Meadows: ‘We are not going to control the pandemic’

Jaime Harrison on his historic Senate race : ‘ This was the seat of John C. Calhoun ’

Mark Meadows: ‘We are not going to control the pandemic’
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said the administration won't be able to "control the pandemic." This comment comes amid a coronavirus case spike across the country.Oct. 25, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-25--North Carolina voters discuss COVID as cases surge: ‘We all feel this sense of doom’

Meacham: Pence probably saved the republic, but I don't always want to count on one person to do it 08:18


msnbc--2020-10-25--U.S. Senate set for final vote to confirm Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court

'To the right of this government, is only a wall' Impact of new judicial law in Israel 05:32


msnbc--2020-10-25--Expert on Trump's executive order enabling him to fire Fauci

Donald Trump has signed an executive order enabling him to fire a class of federal employees that includes Dr. Anthony Fauci at will, in addition to leaders at the CDC. Pandemic expert Laurie Garrett joins María Teresa Kumar to discuss.Oct. 25, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-25--Jaime Harrison on his historic Senate race: ‘This was the seat of John C. Calhoun’

Jaime Harrison on his historic Senate race: ‘This was the seat of John C. Calhoun’
Democratic Senate candidate Jaime Harrison from South Carolina discusses the history of Sen. Graham’s seat and how the state could become the first ever represented by two Black senators at the same time.Oct. 25, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-26--The kids are alright: what to make of this early voting boom

Trump claims it would be 'sort of foolish' for him to attend first GOP primary debate 03:33


msnbc--2020-10-25--Campaigns make final push amid record-shattering early voter turnout

As early voter turnout continues to break records, Joe Biden is hitting the President where it hurts today in Pennsylvania while his opponent holds a superspreader event in COVID-ravaged Wisconsin. MSNBC's "American Voices" host Alicia Menendez talks to our panel about how this week’s debate impacted voter opinion, and about how President Trump is suddenly worried about Republicans losing the Senate soon after lawmakers vote on Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination.Oct. 25, 2020


msnbc--2020-10-26--Trump White House surrenders to the coronavirus

'The ACA is very much in play , ' says senator on Barrett nomination

As coronavirus cases continue to rise across the country, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said in a Sunday interview that the Trump administration won't be able to 'control the pandemic.' The panel discusses.Oct. 26, 2020