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FactChecking the Biden-Trump Debate

In the first debate clash of the 2024 campaign, the two candidates unleashed a flurry of false and misleading statements.

By Robert Farley , Eugene Kiely , D'Angelo Gore , Jessica McDonald , Lori Robertson , Catalina Jaramillo , Saranac Hale Spencer and Alan Jaffe

Posted on June 28, 2024

The much-anticipated first debate of 2024 between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump featured a relentless barrage of false and misleading statements from the two candidates on immigration, the economy, abortion, taxes and more.

• Both candidates erred on Social Security, with Biden incorrectly saying that Trump “wants to get rid” of the program, and Trump falsely alleging that Biden will “wipe out” Social Security due to the influx of people at the border.
• Trump misleadingly claimed that he was “the one that got the insulin down for the seniors,” not Biden. Costs were lowered for some under a limited project by the Trump administration. Biden signed a law capping costs for all seniors with Medicare drug coverage.
• Trump warned that Biden “wants to raise your taxes by four times,” but Biden has not proposed anything like that. Trump was also mostly wrong when he said Biden “wants the Trump tax cuts to expire.” Biden said he would extend them for anyone making under $400,000 a year.
• Biden repeated his misleading claim that billionaires pay an average federal tax rate of 8%. That White House calculation factors in earnings on unsold stock as income.
• Trump repeated his false claim that “everybody,” including all legal scholars, wanted to end Roe v. Wade’s constitutional right to abortion.
• Trump falsely claimed that “the only jobs” Biden “created are for illegal immigrants and bounced back jobs that bounced back from the COVID.” Total nonfarm employment is higher than it was before the pandemic, as is the employment level of native-born workers.
• Biden claimed that Trump oversaw the “largest deficit of any president,” while Trump countered that “we now have the largest deficit” under Biden. The largest budget deficit was under Trump in fiscal year 2020, but that was largely because of emergency spending due to COVID-19.
• Biden misleadingly said that “Black unemployment is the lowest level it has been in a long, long time.” The rate reached a record low in April 2023, and it was low under Trump, too, until the pandemic.
• Biden said Trump called U.S. veterans killed in World War I “suckers and losers,” which Trump called a “made up quote.” The Atlantic reported that, based on anonymous sources. A former Trump chief of staff later seemed to confirm Trump said it.
• Trump claimed that Biden “caused the inflation,” but economists say rising inflation was mostly due to disruptions to the economy caused by the pandemic.
• Trump grossly inflated the number of immigrants who have entered the country during the Biden administration — putting the number at 18 million to 20 million — and he said, without evidence, that many of them are from prisons and mental institutions.
• Trump claimed that “we had the safest border in history” in the “final months” of his presidency. But apprehensions of those trying to cross illegally in the last three full months of his presidency were about 50% higher than in the three months before he took office.
• Biden criticized Trump for presiding over a loss of jobs when he was president, but that loss occurred because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Trump falsely claimed that “some states” run by Democrats allow abortions “after birth.” If it happened, it would be homicide, and that’s illegal.
• Trump made the unsupported claim that the U.S. border with Mexico is “the most dangerous place in the world,” and suggested that it has opened the country to a violent crime wave. The data show a reduction in violent crime in the U.S.
• Trump overstated how much food prices have risen due to inflation. Prices are up by about 20%, not double or quadruple. 
• Trump boasted his administration “had the best environmental numbers ever.” Trump reversed nearly 100 environmental rules limiting pollution. Although greenhouse gas emissions did decline from 2019 to 2020, the EPA said that was due to the impacts of the pandemic on travel and the economy.   
• Biden said he joined the Paris Agreement because “if we reach the 1.5 degrees Celsius, and then … there’s no way back.” Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees would reduce the damages and losses of global warming, but scientists agree that climate action is still possible after passing the threshold.
• Trump said immigrants crossing the border illegally were living in “luxury hotels.” New York City has provided hotel and motel rooms to migrant families, but there is no evidence that they are being placed in “luxury” hotels. 
• Trump falsely claimed that there was “no terrorism, at all” in the U.S. during his administration. There were several terrorist acts carried out by foreign-born individuals when he was president.
• While talking about international trade, Trump falsely claimed that the U.S. currently has “the largest deficit with China.” In 2023, the trade deficit in goods and services with China was the lowest it has been since 2009.
• Trump wrongly claimed that prior to the pandemic, he had created “the greatest economy in the history of our country.” That’s far from true using economists’ preferred measure — growth in gross domestic product.
• As he has many times before, Trump wrongly claimed, “I gave you the largest tax cut in history.” That’s not true either as a percentage of gross domestic product or in inflation-adjusted dollars.
• Trump contrasted his administration with Biden’s by misleadingly noting that when he left office, the U.S. was “energy independent.” The U.S. continues to export more energy than it imports.

The debate was hosted by CNN in Atlanta on June 27.

Social Security

Biden claimed that Trump “wants to get rid” of Social Security, even though the former president has consistently said he will not cut the program and has advised Republicans against doing so.

Earlier this year, Biden and his campaign based the claim on Trump saying in a  March 11 CNBC interview  that “there is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements in terms of cutting and in terms of also the theft and the bad management of entitlements.” As  we’ve said , in context, instead of reducing benefits, Trump was talking about cutting waste and fraud in those programs — although there’s not enough of that to make the program solvent over the long term.

“I will never do anything that will jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare,” Trump later said in a  March 13 Breitbart interview . “We’ll have to do it elsewhere. But we’re not going to do anything to hurt them.”

During the GOP presidential primary, Trump also  criticized  some of his Republican opponents for proposing to raise the retirement age for Social Security, which budget experts  have said  would reduce scheduled benefits for those affected.

