Even so devoted a bootlicker as Senator Lindsey Graham declared the debate a “disaster” for the ex-president.

Donald Trump is so feral and narcissistic, so unrestrained and so outside the norm of American politics, that he’s difficult to debate. It’s disorienting. Very few people have been able to stand up to him without being pulled into the muck. In the past, even when he lost debates on points, he dominated his opponents.

But on a Tuesday night in Philadelphia, Kamala Harris cracked the code.

    • Funderpants @lemmy.ca
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      4 months ago

      Yea, I feel like I didn’t see anything new from him. Kamala just lead him around like a dog on a leash, and exposed it better than anyone else has.

    • pyre@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      no but she really hacked him like a cyberpunk runner.

      the issue of immigration is her worst and his best polling issue. so when she was answering that question she added this part about crowds leaving his rallies early. the moderator moved past that and almost helped him by refocusing the question on immigration but he just couldn’t let it go. he not only focused on the crowd remark, but also went immediately unhinged, screaming about people eating cats.

      it’s like a fucking cheat code. look at his reaction to her saying people have early. it’s like the sound the game makes to let you know the cheat code is activated.

        • kata1yst@sh.itjust.works
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          4 months ago

          To attack a narcissist, you need to attack the cracks in the reality they paint for themselves.

          It just so happens that as someone who has been an enthusiastic and professional grade debater for 40+ years, Harris also knew exactly how to do this without getting his mud on herself, and she knew to do it just as he was hoping to hit his stride.

          It was great to watch. So many politicians from so many walks of life have been completely humiliated by Trump’s ridiculous persona. He’s so inflammatory, so full of lies, and so narcissistic professional politicians have been reduced to flinging his poo back at him. Instead Harris made him wallow in it.

          • WoodScientist@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            I’m just pleased to see that they finally recognized how to debate Trump. He’s a fat fart of a narcissist who debates with a cloud of grievance and endless lies. He isn’t a regular candidate; he is simply a bully. And like all bullies, deep down he needs to make other people feel small because that’s the only way he can not feel small himself.

            The mistake that so many others have made is that they treat Trump like any other ordinary candidate. Instead, it seems like team Harris actually sat down with a few psychologists, got to the core of Trump’s fragile psyche, and figured out how to break him. If he wasn’t such a cruel villain himself bent on ruining the lives of countless others, I would actually think such a trick is unfair and cruel. But sometimes you have to do what’s wrong in order to do what’s right. Trump is so consumed with his own ego that he is literally willing to order the extrajudicial imprisonment and summary execution of people who offend his ego. He is a dangerous man that cannot be allowed near any real power. And if taking advantage of his mental deficiencies is unfair play, so be it. I am willing to break the mind of a signal malignant narcissist if it means saving the Republic. I have no more sympathy for his mental illness than I do for those of countless dictators through history. The worst tyrants of the 20th century may have had some legitimate psychological illnesses that made them act the way they do, but that does not excuse their actions. Mentally deficient or not, they need to be taken down by any means necessary.

            Hell, the only reason I don’t endorse violence to keep these people out of power is that it’s counter-productive to create martyrs. These people need to be shown as the fools they truly are. Only then can the spell be disrupted. If Trump’s attempted assassin had succeeded, a dozen baby Trumps would have quickly risen up following the same playbook. Trump instead needs to be defeated not with violence, but with total abject humiliation and defeat at the ballot box. He needs to die not as a martyr at the height of his power, but from old age, as a sad, tired old man, repeatedly defeated and ranting at the clouds, repeating facebook rumors, til his dying breath. THAT is how you defeat Trumpism. You have to break his psyche so fundamentally that he never recovers. He needs to be defeated resoundingly and made such a fool that no one will ever attempt his playbook again, or at least until his humiliation has passed from living memory. Ideally he will end up dying in prison. But regardless he needs to live to til the end of his natural life, making a greater fool of himself with every word he speaks, from now until the end, digging his pit of shame ever deeper. THAT is how you defeat a demagogue like Trump. You don’t out-logic him. You don’t kill him. You break him. You shatter what his left of his ego and mind. Leave him a blubbering fool trapped in the remnants of his own shattered ego. That is how you deal with Trump. You have no mercy, and you break him.

      • Landless2029@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Holy crap she got me too!

        I didn’t realize she pulled out that bait on the immigration issue! That was calculated as fuck!

