Donald Trump imploding and leaving nothing but a greasy, orange streak on the stage at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center is about the only way the presidential debate could have gone worse for him. And even that's debatable. After nine years of attacking the highly effective Affordable Care Act, Trump was pressed to describe his health care plan. He responded, "I have concepts of a plan." Like many Americans (and most of the Internet), I burst out laughing. But this was not Trump's worst moment of the night. Not even close. He was angry. He was confused. He fear-mongered. He race-baited. He played the greatest hits of his worst takes. He said he won the 2020 election. He repeated the insane lie that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio are "eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating — they’re eating the pets of the people that live there." He explained that some states allow mothers to kill their babies after birth. (Harris by contrast had her best moments talking about the abortion issue.) He claimed that Kamala Harris "wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison." He took no responsibility for his failure on Jan 6. He wouldn't say he wanted Ukraine to win the war. He bragged about an endorsement from Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orban. He argued that America is "a failing nation ... a nation being laughed at ... we're gonna end up in a third world war." There was one topic on which Trump had a clear advantage going in: The Afghanistan pullout. And he even lost on that exchange with a bizarre word salad about some dude named Abdul. (I wouldn't be surprised if Abdul just endorsed Kamala.) From the opening handshake to the closing statements, Harris was more presidential, more commanding, more cogent, more prepared, and more human. She could have won the debate on facial expressions alone. The refrain among pundits is that Harris effectively baited Trump into his poor performance. And I suppose she did. But essentially, Kamala Harris baited Donald Trump into being who he always is. Donald is as Donald Does. He was exactly the lunatic we've seen at rallies, on social media, calling in to Fox News, and for four endless years in the White House. And still, there we all were, sitting in front of our televisions being forced to stomach another chapter of the Donald Trump unreality show, one we've been forced to suffer through for nine f-cking years. Last night, I was euphorically thinking that there are only 55 days until we can be rid of Trump and go back to eating our neighbor's pets in peace. But this morning, like so many before it, I'm left wondering how the hell we're still dealing with a lying, misogynist, racist, conspiracy-spewing, dictator-loving, mentally ill monster who threatens the very future of American democracy. We should be reporting on his convictions, not his campaign. And worse, after all it, even last night's historic beatdown, this is still a close race.

+ "As he lost control of events, Trump became enraged, his voice bellowing into an empty room, his face not just orange but nearly fluorescent. Trump realized that his opponent—and not just any opponent, but a woman of color—was dominating him. And so even as Trump exploded, he was, like a dying supernova, shrinking before our eyes." Peter Wehner in The Atlantic: Kamala Harris Broke Donald Trump.

+ "Harris’s bet was that Trump would say a lot of crazy and unhinged stuff if she got him going. It was a safe bet. I’ve watched every Presidential debate for the past two decades, and I can’t think of anything that ranks higher in pure stupidity than Trump ranting and raving to a national audience about immigrants supposedly eating people’s cats and dogs." Susan Glasser in The New Yorker: Donald Trump Had a Really, Really Bad Debate.

+ "This was the biggest moment of the campaign, and Kamala Harris just knocked it out of the park. From the moment that she strode across the stage and shook Trump’s hand, Harris dominated the debate." Dan Pfeiffer with a typically incisive look at what the debate means moving forward. How Kamala Harris's Dominant Debate Will Affect the Race. "The persuadable voters who will decide the election did not tune in. They will consume the debate but do it after the fact through clips posted on Instagram and TikTok."

+ Unike Joe Biden who took full responsibility for his poor debate performance, Trump and his minions are going into full MAGA victimization blame game mode. He's claiming he won the debate (even though everyone from Fox viewers to WSJ editors has said he was walloped) and of course blaming ABC for giving Kamala an advantage (even though he was allowed to monologue endlessly and spoke for 10 more minutes than Harris). And nothing could more perfectly encapsulate MAGA than its leaders attacking ABC News for ... fact checking. The blame the media thing is getting a little tired so they're rolling out some fresh conspiracy theories, which, inevitably, has brought us to headlines like this: No, Kamala Harris wasn’t wearing these audio earrings. Kamala Harris is a hero for being able to listen to all that garbage for an hour and a half without wearing noise cancellation headphones.