Some critics of Trump have  argued  that he cannot be expected to keep his promise because of his past budget proposals. But,  as we’ve written , Trump did not propose cuts to Social Security retirement benefits.

Meanwhile, Trump claimed during the debate that Biden “is going to single handedly destroy Social Security” because of illegal immigration. “These millions and millions of people coming in, they’re trying to put them on Social Security. He will wipe out Social Security,” Trump said of Biden.

As  we  and  others  have explained before, immigrants who are not authorized to be in the U.S. aren’t eligible for Social Security. In fact, because many such individuals pay into Social Security via payroll taxes but cannot receive benefits, illegal immigrants bolster rather than drain the finances of the program.

In referring to what seniors pay for insulin, Trump misleadingly claimed, “I heard him say before ‘insulin.’ I’m the one that got the insulin down for the seniors. I took care of the seniors.” Insulin costs went down for some beneficiaries under a limited project under Trump; Biden signed a more expansive law affecting all seniors with Medicare drug coverage.

Under Trump, out-of-pocket costs were lowered to $35 for some Medicare Part D beneficiaries under a two-year pilot project in which some insurers could voluntarily reduce the cost for some insulin products. KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research organization,  explained  earlier this month that under this model, in effect from 2021 to 2023, “participating Medicare Part D prescription drug plans covered at least one of each dosage form and type of insulin product at no more than $35 per month,” and “less than half of all Part D plans chose to participate in each year.”

But in 2022, Biden  signed a law  that required all Medicare prescription drug plans to cap all insulin products at $35. The law also capped the out-of-pocket price for insulin that’s covered under Medicare Part B, which covers drugs administered in a health care provider’s office. The caps went into effect last year.

STAT, a news site that covers health care issues,  reported  that the idea for a $35 cap for seniors initially came from Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical company, which proposed it in 2019.

Trump on Biden Tax Plan

“He’s the only one I know he wants to raise your taxes by four times,” Trump said of Biden. “He wants to raise everybody’s taxes by four times. He wants the Trump tax cuts to expire. So everybody … [is] going to pay four to five times –  nobody ever heard of this before.”

Trump regularly warns of massive tax hikes for “everybody,” should Biden be reelected. That doesn’t jibe with anything Biden has proposed.

In his more than three years as president, Biden’s  major tax changes  have included setting a  minimum corporate tax rate  of 15% and lowering taxes for some families by  expanding the child tax credit  and, for a time, making it fully refundable, meaning families could still receive a refund even if they no longer owe additional taxes.

As  we wrote  in 2020, when Trump made a similar claim, Biden proposed during that campaign to raise an additional $4 trillion in taxes over the next decade, although the increases would have fallen mainly on very high-income earners and corporations. The plan would not have doubled or tripled people’s taxes at any income level (on average), according to analyses of Biden’s plan by the  Penn Wharton Budget Model ,  the Tax Policy Center  and  the Tax Foundation .

In March 2023, the TPC’s Howard Gleckman  wrote  that Biden proposed a 2024 budget that would, on average, increase after-tax incomes for low-income households and “leave them effectively unchanged for middle-income households.” The Tax Policy Center noted, “The top 1 percent, with at least roughly $1 million in income, would pay an average of $300,000 more than under current law, dropping their after-tax incomes by 14 percent.”

This March, Biden released his  fiscal year 2025 budget , which contains many of the same proposals and adds a few new wrinkles. But it still  does not contain  any “colossal tax hikes” on typical American families, as Trump has said.

Biden’s latest plan proposes — as he has in the past — to increase the corporate income tax rate from 21% to 28%, and to  restore  the top individual tax rate of 39.6% from the current rate of 37%. It would also increase the corporate minimum tax rate from 15% to 21% for companies that report average profits in excess of $1 billion over a three-year period. And the plan would impose a 25% minimum tax on very wealthy individuals. The plan also proposes to extend the expanded child tax credit enacted in the American Rescue Plan through 2025, and to make the child tax credit fully refundable on a permanent basis.

Trump is also mostly wrong that Biden “wants the Trump tax cuts to expire.”

As he has said since the 2020 campaign, Biden’s FY 2025 budget vows not to increase taxes on people earning less than $400,000.

In order to keep that pledge, Biden would have to extend most of the individual income tax provisions enacted in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that are set to expire at the end of 2025. And that’s what Biden says he would do — but  only for  individual filers earning less than $400,000 and married couples making less than $450,000. (In order to pass the TCJA with a simple Senate majority, Republicans wrote the law to have most of the individual income tax changes  expire after 2025 .)

The Biden budget plan “would raise marginal income tax rates faced by higher earners and corporations while expanding tax credits for lower-income households,” according to a Tax Foundation  analysis  of the tax provisions in Biden’s budget. “The budget would redistribute income from high earners to low earners. The bottom 60 percent of earners would see increases in after-tax income in 2025, while the top 40 percent of earners would see decreases.”

Biden on Taxes Paid by Billionaires

In arguing that wealthy households should pay a minimum tax, Biden repeated his misleading claim that billionaires pay an average federal tax rate of 8%.

“We have a thousand … billionaires in America, and what’s happening?”  Biden said . “They’re in a situation where they in fact pay 8.2% in taxes.”

That’s not the average rate in the current tax system; it’s a figure  calculated  by the White House and factors in earnings on unsold stock as income. When only considering income, the top-earning taxpayers, on average, pay higher tax rates than those in lower income groups, as  we’ve written  before.

The top 0.1% of earners pay an average rate of 25.1% in federal income and payroll taxes,  according to  an analysis by the Tax Policy Center in October 2022 for the 2023 tax year.