        • Match!!@pawb.social
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          4 months ago

          her campaign is so fucking competent, it’s refreshing. she had the taylor swift ace up her sleeve and planned to play it that day no matter what

  • Rapidcreek@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    One thing I’ve come to believe is that the extended media reaction to a debate affects public opinion more than the debate itself. The media don’t quite dictate viewers’ judgments, but they shape and solidify them. And what this string of posts is making clear is that on the day after Donald Trump is still losing the debate. He’s probably going to try to stage some dramatic bullshit to derail this media train.

      • _stranger_@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        You projected puppy crunching noises and fur-muffled trump gagging noises into my brain, and it was so vivid I felt it would be a shame not to share that imagery with you. <.<

    • Coelacanth@feddit.nu
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      4 months ago

      Very astute observation. I think the only thing I disagree with is that I personally think the media do to a large extent directly dictate viewers judgements. Which makes the rest of your points even more salient.

    • geekwithsoul@lemm.ee
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      4 months ago

      Wouldn’t be surprised if he replaced Vance with RFK Jr now as that would kill discussion of the debate.

      • NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip
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        4 months ago

        He arguably can’t.

        He and vance are on the ballot. So is RFK, funny enough. Which is why RFK is trying to get off the ballot in swing states. The reason Biden could tag Kamala in is that the DNC had not actually chosen a candidate yet.

        My suspicion is that an exception would be made rather than run into the mess of leaving republicans unelectable in states. But it would still be a giant shitshow and not in a good way.

        • nilloc@discuss.tchncs.de
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          4 months ago

          This may be a cynical take, but it would still be Trump on the top of the ticket, and the media would be immediately distracted from his debate failure. He would most likely come out ahead in the end.

    • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Absolutely. If the media outlets had decided that Trump won, then Trump won. Almost no one actually watched the debate. They only looked at “highlights” curated for them.

      • modifier@lemmy.ca
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        4 months ago

        I understand my very presence on lemmy makes me less representative of the mean but I was hooked from start to finish.

      • taiyang@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        I mean, overnight numbers suggest it’s a second most watched TV event since Superbowl, but you’re not wrong in that people don’t necessarily pay attention or process it. Highlights are the part people grab onto and boy do we have a lot of good ones.

        • nepenthes@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          Do you have a link to the numbers, please? I’m curious if the international numbers are reported separately.

          (Me and at least three other households I know watched it in Canada. My friend in VA did not, and hadn’t even heard about Fido til I mentioned it this afternoon.)

  • lurch (he/him)@sh.itjust.works
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    4 months ago

    he pulled the black jobs thing again even though this implies so many racist shit. he must be so retarded to bring that up. it doesn’t make black people side with him, but is an affront

        • Ookami38@sh.itjust.works
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          4 months ago

          So wait is it okay to use the black slur to a white person, or the gay one to a straight man? Say what you will about using this particular word at all, but that’s a weird distinction.

          • lurch (he/him)@sh.itjust.works
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            4 months ago

            no, for those it depends on who’s saying them too. those are special. this one was more like “lame”, which can be cruel if you’re calling it someone who is disabled, but is an okayish mean thing to call someone who is not. however, when i wrote that, i was angry and wanted to be mean. so i’m not mad at all it got removed now that i’m no longer angry.

            • Ookami38@sh.itjust.works
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              4 months ago

              The issue is, you’re using a disability as a weapon. You’re saying “it’s bad to be retarded. You’re retarded. Therefore you’re bad.” The very act of using that term as an insult necessarily insults all people who are themselves medically retarded. In short, if being retarded wasn’t a bad thing, why would you use it as an insult?

              • lurch (he/him)@sh.itjust.works
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                4 months ago

                One can certainly see it that way, but what I meant was: “There are people who think a bit slower and then there is what this guy just did. Only the latter action is retarded.”

                • Ookami38@sh.itjust.works
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                  4 months ago

                  I can see that as a legitimate intent. Unfortunately, intent is often hard to convey, without like, what, 4 posts worth of comments on a social media thread? I don’t really care about the word myself. I just wanted to highlight how, even without malicious intent, you can end up hurting someone you don’t want to.

              • RavenFellBlade@startrek.website
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                4 months ago

                I can tell you from experience that I’d rather spend my time in the company of special needs people than Conservatives. Most of the special needs people I’ve worked with are some of the kindest and most compassionate people I know, while Conservatives seem to have built their entire ideology around having the compassion and empathy of a sociopath.

  • humble peat digger@lemm.ee
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    4 months ago

    I’m confused why people think Kamala won the debate - she was just regurgitating pre prepared meaningless lines.

    • Clent@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      That’s what debates have been pre-Trump.

