Today's Liberal News

Biden-Trump Debate: Silky Shah on How Both Candidates Scapegoat Immigrants, Promote Xenophobic Myths

Thursday’s CNN debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump was “a really, really rough night for those who are fighting for immigrant rights,” says Silky Shah, executive director of Detention Watch Network. “Trump repeatedly was stoking a moral panic on immigration, and Biden had very little in response.” Both candidates boasted about restricting immigration and militarizing the border, while casting immigrants as dangerous and violent.

“Taking Black Jobs”? Economists Darrick Hamilton & Dean Baker on Inflation & Taxes in Pres. Debate

We speak with two leading economists about Thursday’s CNN debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, where the candidates sparred over tariffs, taxes, inflation and more. Trump repeatedly claimed that immigrants coming to the United States are stealing “Black jobs,” which is a “fascist notion,” says Darrick Hamilton, founding director of the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy at The New School.

“Step Aside Joe”: After First Pres. Debate, Democrats Reeling from Biden Missteps & Trump Lies

The first 2024 presidential debate between President Biden and former President Trump was held on Thursday night. It marked the first time a sitting president debated a former one. It also marked the two oldest candidates ever to run for president, with a combined age of 159. The 90-minute discussion hosted by CNN was more of an incoherent debacle than any substantive debate. Biden was halting and disjointed.

Auma Obama, Sister of Pres. Obama, on Kenyan Police Attacks on Youth-Led Tax Protests, 22+ Killed

Political unrest in Kenya erupted into violence Tuesday as authorities opened fire on protesters in Nairobi who oppose President William Ruto’s controversial tax bill. Hundreds of people stormed the legislature and burned part of the building. Meanwhile, inside, lawmakers voted to pass the tax measure, which will raise the cost of many everyday items to pay down government debt.

Dropping Out Is Biden’s Most Patriotic Option

Joe Biden says he ran for president in 2020 because of Charlottesville. He says he ran because he saw the threat Donald Trump posed to the country and the threat he posed to democracy. If Biden truly believes that, he needs to end his reelection campaign. Indeed, dropping out could be the most patriotic gesture of his long career in public service, and every senior Democratic official and leader in the country should be pressuring him to act immediately.

Time to Go, Joe

President Biden needs to end his campaign. The first presidential debate, held on Thursday night, was a disaster. It was clear from the outset that Biden looked old, sounded old, and yes, is in fact very, very old.
This has been rumored for a while. Thursday night, it was confirmed.
Panic seemed to set in among Democrats within minutes of the candidates taking the stage—on social media, at shellshocked “watch parties.” Full freak-out mode was achieved by the 20-minute mark.

Trump Should Never Have Had This Platform

The first question about January 6 was asked at Minute 41.
Donald Trump replied with a barrage of crazy lies, ending by seeming to blame Nancy Pelosi’s documentarian daughter.
Then, just to be fair, CNN moderator Jake Tapper followed up with a question to President Joe Biden. Did he really mean to imply that Trump’s voters were a danger to democracy?
Biden fumbled the answer, as he fumbled so many other answers.

A Disaster for Joe Biden

What a disaster for Joe Biden.
In tonight’s first debate of the presidential campaign, the president appeared meandering, confused, and extremely frail. Biden’s performance was at times almost physically uncomfortable to watch and will greatly amplify the calls for him to step aside.
The question for many people before the debate was whether Biden would stumble. They didn’t have to wait long for an answer.

The Unadorned Truth About Donald Trump

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.
Earlier this year, Atlantic staff writer McKay Coppins suggested that voters, in the interest of civic hygiene and personal illumination, attend a Trump rally. This would be the way to understand the candidate, his thoughts, and his supporters, Coppins argued.

Gaza Journalist Shrouq Aila on Continuing to Report After Journalist Husband Killed in Israeli Airstrike

We look at the targeting of journalists in Gaza with journalist Shrouq Aila, who joins us from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. Aila’s husband Roshdi Sarraj, a fellow journalist and co-founder of the production company Ain Media, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home in October. Aila recounts how Sarraj’s shielding of her and her 1-year-old daughter saved their lives. “Everything went into dust, in just a second,” she says.

Kenya Protests: Police Abduct Activists as Pres. Ruto Rejects Tax Bill Linked to Foreign Debt Crisis

Anti-government protests in Kenya are continuing after President William Ruto made a dramatic reversal Wednesday, announcing he would not sign the finance bill that sparked a nationwide uprising, and would instead send the bill back to Parliament. At least 23 people were killed and dozens more injured when police fired live rounds, rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters who stormed Kenya’s Parliament building.

Why Your Airport Burger Costs That Much

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.
You can get almost anything at the airport in 2024. But it’s going to cost you.
First, here are four new stories from The Atlantic:
Why Jamaal Bowman lost
New, ominous signs for gay rights keep emerging.
The center must hold.
You might be a late bloomer.
Warped Airport Logic
A $30 hamburger.