The point that Biden tried to make is that earnings on assets, such as stock, currently are not taxed until that asset is sold, which is when the earnings become subject to capital gains taxes. Until stocks and assets are sold, the earnings are referred to as “unrealized” gains. Unrealized gains, the White House  has argued , could go untaxed forever if wealthy people hold on to them and transfer them on to heirs when they die.

Roe v. Wade

As he has  before , Trump wildly exaggerated the popularity of ending Roe v. Wade — even going so far as to claim that it was “something that everybody wanted.”

“51 years ago, you had Roe v. Wade and everybody wanted to get it back to the states,”  he said , referring to the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that established a constitutional right to abortion, which was  overturned  in 2022.

Trump:  Everybody, without exception: Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives. Everybody wanted it back — religious leaders. And what I did is I put three great Supreme Court justices on the court and they happened to vote in favor of killing Roe v. Wade, and moving it back to the states. This is something that everybody wanted. Now 10 years ago or so they started talking about how many weeks and how many this and getting into other things. But every legal scholar throughout the world — the most respected — wanted it brought back to the states. I did that.

In fact, a majority of Americans have disagreed with ending Roe v. Wade, including plenty of legal scholars, as we’ve explained  before . While some scholars criticized aspects of the legal reasoning in Roe, it did not necessarily mean they wanted the ruling overturned. Legal experts told us that Trump’s claim was “utter nonsense” and “patently absurd.”

Trump Wrong on Jobs

After Biden talked about job creation during his administration, Trump falsely claimed that “the only jobs [Biden] created are for illegal immigrants and bounced back jobs that bounced back from the COVID.”

In fact, as of May,  total nonfarm employment  in the U.S. had gone up about 6.2 million from the pre-pandemic peak in February 2020, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The increase is about 15.6 million if you count from when Biden took office in January 2021 until now — but that would include some jobs that were temporarily lost during the pandemic and then came back during the economic recovery.

Furthermore, there is no evidence that only “illegal immigrants” have seen employment gains.

Since Biden became president in January 2021, employment of U.S.-born workers has increased more than employment of foreign-born workers, a category that includes anyone who wasn’t a U.S. citizen at birth, as we’ve written before . BLS says the  foreign-born  population includes “legally-admitted immigrants, refugees, temporary residents such as students and temporary workers, and undocumented immigrants.” There is no employment breakdown for just people in the U.S. illegally.

In looking at employment since the pre-pandemic peak, the employment level of  foreign-born workers  was up by about 3.2 million, from roughly 27.7 million in February 2020 to nearly 30.9 million in May. Employment for the  U.S.-born population  increased by about 125,000 — from nearly 130.3 million in February 2020 to 130.4 million, as of May.

Conflicting Budget Deficit Claims

Biden and Trump accused each other of presiding over the largest budget deficit in the U.S.

After talking about Trump’s plans for additional tax cuts, Biden said Trump already had the “largest deficit of any president in American history.” When he got a chance to respond, Trump said, “We now have the largest deficit in the history of our country under this guy,” referring to Biden.

Biden is correct: The  largest budget deficit  on record was about $3.1 trillion in fiscal year 2020 under Trump. However, that was  primarily  because of trillions of dollars in emergency funding that both congressional Republicans and Democrats approved to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, the largest budget deficit under Trump was about $1 trillion in fiscal 2019.

Meanwhile, the most recent budget deficit under Biden was about $1.7 trillion in fiscal 2023. As of June, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office  projected  that the deficit for fiscal 2024, which ends on Sept. 30, would be about $2 trillion.

Black Unemployment

Biden boasted that on his watch, “Black unemployment is the lowest level it has been in a long, long time.”

It’s true that the unemployment rate for Black or African American people reached a record low of 4.8% in April 2023, but it is currently 6.1%,  according to  the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which has data going back to 1972.

Also, the unemployment rate was low under Trump, too, until the pandemic.

Under Trump, the  unemployment rate for Black Americans  went down to 5.3% in August 2019 – the lowest on record at that time. It shot up to 16.9% in April 2020, when the economic effects of the pandemic took hold. When Trump left office in January 2021, amid the pandemic, the rate was 9.3%.

The rate has been 6% or less in only 29 months since 1972, and it happened only under two presidents: 21 times under Biden and eight times under Trump.

‘Suckers and Losers’

Biden  said  Trump called U.S. veterans killed in World War I “suckers and losers,” which Trump called a “made up quote … that was in a third-rate magazine.”

It was first reported by a magazine — the Atlantic — but Trump’s former chief of staff,  John F. Kelly , a retired four-star Marine general, later seemed to confirm it.

Biden was referring to a trip Trump made to France in November 2018, where he reportedly declined to visit the  Aisne-Marne American Cemetery  near the location of the Battle of Belleau Wood. “He was standing with his four-star general and he told him, ‘I don’t want to go in there because they’re a bunch of losers and suckers.’”

The Atlantic  wrote  about this alleged incident in 2020, citing unnamed sources. The magazine wrote that Trump made his remark about “losers” when he declined to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, and his remark about “suckers” during that same trip.

The Atlantic, Sept. 3, 2020:  In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.” In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as “suckers” for getting killed.

In October 2023, Kelly – who was on that trip and visited the Aisne-Marne Cemetery — gave a  statement to CNN  that seemed to confirm those remarks. CNN published Kelly’s statement.

CNN, Oct. 3, 2023:  “What can I add that has not already been said?” Kelly said, when asked if he wanted to weigh in on his former boss in light of recent comments made by other former Trump officials. “A person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all ‘suckers’ because ‘there is nothing in it for them.’ A person that did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because ‘it doesn’t look good for me.’ A person who demonstrated open contempt for a Gold Star family – for all Gold Star families – on TV during the 2016 campaign, and rants that our most precious heroes who gave their lives in America’s defense are ‘losers’ and wouldn’t visit their graves in France.”