2

Karma is a Cat(lady)

Upstairs in my living room, the debate was the big news of the night. Downstairs in my 16 year-old daughter's room, there was a very different headline. Taylor Swift, in part fed up with Trump's AI-powered lies about having her support, dropped her latest hit and endorsed Kamala Harris. "Recently I was made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site ... I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election. I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos. I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate @timwalz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades." And she signed off, "Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady."

+ Yes, this is an important election. Yes, democracy is at stake. Yes, the stakes could be clearer. But it takes a lot of guts for the most public of figures to pick a side in this of all eras, when the opposition with attack her relentlessly. Trump has already commented that Swift's decision will hurt her in the marketplace. But in an era of hate spewing, personal attacks, and rampant death threats, the marketplace of ideas is much more risky than the bottom line. Taylor Swift is displaying the courage that so many of Trump's enablers have been afraid to show, even though they privately agree with every word of her post. Let's hope many other public figures are inspired by her guts.

+ In a weird response to Swift's endorsement of Harris, Elon Musk posted: "Fine Taylor … you win … I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life." (I don't usually root for the Chiefs, but I'm really looking forward to seeing how this plays out.)

3

The Day That Wouldn't End

"Gradually, he pulled away from things that brought him joy. He no longer remembered how to open the family’s backyard pool in the spring. He stopped tinkering on his Corvette. He began sitting in his living room alone without the television on. Then one night, distraught, he called his wife, Maria. 'I don’t know where I am,' he told her." For some first responders, on the anniversary of 9-11, the slow motion impacts of that day continue to arrive. WaPo (Gift Article): 9/11 responders are getting dementia. They want the government to help.

4

Kraft Fair?

"Robert Kraft has an $11 billion empire and six Super Bowl rings -- five if you don't count the one Vladimir Putin stuffed into his pocket during a 2005 meeting in Russia. But the New England Patriots boss has fallen short in his lengthy quest for a bronze bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame." The always great Don Van Natta Jr. in ESPN: Inside Robert Kraft's 12-year Hall of Fame quest.

5

Extra, Extra

Mourning in America: The insane conspiracy theories about pet abducting and eating isn't a laughing matter for everyone. Haitian residents in Springfield are paying a price. And this whole controversy/conspiracy was triggered by an 11 year-old kid who was tragically killed when a minivan driven by a Haitian immigrant crashed into a school bus in Springfield. The parents of that child have had enough. NYT (Gift Article): Grieving Ohio Father Tells Trump and Vance to Stop Talking About His Son. "Nathan Clark says the candidates are exploiting his son’s death in a crash caused by an immigrant outside the small city of Springfield." ... "This needs to stop now ... My son was not murdered ... He was accidentally killed by an immigrant from Haiti. This tragedy is felt all over this community, the state and even the nation, but don’t spin this towards hate."

+ Judgment Daze: "The plan has sparked mass protests across the country, and on Tuesday lawmakers were briefly forced to interrupt debating the plan as demonstrators stormed the Senate building." Mexico’s Senate approves controversial judicial overhaul.

+ Ballot Boxing: Missouri Supreme Court orders abortion legalization back on the ballot. And Florida Goes Full Police State Over Abortion Ballot Initiative. (When people are allowed to vote on this issue, choice wins, and turnout to vote on this issue likely benefits Harris. Hence, the efforts to get abortion initiatives off the ballot.)

+ Water World: "The coach of the young Thai footballers who captured the world’s attention when they spent nearly three weeks trapped in a cave has found himself in another watery predicament – stuck on his roof by flash floods." (This dude might want to consider moving to a desert.)

+ Lost and Found: "Leticia Sarda is 43 and lives on the Spanish island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. She has two children and used to travel the globe working as a model for brands like Burberry. For nearly the last five years, thousands of people on the internet have been trying desperately to find her. She had no clue." NYT (Gift Article): The Internet Spent Years Searching for Her. She Had No Idea.

6

Bottom of the News

"Not that I’m planning on falling in, but when you’re 32 miles out in the middle of the ocean, perched on top of a 60-year-old light tower, watching a bunch of predators swimming below, you wonder. This is definitely the most adventurous and remote place I’ve ever stayed." I Stayed at This Coast Guard Station in the Middle of the Ocean. So Can You.

+ Why are Plane Announcements Impossible to Hear? (Bad mics, bad mic technique.)