      There were never any surprises. They were expected to be composed and articulate.

      It was mostly about getting voters to tune in at prime time because despite there being round the clock news, most people don’t actually pay close attention to politics.

      • humble peat digger@lemm.ee
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        4 months ago

        I remember now what I always hated about debates, they were always boring reminder that both parties are the same

    • doggle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      4 months ago

      She clearly and concisely responded the questions she was obviously going to be asked. You may disagree with the answers, or you may just not like politicians, but she was obviously prepared and professional.

      Donald rambled, lied, and went off topic constantly. He spent more time talking about what Kamala said than his own policy. When he was pressed on policy he had unclear answers or dodged entirely (e.g. “concepts of a plan”).

      He came across as unhinged, bordering on detached from reality, and he seemingly doesn’t have any plan or vision for the country, except that it definitely isn’t project 2025 (except it probably is). He was undeniably more interesting to watch, but not in a good way. Based purely on the debate from last night it’s not clear if he’s fit to lead a book club, let alone a nuclear superpower.

        • PhilMcGraw@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          If you had to say one of them won, who would you pick?

          I don’t disagree that there wasn’t a ton of useful information in the debate, there was barely room for anyone to talk actual policy, but Harris came across as a rational human who at least pretended to care about others while Trump was a blabbering idiot.

    • carl_dungeon@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Did you hear trump? He didn’t answer a single question, ranted about eating pets half the time, talked about how big his rallies are, and yeah that was all he did.

      • humble peat digger@lemm.ee
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        3 months ago

        So it’s expected from Trump. Kamala didn’t answer any questions either but for some reason is getting a pass. She is just regurgitating cheap slogans, what good is that?

  • DontMakeMoreBabies@lemm.ee
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    4 months ago

    She should have mentioned his tiny little hands after shaking them - dude has such a LDE vibe, I bet he’d have lost his shit.

    • EtherWhack@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      She’s more mature than to stoop down to his level and ridicule someone’s appearance or anything like that. The handshake was enough to get to him and plant that seed, a complete and total power move.

      • taiyang@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        The moment I saw that handshake I was like “oh. Power move”. I think he even said “have fun” lol

        • twistypencil@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          She said her name to him, which was a nice move. He never said her name, or looked at her the entire time. That is actually weird, it’s like he knows if he does, he will freak

        • DontMakeMoreBabies@lemm.ee
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          4 months ago

          I just saw a seasoned prosecutor taking control of the well. That’s what they do. Her facial expressions? That’s also prosecutor in action.

          Loved it all but of course I’m biased…

      • DontMakeMoreBabies@lemm.ee
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        4 months ago

        “We go high” is what got us into this mess. Remember Hilary? Democrats need to get off the idealistic high horse already and do what works.

        You can absolutely play their game without getting mud on you.

        Edit: Basically there are a ton of stupid people and if they can’t be convinced then they should be used

  • MyOpinion@lemm.ee
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    4 months ago

    Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

    Trump is Humpty Dumpty.

  • Makeitstop@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    On that stage we saw the two things most capable of utterly destroying Trump: A prosecutor, and Trump.

  • Verdant Banana@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    how?

    did she come out strong on worker’s rights, healthcare, the environment, upping the minimum wage, police reform, or anything that would directly help the citizens?

    debate watched was Harris and Trump babbling for over an hour with no concrete plan for anything out of either of them

    • taiyang@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Debates are terrible places for substance; you’ve got 2 minutes to talk and you still need to address your opponent and they can derail or misconstrue what you just said without a proper rebuttal. The point is to argue your side of things, which I think she did fine and was very strategic in avoiding things that would have put her at a disadvantage.

      It’s like a Lemmy comment. You can have a good idea, write a paragraph or two, and you’ll still have people call you out because you can’t fully explain a topic in this format.

    • NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      I only watched the first 10 minutes or so of the debate, and even I know Kamala Harris had plans for things she talked about. This is just a bad faith comment.

      • Verdant Banana@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        she did yes but none of it involved anything that is really needed

        universal healthcare, police reform, environmental protections, minimum wage

        only thing the Democrats stood strongly on was women rights which they have ignored for over half a century

        so long so rights have now started to be lost and only now are they voicing an opinion on top for asking for donations

        • FrostyTheDoo@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          Very interesting that you think people don’t need help with childcare or affording housing. That’s a really nice and privileged bubble that you live in, I hope for your sake it never pops.

          Harris answered the questions she was asked, and she was dealing with a non-participant flinging poo as her opponent. She couldn’t possibly bring up every subject you wanted her to in the time she was given, especially since a lot of that time ended up going to Trump while he screeched over her and the moderators.