Trump said, “We had 19 people who said I didn’t say it.” One of those who said that he didn’t hear Trump make those remarks is John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser who was also on the trip and said he was there when the decision was made not to visit the cemetery.

“I didn’t hear that,” Bolton  told the New York Times  in 2020 after the magazine story first appeared. “I’m not saying he didn’t say them later in the day or another time, but I was there for that discussion.”

Biden Misleads on Jobs

Biden ignored the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic when he criticized Trump for employment going down over Trump’s time in office.

“He’s the only president other than Herbert Hoover that lost more jobs than he had when he began,” Biden said.

Job growth during Trump’s term was positive until the economy lost 20.5 million jobs in April 2020, as efforts to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus led to business closures and layoffs. By the time Trump left office in January 2021, employment had partly rebounded, but was still 9.4 million jobs below the February 2020 peak,  according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics .

Trump repeatedly claimed that Biden “caused the inflation” and that “I gave him a country with no essentially no inflation. It was perfect. It was so good.”

It’s true that inflation was relatively modest when Trump was president. The  Consumer Price Index rose 7.6%  under Trump’s four years — continuing a long period of low inflation. And inflation has been high over the entirety of Biden’s time in office. The  Consumer Price Index  for all items rose 19.3% between January 2021 and May.

For a time, it was the worst inflation in decades. The 12 months ending in June 2022 saw a 9% increase in the CPI (before seasonal adjustment), which the  Bureau of Labor Statistics said  was the biggest such increase since the 12 months ending in November 1981.

Inflation has moderated more recently. The CPI  rose  3.3% in the 12 months ending in May, the most recent figure available.

Although Trump claims that Biden is entirely responsible for massive inflation, economists  we have spoken to  say Biden’s policies are only partly to blame. The economists placed the lion’s share of the blame for inflation on disruptions to the economy caused by the pandemic, including supply shortages, labor issues and increased consumer spending on goods. Inflation was then worsened by Russia’s attack on Ukraine, which drove up oil and gas prices, experts told us.

Indeed, inflation has been a  worldwide problem  post-pandemic.

However, many economists say Biden’s policies — particularly aggressive stimulus spending early in his presidency to offset some of the economic damage caused by the pandemic — played a modest role.

Jason Furman , a former economic adviser to President Barack Obama and now a Harvard University professor, told us in June 2022 that he estimated about 1 to 4 percentage points worth of the inflation was due to Biden’s stimulus spending in the  American Rescue Plan  — a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief measure that included $1,400 checks to most Americans; expanded unemployment benefits; and money for schools, small businesses and states.  Mark Zandi , chief economist of Moody’s — whose work is often cited by the White House — said the impact of the stimulus measure now “has largely faded.”

Economists note that the American Rescue Plan came after two other pandemic stimulus laws enacted under Trump that were  worth  a  total  of $3.1 trillion. That spending, too, could have contributed to inflation.

Immigrants Entering U.S. Under Biden

Trump grossly inflated the number of immigrants who have entered the country during the Biden administration — putting the number at 18 million to 20 million. The number, by our calculation, is about a third of that. Trump also claimed, without evidence, that many of those immigrants are from prisons and mental institutions.

“It could be 18, it could be 19, and even 20 million people,” Trump said of the immigrants who have entered the U.S. during the Biden administration. Later in the debate, Trump asked Biden why there had been no accountability “for allowing 18 million people many from prisons, many from mental institutions” into the country.

That’s a greatly exaggerated number. We took a deep dive into the immigration numbers  in February , and again in  mid-June , and we came up with an estimate of at most a third of Trump’s number.

Here’s the breakdown:

Department of Homeland Security data show nearly 8 million encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border between February 2021, the month after Biden took office, and May, the last month of available  statistics . That’s a figure that includes both the 6.9 million apprehensions of migrants caught between legal ports of entry – the number typically used for illegal immigration – and nearly 1.1 million encounters of migrants who arrived at ports of entry without authorization to enter the U.S.

DHS also has comprehensive data, through February, of the initial processing of these encounters. That information shows 2.9 million were removed by Customs and Border Protection and 3.2 million were released with notices to appear in immigration court or report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the future, or other classifications, such as parole. (Encounters do not represent the total number of people, because some people attempt multiple crossings. For example, the recidivism rate was 27% in fiscal year 2021,  according to the most recent figures  from CBP.) 

As  we’ve explained before , there are also estimates for “gotaways,” or migrants who crossed the border illegally and evaded the authorities. Based on an average annual apprehension rate of 78%, which DHS provided to us, that would mean there were an estimated 1.8 million gotaways from February 2021 to February 2024. The gotaways plus those released with court notices or other designations would total about 5 million.

There were also 407,500 transfers of unaccompanied children to the Department of Health and Human Services and 883,000 transfers to ICE. The ICE transfers include those who are then booked into ICE custody, enrolled in “ alternatives to detention ” (which include technological monitoring) or released by ICE. We don’t know how many of those were released into the country with a court notice. But even if we include those figures, it still doesn’t get us to anywhere near 18 to 20 million.

And we should note that these figures do not reflect whether a migrant may ultimately be allowed to stay or will be deported, particularly since there is a yearslong backlog of immigration court cases.

Also, as we have  written   repeatedly , Trump has provided no credible support for his incendiary claim that countries are emptying their prisons and mental institutions and sending those people to the U.S. Experts tell us they have seen no evidence to substantiate it.

