Joe Biden reports his biggest fund-raising hour yet during and after his Trump debate

(Image credit: Morry Gash-Pool/Getty Images)

"The Trump campaign is trying to say that the president put in a strong performance" at Tuesday night's presidential debate, "but Robin, nobody really believes that," ABC News' Jonathan Karl told Robin Roberts on Wednesday's Good Morning America. "I heard from Republicans after the debate, some during the debate, frankly exasperated by the president's performance — the bullying, the rudeness, the incessant interrupting of the moderator, the utter inability to make a case for what he would do in the next four years if he was re-elected."

"You know, Democrats weren't particularly thrilled with Joe Biden's performance, but they believe the contrast was crystal clear, that there was only one person on that stage who appeared plausibly presidential," Karl said, and it wasn't Trump. Biden's campaign also said it raised $3.8 million between 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. — during and right after the debate — breaking its single-hour fundraising record.

At the very least, Politico says, "Biden cleared the very low bar Trump set for him: He was cogent, and not the mental mess the president has been suggesting for months." But as CNN's Dana Bash said, the entire debate was "a sh-tshow," and despite what Biden's campaign says, it is possible we watched "the last presidential debate of 2020." On CNN's New Day, John Avlon said Trump owed any children watching their first presidential debate an apology for throwing "rhetorical feces" at Biden and America. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.