Donald Trump is off to sniffing and tepid start to the debate, as Joe Biden lands solid blow

| 9:21 pm EDT October 22, 2020
Dear Palmer Report readers, we all understand the difficult era we're heading into. Major media outlets are caving to Trump already. Even the internet itself and publishing platforms may be at risk. But Palmer Report is nonetheless going to lead the fight. We're funding our 2025 operating expenses now, so we can keep publishing no matter what happens. I'm asking you to contribute if you can, because the stakes are just so high. You can donate here.

We’re roughly twenty minutes into the final 2020 presidential debate, and thus far both candidates are playing things fairly close to the vest. Donald Trump hasn’t yet tried to interrupt Joe Biden, perhaps because he knows his mic is cut anyway. But Trump is behaving in disconcerting fashion, even as Biden begins to take over.

Trump isn’t behaving as derangedly as he did during the first debate. But Trump does keep sniffing, suggesting that he might be back to whatever he was inhaling during his 2016 debate performances. Trump also referred to moderator Kristen Welker as “Kirsten” – suggesting he’s not capable of taking this seriously.

The most important moment of the night thus far came when Donald Trump claimed that the coronavirus is under control and that “people are learning to live with it,” only for Joe Biden to counter with “people are learning to die with it.” That line is going to sting, because it drives home the fact that Trump is negligently and dishonestly getting so many Americans killed.