Earlier this month, we looked into  Trump’s claim as it relates to Venezuela, because Trump has repeatedly cited a drop in crime there to support his claim about countries emptying their prisons and sending inmates to the U.S. Reported crime is trending down in Venezuela, but crime experts in the country say there are numerous reasons for that — including an enormous out-migration of citizens and a consolidation of gang activity — and they have nothing to do with sending criminals to the U.S.

“We have no evidence that the Venezuelan government is emptying the prisons or mental hospitals to send them out of the country, whether to the USA or any other country,” Roberto Briceño-León, founder and director of the independent Venezuelan Observatory of Violence, told us.

Border Under Trump

Trump claimed that “we had the safest border in history” in the “final months” of his presidency, according to Border Patrol. But according to  data  provided by Customs and Border Protection, apprehensions of those trying to cross illegally into the U.S. in the last three full months of Trump’s presidency were about 50% higher than in the  three months  before he took office.

In fact, as we wrote in our piece, “ Trump’s Final Numbers ,” illegal border crossings, as measured by  apprehensions at the southwest border , were 14.7% higher in Trump’s final year in office compared with the last full year before he was sworn in.

But these statistics tell only part of the story. The number of apprehensions fluctuated wildly during Trump’s presidency, from a  monthly  low of 11,127 in April 2017 to a high of 132,856 in May 2019.

Back in April,  we wrote  about a misleading chart that Trump showed to the crowd during a speech in Green Bay, Wisconsin. “See the arrow on the bottom? That was my last week in office,” Trump said. “That was the lowest number in history.” But Trump was wrong on both points.

The arrow was pointing to apprehensions in April 2020, when apprehensions plummeted during the height of the pandemic.

“The pandemic was responsible for a near-complete halt to all forms of global mobility in 2020, due to a combination of border restrictions imposed by countries around the world,”  Michelle Mittelstadt , director of communications for the Migration Policy Institute, told us.

After apprehensions reached a pandemic low in April 2020, they rose every month after that. In his last months in office, apprehensions had more than quadrupled from that pandemic low and were higher than the month he took office.

Trump falsely claimed that “some states” run by Democrats allow abortions “after birth.” As  we have written , that’s simply false. If it happened, it would be  homicide , and that’s  illegal .

“No such procedure exists,” the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists  says  on its website.

The former president  has wrongly said  that abortions after birth were permitted under Roe v. Wade — the Supreme Court ruling that established a constitutional right to abortion until it was  reversed  in 2022. It was not.

Under Roe, states could outlaw abortion after fetal viability, but with exceptions for risks to the life or health of the mother. Many Republicans  have objected  to the health stipulation, saying it would allow abortion for any reason. Democrats say exceptions are needed to protect the mother from medical risks. We should note, late-term abortions  are rare . According to the  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , less than 1% of abortions in the U.S. in 2020 were performed after 21 weeks gestational time.

In June 2022, after Trump had appointed three conservative justices to the Supreme Court, the court  overturned  Roe in a 5-4 ruling. Biden  supports  restoring Roe as “the law of the land,” as he said in his State of the Union address in March.

Trump Calls Border ‘The Most Dangerous Place’

In his focus on the U.S. border with Mexico, Trump  made  the unsupported claim that it is “the most dangerous place in the world.”

It’s true that unauthorized border crossings  can be dangerous  — 895 people died while doing so in fiscal year 2022, which is the most recent year for which the Customs and Border Protection has  data . Most of those deaths were heat related.

And the International Organization for Migration called calendar year 2022 “the deadliest year on record” for migration in the Americas, with a total of 1,457 fatalities throughout South America, Central America, North America and the Caribbean. The organization began tracking deaths and disappearances related to migration in 2014.

“Most of these fatalities are related to the lack of options for safe and regular mobility, which increases the likelihood that people see no other choice but to opt for irregular migration routes that put their lives at risk,” the organization said in its  2022 report .

Trump suggested that the border crossings imperil Americans when he went on to say, “these killers are coming into our country, and they are raping and killing women.”

But, as  we’ve written before , FBI data show a downward trend in violent crime in the U.S., and there’s no evidence to support the claim that there’s been a crime wave driven by immigrants.

Crime analyst Jeff Asher, co-founder of the New Orleans firm  AH Datalytics , told us in May that there’s no evidence in the data to indicate a migrant crime wave.

Similarly, Jeffrey Butts, director of the Research and Evaluation Center at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice,  told the New York Times  in February there was no evidence of a migrant crime wave in New York City after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began busing migrants there in April 2022.

“I would interpret a ‘wave’ to mean something significant, meaningful and a departure from the norm,” Butts said at the time. “So far, what we have are individual incidents of crime.”

Also, it’s worth noting that the Institute for Economics and Peace’s  Global Peace Index  — which measures the safety of 163 countries based on 23 indicators, including violent crime, deaths from internal conflict and terrorism — said the “least peaceful country” is Afghanistan, followed by Yemen, Syria, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In discussing inflation, the former president embellished the degree to which food prices have increased.

“It’s killing people. They can’t buy groceries anymore,” Trump said. “You look at the cost of food, where it’s doubled, tripled and quadrupled. They can’t live.”

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index for food has  gone up 17.5%  — not 100% to 300% — since January 2021. The Consumer Price Index specifically for groceries, or “food at home,” has  risen 20.8% .

Climate Change

During a short exchange about climate change, Trump boasted that during his tenure “we had the best environmental numbers ever.” It is not clear what he was referring to exactly, but he said if elected president he wanted to have “absolutely immaculate clean water and I want absolutely clean air — and we had it.” He might have been referring to a talking point that Andrew Wheeler, Trump’s former Environmental Protection Agency administrator, had recommended Trump mention during the debate: “CO2 emissions went down” during his administration, as  the Hill reported . 

