Amanda Marcotte: It was mere hours, if not minutes, after Trump accepted the debate with Biden that he and the larger GOP started to panic. No surprise. He's barely holding it together at trial. A debate meltdown is a very real risk. www.salon.com/2024/05/17/n...

It was mere hours, if not minutes, after Trump accepted the debate with Biden that he and the larger GOP started to panic. No surprise. He's barely holding it together at trial. A debate meltdown is a very real risk. www.salon.com/2024/05/17/n...

Donald Trump is barely holding it together at trial — no wonder Republicans are afraid of a debatewww.salon.com Trump tantrumed and even quit a debate with Joe Biden in 2020, but now he's even more emotionally volatile

Why to read this past headlines: Receipts that they're panicking. But also, the GOP theatrics around the trial all make sense if you see them as a herculean effort to keep a sociopathic narcissist from having a tantrum in court. www.salon.com/2024/05/17/n...

Donald Trump is barely holding it together at trial — no wonder Republicans are afraid of a debatewww.salon.com Trump tantrumed and even quit a debate with Joe Biden in 2020, but now he's even more emotionally volatile

"As legal analyst George Conway suggested to MSNBC, this is likely the defense team 'trying to maintain his psychological composure' by 'bringing the people up there to show a fealty to him, to quench his narcissistic thirst.'" www.salon.com/2024/05/17/n...

Donald Trump is barely holding it together at trial — no wonder Republicans are afraid of a debatewww.salon.com Trump tantrumed and even quit a debate with Joe Biden in 2020, but now he's even more emotionally volatile

"It's not surprising that the Biden camp thinks there's a very high chance Trump freaks out in a memorable way that could cut through all the voter inattention that's helping Trump in the polls right now." www.salon.com/2024/05/17/n...

Donald Trump is barely holding it together at trial — no wonder Republicans are afraid of a debatewww.salon.com Trump tantrumed and even quit a debate with Joe Biden in 2020, but now he's even more emotionally volatile

I'm not convinced that he doesn't find some way to back out.

Good reason to read before responding! At least 30% of the article is dedicated to this argument.

Sorry. You're right. I did. And you pretty much hit everything I was thinking.

This might just be the existential despair talking, but I'm not convinced that a debate meltdown would harm him politically in any way.

Good reason to read the article, which addresses why the Biden team thinks this could work.

If he was to drop out of the race, without a running mate, what happens?

I meant back out of the debate. No way he drops out of the election.

Does anyone else think it's weird that George Conway and his wife are still part of public life after his wife spread revenge topless pictures of their underage daughter on Twitter fleets? Like, imagine if MSNBC had Roman Polanski and Andrew Tate on to talk politics.

I mean, they're divorced and I'm not aware of any accusations against George regarding those photos.

I had entirely forgotten their divorce. Thank you.

Seeing something weird on eX-Twitter. Your thread there on this piece mostly shows to me as Post is unavailable. Saw the same thing Wednesday also. Before that I'd see the same thread as here on your Salon columns. Now the threads seem largely unavailable, or replies from you just don't appear.

Yeah, Elon doesn't love journalists. Good reason to just stick with Bluesky.

I still look at both because a few people I follow don't really post here. This just started happening in your feed there, and it seems odd. I figure you're trying to post identical threads on both, and not doing anything to cause it. Strange...

Great read: "Being human pacifiers for the volatile defendant is swiftly becoming a major Republican priority."

Thanks! As more people make the journey from Twitter to Bluesky, I'm getting more replies from people who obviously didn't read, which is frustrating. So I'm always happy to see someone who does!

HUMAN PACIFIERS. This is an amazing phrase.

TFG is not going to do as anydebates. He just isn’t. There will be an excuse. I wonder if there is a way to bet on that. I’m not the betting type but this seems an absolute certainty to me.

Donald Trump has three mental disorders as he becomes 'tottering old man'www.irishstar.com Donald Trump has three mental disorders, according to a top psychologist, who says the former president is becoming a 'tottering, dementing old man'

They need Elvis’ doctor to parachute in and dial in juuust the right mix of benzos, speed and Thorazine right before the event.

Trump's sycophants remind me of New Yorkers who are mob lovers (like Trump) who would constantly talk about how wonderful "Mr. Gotti" was for their neighborhood.

He's such a simpleton and so easy to bait.

The question is this. Is the Biden team sharp enough to prepare their candidate (aka the President) for exactly how to handle each type of meltdown that may erupt? 😳

Good reason to read the article, which addresses the 2020 debate.

Ha. I'll put it on my list of things to read.

Biden has done this in the past with Paul Ryan and Trump in 2020. He usually turns to the camera and goes "Can you believe this fucking guy?" but not in so many words.

Ah, yes! I recall hearing about that. Here's hoping it all goes well. I will not be watching. Thank you, though, for taking one for the team. #SoIDon'tHaveTo