The first presidential debate left undecided American voters in agreement about at least one thing: President Trump's negativity.
Republican consultant and pollster Frank Luntz asked his focus group to use one word to describe the president and basically "every single word was negative," observed Politico's Tim Alberta. One respondent from Wisconsin called Trump obnoxious and un-presidential, while a Pennsylvania voter said he behaved like a "crackhead." Others described the president as being "un-American" and "arrogant."
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.
-
Today's political cartoons - March 15, 2025Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - bogged down, incident report, and more
-
Norway's windfall: should it go to Ukraine?Talking Point Oil-based wealth fund is intended 'for future generations of Norwegians', but Putin's war poses an existential threat
-
5 government-backed cartoons about the White House Tesla saleCartoons Artists take on Cybertrump, Trumpmobile, and more
-
Pakistan train hostage standoff ends in bloodshedSpeed Read Pakistan's military stormed a train hijacked by separatist militants, killing 33 attackers and rescuing hundreds of hostages
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliamentTHE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
-
Arab leaders embrace Egypt's Gaza rebuilding planSpeed Read The $53 billion proposal would rebuild Gaza without displacing Palestinian residents
-
Germany's conservatives win power amid far-right gainsSpeed Read The party led by Friedrich Merz won the country's national election; the primary voter issues were the economy and immigration
-
Russia frees US teacher Marc Fogel in murky 'exchange'Speed Read He was detained in Moscow for carrying medically prescribed marijuana
-
Hamas pauses Gaza hostage release, upending ceasefireSpeed Read Hamas postponed the next scheduled hostage release 'until further notice,' accusing Israel of breaking the terms of their ceasefire deal
-
Baltic States unplug from Russian grid, join EU'sSpeed Read Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are disconnecting from the Soviet-era electricity grid to join the EU's network