Greenhouse gas emissions, which are responsible for global warming,  did decline  from 2019 to 2020. But that was “largely due to the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on travel and economic activity,” according to the EPA. Emissions increased by 5.7% from 2020 to 2022, once the economy started getting reactivated again, the agency said. 

According to an  analysis by the New York Times , Trump’s administration reversed nearly 100 environmental rules, including 28 regulations on air pollution and emissions, and eight rules that limited water pollution. Reportedly, Trump  recently asked  oil executives and lobbyists to donate to his campaign, promising he would roll back other environmental rules that hurt fossil fuel interests. 

“He’s not done a damn thing for the environment,” Biden said in response, pointing out that Trump had  pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement . “I immediately joined it because if we reach the 1.5 degrees Celsius … there’s no way back,” Biden said. 

As  we’ve reported , although reaching 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, of warming comes with a number of very serious impacts, it is not a point of no return. Scientists agree that every increment of global warming increases these negative impacts, but 1.5 degrees is not a magic number after which everything is doomed, they say. 

Immigrants Living in Hotels

During the debate, Trump  mentioned   twice  that while immigrants crossing the border illegally were “living in luxury hotels,” in New York City and other cities “our veterans are living in the street.”

While it is true that New York City has  provided   hotel   rooms  to migrant families as a temporary shelter solution, there is no evidence that immigrants are being placed in “luxury” hotels. 

In 2023, Mayor Eric Adams  signed  a $275 million contract with the Hotel Association of New York City to house 5,000 migrants. The deal was intended to help  struggling hotels  impacted by the pandemic and did not expect to include luxury hotels. “There are no gold-plated rooms that are being given away contrary to any reports that you may have seen,” the association president  told NY1  at the time. In January, the city  signed  another $77 million contract to shelter migrant families in hotels. 

In April, social media posts falsely claimed immigrants had stormed New York City Hall to demand luxury hotel accommodations. But as the  Associated Press reported , the immigrants were there for a hearing about racial inequities in shelter and immigrant services. 

In 2023, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness increased 7.4% from 2022, according to  data  from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. But homelessness among veterans has been declining in recent years, with a 4% overall reduction within the last three years alone. 

Terrorist Attacks Under Trump

While talking about Iran and terrorism, Trump falsely claimed that “you had no terror, at all, during my administration.” As  we’ve written , there were several acts of terrorism carried out by foreign-born individuals when Trump was in office.

For example, in October 2017, Sayfullo Saipov  used  a truck to run down people in New York City. He killed eight people,  including  Americans and tourists, in an attack carried out on behalf of the Islamic State.

Then in December 2017, Akayed Ullah  detonated  a homemade pipe bomb he was wearing inside a New York City subway station. Ullah  told  authorities he did it in response to U.S. airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria and other places.

Then in  December 2019 , Second Lt. Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, a member of the Royal Saudi Air Force, shot 11 people at Florida’s Naval Air Station Pensacola, killing three U.S. sailors. Trump’s own attorney general, William Barr,  called  it an act of terrorism in January 2020. “The evidence shows that the shooter was motivated by jihadist ideology,” Barr said in a statement.

China Trade Deficit

When discussing U.S. trade relations with China, Trump said “we have the largest deficit with China.” That’s false, as  we’ve written .

In 2023, the U.S. had a trade deficit with China in goods and services of roughly $252 billion,  according to  revised figures the Bureau of Economic Analysis  released  in early June. The deficit in goods trading was about $279 billion which was partially offset by a roughly $27 billion surplus in the trading of  services  — which can include travel, transportation, finance and intellectual property.

The trade gap with China last year was the lowest it had been since 2009, when it was $220 billion.

In fact, according to BEA data going back to 1999, the highest total U.S.-China trade deficit in goods and services was about $378 billion in 2018 — when Trump was president. Under Biden, the highest trade deficit with China was $366 billion in 2022.

Not ‘Greatest Economy’ Under Trump

Trump falsely said that prior to the pandemic, the U.S. had “the greatest economy in the history of our country. … Everything was locked in good.”

Trump’s boast about creating the “greatest economy in history” is ubiquitous in his campaign speeches. And it’s not true, at least not by the objective measure typically used to gauge the health of the economy.

As  we have written , economists generally measure a nation’s health by the growth of its  inflation-adjusted gross domestic product . Under Trump, growth was modest. Real GDP in Trump’s four years grew annually by 2.5% in 2017, 3% in 2018 and 2.5% in 2019 — before the economy went into a tailspin during the pandemic in 2020, when real GDP declined by 2.2%,  according to  the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

So, in the best year under Trump, U.S. real GDP grew annually by 3%. By contrast, the nation’s economy grew at a faster annual rate  48 times  and under every president before and after Trump dating to 1930, except Barack Obama and Herbert Hoover. The economy grew at more than 3% six of Ronald Reagan’s eight years, including 7.2% in 1984, and it grew 5% or more 10 times under Franklin D. Roosevelt, including 18.9% in 1942.  Under Biden , the GDP grew by 5.8% in 2021 — a post COVID-19 bounce-back — by 1.9% in 2022 and 2.5% in 2023.

Trump’s Was Not Largest Tax Cut in History

As he has many times before, Trump wrongly claimed, “I gave you the largest tax cut in history.” But saying this over and over, as Trump has for years, doesn’t make it any more true.

As  we have been writing  even before the 2017  Tax Cuts and Jobs Act  was enacted into law, while the law provided tax relief to nearly all Americans, it was not the largest tax cut in U.S. history either as a percentage of gross domestic product (the measure preferred by economists) or in inflation-adjusted dollars.

