Dear Friend,

When the Commission on Presidential Debates announced that the second debate between Trump and Biden would be held virtually because of concerns about the coronavirus, Trump told his friends on Fox that “I’m not going to waste my time with a virtual debate.”

The New Republic’s Walter Shapiro put it in perspective: “Donald Trump, the king of real estate bankruptcy, declared political bankruptcy.” Trailing by double-digit margins in recent national polls, “the Covid-stricken president did what he does best—he had a self-destructive temper tantrum.”

Comparing it to how he rejected the last chance for an economic stimulus package before the election, Shapiro wrote: “Trump reverted to his unique negotiating strategy: the Art of the Squeal. By screaming about something—whether it is unfairness, time-wasting, or, one of these days, the astrological charts—Trump expects his opponents to beg for a chance to renegotiate.” But it’s “impossible to envision how Trump recovers from being a debate refusenik.” 

The New Republic isn’t afraid to draw conclusions about the behavior of this president. And we have a special offer to let you try our brand of journalism during this important election season:  

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Following last week’s vice presidential debate, Shapiro said, “Pence demonstrated the failure of Republican polling to figure out a persuasive way of scaring swing voters about a Biden-Harris ticket. All they have are Pence’s tired tropes about taxes and Trump’s guttersnipe rhetoric.”

As Shapiro concludes: “Badly outspent on television by the Biden campaign, Trump needs debates to change his downward trajectory in the polls,” but by “skipping the next presidential debate, the president is signing his own death warrant.” 

This election season is the perfect time to read Walter Shapiro and the best investigative reporters, opinion writers, and cultural critics in America. 

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Sincerely,

Kerrie Gillis, publisher

Read Walter Shapiro’s A Petulant Trump Squanders His Best Chance for a Breakthrough