          • Verdant Banana@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            people need help with childcare and affordable housing because of bipartisan politics

            takes a higher minimum wage and better education to help with both of these plus workers’ rights and universal healthcare and police reform and environmental reforms

            what good is help with childcare bills when the parent and/or parents is/are not paid enough to purchase food or other necessities and while they are on their way to get their child from that child care facility that they get assistance with they get pulled over and hassled by police and when they finally come home the electricity is off because they are not given living wages for the work they put in and then the kids grow not understanding as adults how to fix the situation in their country because they lack the tools better education would have provided thus the circle continues and the Republican and Democrats get their low paid factory worker that lacks the knowledge to improve their lives and will keep propping up the two party sham

            takes more than just helping with childcare which is only needed because Democrats and Republicans both do not support living wages because their financial backers do not support it

            was all show that seemed rigged and was void of substance that the US citizens desperately needed decades ago

    • almar_quigley@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Keep yelling at clouds banana. One day someone’s gonna stop ignoring you, I promise. Just don’t hold your breathe please, we all care for your health.

        • Verdant Banana@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          exhausting to keep watching your fellow citizens eat shit from the two parties keeping the US down and loving it so much so that third parties are not considered

          what did Harris say that was enough to get a vote besides the fact she is not Trump

          • MegaUltraChicken@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            Convincing people not to vote for Democrats doesn’t result in 3rd parties being considered. It results in the GOP winning which makes it even more impossible for 3rd parties to gain ground.

            Democrats aren’t keeping 3rd parties down, first past the post is. One of the 2 parties has to gain enough control to eliminate FPTP voting. Guess which party is completely against that idea and guess which one has a modicum of support?

            (this is rhetorical, I have no interest in having any further conversation with you. It’s a waste of my time)

          • TheLemming@lemm.ee
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            4 months ago

            I feel like most points against you have been pretty adequately addressed by other posters except one. Why ignore punctuation and capitalization, but still take the time to double return your sentences? If you’re breaking grammar rules to be edgy, why make your comment readable at all? Just throw it all together in one long ass sentence. It would save you precious milliseconds that could be better used attempting to elaborate on your completely asinine takes :)

            • Verdant Banana@lemmy.world
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              4 months ago

              more of a dissident of the United States btw

              not able to vote or do a lot of things that people who will blindly vote for Democrats or Republicans and play ball take for granted

              the more the US falls apart under Democrat and Republican leaders the more people seem to latch on to them, but it is the wrong lifeboat and the last hundred years should have been a red flag that something more is needed to keep this sinking country afloat

              • petrol_sniff_king@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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                4 months ago

                On a sinking boat, alone, in the middle of the ocean:

                “We should really get a different boat.”

                Thank you. I can’t believe no one’s thought of this.

          • modifier@lemmy.ca
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            4 months ago

            You only think we’re sheeple because you have such a massive forest/trees problem.

            You can keep inflicting your lack of perspective on us condescendingly, but just know that’s all you’re doing.

  • PumpkinSkink@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Liberals should be careful with this. Y’all want them to feel like Trump did alright. We can’t have him being switched out at the 11th hour for a more competent candidate

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      4 months ago

      I don’t know. That might help accelerate the disintegration of the GOP.

      But like others have said, if he’s alive he’s running.

    • Fedizen@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      rfk jr was too late to withdraw for filing deadlines, I have no idea what would happen if trump withdrew. His only way out of this is to kill JD Vance and make it look like a democrat did it.

    • WoahWoah@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Trump would rather die than not be the center of attention. He’s a narcissist, not feeling like the center of attention literally feels like dying. His ego wouldn’t allow it. His fear of going to jail wouldn’t allow it. And the fact that the republican party would implode wouldn’t allow it.

      The scary thing (for Republicans) is that their whole party is currently held together by hairspray, orange spray tan solution, and Depends diapers.

    • Xenny@lemmy.world
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      That wouldn’t work. The idiots are voting for Trump not the Republican party. If they replaced him the idiots would see that as the Republicans betraying them. Then they would split the vote and write trumps name in anyway. Complete victory for Dems in that scenario

    • Nurgus@lemmy.world
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      When Trump goes, the rest will tear each other to shreds. As insane as he is, he’s the figure who’s holding it together. Like a fat gormless toad sitting on a stone in the middle of the pond.

      As an outsider to American politics, I predict a (temporary) collapse in support for the Republican party the minute he’s ousted.