According to a Tax Policy Center  analysis , the law reduced the individual income taxes owed by Americans by about $1,260 on average in 2018. It also reduced the top corporate tax rate from  35% to 21% , beginning in January 2018.

The law signed by Trump was initially projected to cost $1.49 trillion over 10 years,  according to the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation . It could end up costing substantially more if individual tax provisions are extended past 2025. Over the first four years, the average annual cost was estimated to be $185 billion. That was about 0.9% of  gross domestic product  in 2018.

That’s nowhere close to President Ronald Reagan’s 1981 tax cut, which was 2.89% of GDP over a four-year average. That’s according to a  2013 Treasury Department analysis  on the revenue effects of major tax legislation. Five more tax measures since 1940 had an impact larger than 1% of GDP, and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget  includes  a 1921 measure as also being larger than the 2017 plan. That’s eighth place for Trump’s “biggest tax cut in our history.”

In inflation-adjusted dollars, the Trump-era tax cut is also less than the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which comes in at No. 1 with a $320.6 billion cost over a four-year average. And it’s less than tax reductions in 2010 ($210 billion) and 1981 ($208 billion).

Energy Independence

Trump boasted, as he  often does , that “on Jan. 6 [2021], we were energy independent,” implying that’s no longer the case under Biden. But by Trump’s definition, the country remains energy independent.

To be clear, under Trump, the U.S. never stopped  importing  sources of energy,  including crude oil , from other countries. What he likely means is that the country either  produced  more energy than it consumed, or  exported  more energy than it imported. During Trump’s presidency, after years trending in that direction, the U.S. did hit a tipping point where exports of primary energy exceeded energy imports from foreign sources in 2019 and 2020 — the first times that had happened since 1952,  according to  the U.S. Energy Information Administration. 

But contrary to Trump’s suggestion, that has continued in the Biden presidency. The U.S., during Biden’s presidency, has  exported  more energy,  including petroleum , than it imported, and it has  produced  more energy than it consumed. Also, the U.S. is producing record amounts of  oil  and  natural gas  under Biden.

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When is ok to tell a lie?

When is ok to tell a lie? Clearly, there may well be some cases, such as hiding Anne Frank .

May we sometimes lie about our infidelity , if e.g. we think it could lead to a jealous murder ? What about just to spare jealousy in general?

What about selfish reasons, like avoiding financial repercussions?

When is lying permissible?

• 1 Maybe useful The Definition of Lying and Deception . –  Mauro ALLEGRANZA Commented Aug 30, 2023 at 7:59
• 1 @forlevel apart from concealing infidelity, there might be someone prying into your affairs which are none of the their business, moreover you suspect they want to interfere with your business. Is telling them a lie to misdirect them better than telling them some partial truth (or keeping silent), from which they might infer more information which you don't want them to know? Even saying "It's none of your business" will raise the importance level of what they are asking, which might not yet have seemed important in their prying. –  Weather Vane Commented Aug 30, 2023 at 21:28
• 1 like a little prayer @AgentSmith i do say prayers sometimes (and i cross myself too, same as kaka), but they are more like mini sacrifices haha. i don't have the imagination to tell lies to my advantage, and behave myself, so... too lazy for infidelity lol not worth the "wife" finding out –  user67521 Commented Sep 1, 2023 at 2:15
• 1 Can you define "ok" in "ok to lie"? –  Jani Miettinen Commented Sep 1, 2023 at 2:29
• 1 morally permissible @JaniMiettinen –  user67521 Commented Sep 1, 2023 at 2:29

6 Answers 6

Suppose that we are prima facie obligated to believe the testimony of others to some extent, or that by our own assertions, we are, via our assertoric/epistemic attitudes' alethological norms , trying to impose an obligation to believe what we say, on others. As if:

• Jones tells Smith, "I am the alligator that brought sin into the world ." Then he either expects Smith to believe him, or he doesn't expect this.
• If he expects Smith to believe him, then he should be able to apply the general duty of credibility to Smith, i.e. to suppose that Smith is obligated to believe him.
• But is Smith obligated to believe him? Moreover, if Smith can tell that Jones is actually the marmoset that thrice denied Jesus Christ, Smith might have a counterobligation to disbelieve Jones.
• Or suppose that by giving testimony of some sort, Jones is trying to grant Smith a local permission to believe something that is, however, false. More generally, if Jones were justified in lying, then Smith would be justified in believing Jones: it would be good for Smith to so believe. If Smith isn't really justified in believing Jones, though, is he even merely permitted to believe?

There seems to be something about the default expectations allowable in communication on the one hand, and something about the deontic instability of lying on the other, that at least makes lying and similar acts uniformly problematic. This is not equivalent to a declaration that absolutely all deception everywhere and forever is completely and utterly unjustifiable. For example, if someone sincerely believes in act-utilitarianism and understands the theory enough to nontrivially apply it in their actual life, it would not do to say that such a person is committing an eternal sin if they lie to save a life (or whatever rightly balances the scales of value and disvalue, on their picture of the moral world).

• 1 "uniformly problematic" agreed, and your assertions as to how make some sense. –  user67521 Commented Sep 1, 2023 at 5:52
• 1 @forlove1 the whole scheme of "are we justified in expecting people to believe the lies they're told" was something I thought of long ago, with a clearer principle, and I wish I could remember the whole meta-argument, it was better than my presentation here :p –  Kristian Berry Commented Sep 1, 2023 at 16:44
• i lose again haha –  user67521 Commented Sep 1, 2023 at 17:12

Some people have a naive belief that all lies are bad, but that is simplistic, and is not a useful policy in the real, functional, engaging world of interpersonal relationships.

