I cannot imagine any American with good sense not being shocked and saddened by the way Donald Trump behaved in last night’s presidential debate, and those are only two among many adjectives that describe how I and most of you feel about what happened.
I think journalist Ezra Kline provided the best analysis of anyone when he tweeted that in the debate Donald Trump proved that he “is not just a bad president. He is a bad man.”
Yes. That is what we saw on display last night, a bad man who happens to be President showing utter disrespect for the office he holds and the country he is supposed to be serving.
This is what makes his presidency so difficult to abide. Being a bad man cannot be hidden. It is like a dye-stain on your hand you cannot wash off. Daily being a bad man shows through his words and actions.
But he is a bad man for a reason, which is that he has not yet become a full-grown man. Donald Trump acts as if he is developmentally still a teenager.
Brain research has discovered why teenagers act out, why they do dumb things, sometimes very bad things, and almost always immature things. It has to do with their frontal lobe development.
The frontal lobe, which is responsible for decision-making, impulse control, sensation-seeking, emotional responses and consequential thinking, does not become fully developed until young people reach their early-to-mid 20s.
Clinical psychologist Michael Bradley tells all about it in his best-selling book, Yes, Your Teen is Crazy!: Loving Your Kid Without Losing Your Mind.
Until the frontal lobe of our kids develops fully, they will say and do crazy things, engage in non-sensical behavior, making us wonder what in the world they are thinking about, which, of course, is precisely what they are not doing – thinking.
That sounds like Donald Trump to me. It was clear last night that he has no impulse control, creates chaos to feel important, and shows no ability to connect his words and actions to consequences.
It is not surprising that he came across as a bully who needed a punch in the face.
I also think most of the people who support him act as if their frontal lobe has not fully developed either.
That is why talking to them is an experience similar to talking to an out-of-control teenager. They cannot be reasoned with. They say stuff that is genuinely non-sensical – Trump always tells the truth…Obama built cages for babies and children…Trump was a great businessman…Trump has made America respected again in the world…and they simply will not listen to any other point of view.
The hard part for us is knowing that nothing about Trump is going to change in the coming weeks.
On the contrary, conservative journalist Bill Kristol predicted in a post-debate tweet that Trump’s behavior is going to get a lot worse:
“Trump is a cornered rat. After tonight, he’ll only get more desperate. The next five weeks could be a spectacle of ugliness unsurpassed in recent history. The country–all of us–will be put to a political, institutional, and civic test. It won’t be pretty, and it won’t be easy.”
I guess it’s a bit much to say we are in for a full-frontal assault, given what I have written, but after what we saw last night a little humor can’t hurt.
Nothing prepared any of us for what took place, and I am sure it’s only the beginning as Kristol suggests, not least because of what Joe Biden said when he turned Trump’s dismissal of all the coronavirus deaths back on him: “It is what it is because you are who you are.”
Yes, he is, but we are not going to have to put up with him much longer. Last night should serve to reassure us that Trump’s juvenile behavior as President now has a definite time-limit on it.
If anything, what we saw proved that George Conway has been right all along in predicting that Trump’s prospects for incarceration far exceed his prospects for re-election.
So today as we reflect on what was a terrible and sad night for our country, we have the comfort of knowing the end to this national nightmare is not only in sight, but has been put in clear focus by Trump himself.
linnposts.com 
Jan,
Everything here is on target. What is not being said ENOUGH is what George Conway refers to obliquely — namely, that Trump cannot/will not leave office because the presidency is his only haven. The WH is his “safe place.”
If/when he leaves, the dam will break and he will be open to innumerable criminal charges — and his entire adult life will be exposed as a corrupt sham!!
Bill Kristol is right. Trump will only get more desperate after that debate debacle. What form it will take is our near-term nightmare!!
Stay strong, my friend, and keep speaking the truth……
Bill Blackwell
Bill, Trump doesn’t get to decide when he leaves the WH. Voters do. I truly believe the defeat will be so massive that he might resign and move out of the country before charges can be brought against him. A bit of wishful thinking, I admit, but he is going to leave the WH or be taken out. Staying is not an option.
Thank you, Jan. You help keep me hopeful.
Hope is on our side, Pat.
One thing is clear to me after watching the debate last night. A malignant narcissist will destroy that which they cannot have. Trump is out to destroy our America. I hope your assessment is correct, Jan, that he’ll be gone soon. I also hope we as a country survive the damage he and his followers inflict on our democracy.
I think the damage is the real issue now, Rollie. It will be shocking, I predict.
Does anyone remember Jan Masaryk, the former Czech Foreign Minister? Two weeks after the Communist seizure of power in Prague in 1948, he was found dead beneath the second floor window of his apartment. “Suicide”, they called it…
Jan, like his famous father, was a wit, and a man of letters. One of my favourite quotes from him goes: “Dictators are rulers who always look good – until the last ten minutes”.
When after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the Czech people rose up to claim back what had been stolen from them after 41 years, his words came to haunt the outgoing Communist rulers.
It is to be hoped that Jan Masaryk’s words will haunt Trump too, as the curtain rises on the last act of the lurid drama of his time in office.
Marvelous insight, Nigel. I don’t wish suicide for him, but I do hope you are right that Masaryk’s words will begin to haunt him. The problem is, I am quite sure he has never heard the words or knows who Masaryk was, or anything about what happened in Eastern Europe when the Wall came down. But he does remember the Wall.
Great post, Jan. President Trump continues to find new lows as a president and as a human being. Is there really anything good to come out of 2 more debates? Maybe it’s good that people see what an embarrassment Trump is for the country but i can’t help but wonder if Joe Biden shouldn’t pull out of the other 2. At this point they seem to do more damage to our image than anything else.
I agree, Wilbur. I see no point of another debate, but I doubt Biden will pull out. He will face the same thing again, and so will the country.
Your certainty of his removal is comforting as one who lives in the belly of the beast
Dixcy, a majority of Americans would have to be insane to vote themselves four more years of this debacle. I cannot bring myself to believe we have reached that point as a nation. Nor will he steal the election. All votes legally cast will be counted, and neither Trump nor Bill Barr get to determine that. If there is a dispute, the SC will decide and I believe even the conservative justices will rule on whether or not state laws were followed and nothing else. Be of good cheer!
Hey Jan, long time reader of your posts and I look forward to reading them all. As I walked the dog this morning I had a thought about what I wished Joe Biden could have said. Visualize him addressing Chris Wallace with something like, “you know Chris both of our campaigns came together to agree on the rules of this debate. My opponent has insisted on disregarding those rules. In the same way our country came together in 1787 to write a constitution that outlines the rules and norms for how we are going to exist together. This president has chosen to ignore those rules for his selfish interest just like he has in this debate. Our democracy is up for election this November. Do you want your democracy interrupted or renewed”.
It is unlikely that he could have gotten all of that out without interruption but in my mind it would have crystalized what we saw last night. Keep blogging, they brighten my week.
Nolan, how wonderful to hear from you. Thank you for reading my blogs. I know this sounds contrived, but it is really true. Joy and I talked about this very topic on our walk this morning, though you put it in words much better than what we said to each other. I think this is exactly what Biden should next time if Trump does the same thing, which he will. If he did it would serve as a virtual summary of what is wrong with the Trump presidency. Any chance you can get this message to somebody in the campaign? Seriously.