One candidate offered faith in democracy. The other tried to sow doubts.
The final moments of Tuesday night's presidential debate offered a clear distinction between President Donald Trump and his challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden. Only one of them — Biden — testified to a belief in America's system of elections, and faith in its people to make it work.
Given a chance, Biden used his time to urge Americans to vote, whether by mail-in ballots or by going to the polls. "Show up and vote," he said, delivering his message directly into the camera. "You will determine the outcome of this election. Vote vote vote."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump, by contrast, peddled baseless conspiracy theories.
"Take a look at what's going on in Virginia — mailmen selling the ballots," the president said. "They're being sold, they're being dumped in rivers. This is a horrible thing for our country. This is not going to end well."
That last sentence felt like the truest thing the president said all night. Otherwise, his statement seemed indecipherable, except perhaps to the most committed Fox News viewers.
There was a practical element to each man's comments. For Biden to win an Electoral College stacked in favor of Republicans, he needs his voters to show up — whether by mail or in person — in overwhelming numbers. Trump, trailing in the polls, may see sowing confusion about the legitimacy of the election results as one of his best chances to stay in office. So each man played to his electoral strengths.
But we should take each man at his word. Biden pledged to abide by the results of the vote. Trump refused to commit. The contrast between the two candidates on a fundamental issue — democracy itself — couldn't be more clear.
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purgeCartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Codeword: August 23, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Gavin Newsom's Trump-style trolling roils critics while thrilling fansTALKING POINTS The California governor has turned his X account into a cutting parody of Trump's digital cadence, angering Fox News conservatives
-
Costco is at the center of an abortion debateTalking Points The decision to no longer stock the abortion pill came following a pressure campaign by conservatives
-
What does occupying Gaza accomplish for Israel?Talking Points Risking a 'strategic dead-end' in the fight against Hamas
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardonTalking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
Does depopulation threaten humanity?Talking Points Falling birth rates could create a 'smaller, sadder, poorer future'
-
Gavin Newsom mulls California redistricting to counter Texas gerrymanderingTALKING POINTS A controversial plan has become a major flashpoint among Democrats struggling for traction in the Trump era
-
The Supreme Court and Congress have Planned Parenthood in their crosshairsTalking Points Trump's budget bill and the court's ruling threaten abortion access
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidentsThe Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
