2020 presidential debate moment: ‘The cure can’t be worse than the problem’

Trump masterfully walked through the societal ills of keeping schools and businesses closed. When Biden finished his answer explaining why keeping schools shuttered was, in his view, the right way to go (which, with the benefit of hindsight, was way off base), Trump responded with his own comment about New York having become “a ghost town” and the need to “protect our seniors, protect our elderly” as he finished. Perfect.

Substance aside, Trump delivered a performance that, had it come in the first debate, might have given him a chance to win reelection. He looked and sounded like a reasonable, composed leader who had command of the national situation. But by then, the American people had soured on Trump’s style, and millions had already voted.