There is a huge difference between different kinds of lies. There could be a lot of example scenarios of the different types of lie, but at the extremes, there are

Lies to deceive someone with the intention of causing them harm, and malicious untrue gossip.

Lies intended to protect vulnerable people from things they don't really understand, when telling the truth might only cause confusion. Perhaps you'll give a better truth later, once they've understood what you first tell them.

Here is an example to support my assertion that "one must never lie" is simplistic.

Your child is at Uni and steals something, and a police investigation ensues. They are not a bad person and it was out of character – a mistake. Your child confides in you and needs advice, but the police arrive and ask you what you know about it.

If convicted the penalty won't be great, but the record will ruin their career prospects, and the indirect punishment will be out of proportion to the crime. Telling the truth will also break the trust they had in you when they confided, and you know that your child will learn from this mistake.

So do you lie to protect your child, and advise them to quietly return the thing?

Or do you tell the truth to protect the world from your child?

The real world is a complex place, and there are continual tests of our integrity, with competing reasons. A moral compass helps us to make the right decision in these cases, but taking the stance "I must never tell a lie" can be just as a damaging as telling lies.

• the attitude that other people won't understand if you tell the truth comes off as vice ridden (arrogant, unnecessarily self involved, etc.) in many situations. –  user67521 Commented Aug 30, 2023 at 23:10
• @forlove1 there might not be time to explain the truth properly, or it might not be the right moment . One can approach the world with good intentions, but seeing a need to compromise does not mean that one is "vice ridden". By "vulnerable people" I mean children, adults with special needs: those in our care who need to be protected. How is that self-importantly arrogant? –  Weather Vane Commented Aug 31, 2023 at 10:25
• hm well i thought you were talking about it not being the right time to tell the truth because you feel like you might not want to –  user67521 Commented Aug 31, 2023 at 19:26
• @forlove1 you made it sound as though anyone who tells a lie must be a habitual liar and up to no good, perhaps even with a fundamentalist religious aspect where telling a lie will damn your soul forever. I get that one should not go around spreading lies, deceit and dishonesty for personal gain (and I don't), but in the real world, there can be situations where it isn't possible to satisfy your moral code. Or if there is a way, you need the wisdom of Solomon, which most of us don't have. –  Weather Vane Commented Aug 31, 2023 at 19:36
• i never mentioned habitual lying and idk –  user67521 Commented Aug 31, 2023 at 21:09

It depends on what you mean by okay. For me personally, I only think it is appropriate to lie if saying the truth threatens my personal safety.

If not, I don’t think one should lie. Saying the truth ultimately feels better and allows people to like you…for you. Of course, lying certainly has its benefits, but for me, it would eat away at my soul.

Ultimately, there is no right or wrong answer here

• If God is unreal what reality can soul have? –  Rushi Commented Aug 31, 2023 at 6:19

Concealing infidelity is morally wrong. Lying to conceal any crime or breach of trust is morally wrong, unless the law is unjust and should be abolished.

The moral harm caused by lying is that it strips others of their right to make their own informed decisions, the same as coercing them by force. The victim of your lying is not able to make the same choices they would make if you had not lied to them. You are trapping them in a false world, leaving them only the illusion of choice. For example, if you are lying about infidelity, your partner is staying with you and trying to make the relationship work, when they would likely make a different decision if they were fully informed. It is the same denial of their autonomy that would result from coercing them to stay with you.

Lying is therefore justified in whatever situation coercing someone by force would be justified. If the Nazis are coming to kill Anne Frank, lying to them is justified, because the use of force against the Nazis would be justified. If someone is not mentally capable of making their own decisions, perhaps because they are a child or mentally handicapped, then the use of force might be permissible in some cases to keep them from harming themselves, for example if they are trying to climb up the girders of a fairground ride. In those cases (where the use of force would be permissible) the use of lying would also be permissible.

But if someone is a mentally capable adult, to lie to them is to deny their autonomy, deny their right to make their own free choices. This is a hostile, controlling act. You are acting as their enemy, whether they know it or not.

Even if you think you're lying to "save them" from making what you consider a bad decision, that's not your decision to make, it's theirs. You have no right to deny their autonomy by making that decision for them without their consent. (Especially if "saving them" from a "bad decision" coincidentally benefits you selfishly, as in the case of lying to a partner about infidelity.)

The general view expressed here is far too permissive to represent philosophy. e.g.

Act‐utilitarianism implies that lying is morally permissible when, and only when, there is no alternative course of action open to one that has better consequences than lying. Many critics contend that utilitarianism is too permissive about the morality of lying.

Appealing to some vague notion that lying makes things easier for you (to cheat?) is just abusrd.

Lies often deprive us of liberty, freedom to act. Is such a lie always wrong? Presumably we can lie to children in this manner, without much fuss.

What about competent adults? If a doctor tell us "this won't hurt at all" to get us to take noxious medicine, he is usually thought of as being a poor doctor, at least. There are almost always more skilful ways of proceeding, if we truly are not lying for our own benefit.

Instead of treating truth or lie separately you’d better treat this as a part of dharma or adharma . Always practice dharma.

When no other alternative is possible, adharma might become necessary to protect a great dharma. First part of your question should be justfied from this point of view.

You should always tell the truth; but in some cases you will have to give up this advice.

satyam bruyat priyam bruyat na bruyat satyam apriyam… satyam bruyat priyam bruyat na bruyat satyam apriyam priyam ca nanrutam bruyat esha dharmah sanatanah

-Manusmriti

Speak the truth, speak pleasantly, Do not speak the truth in an unpleasant manner Even if pleasant, do not speak untruth, This is the path of eternal righteousness.

The consequence of lying is illustrated in the story of Yudhishthira's dog (in the Mahabharata). It indicates the obstacle that can happen in one's spiritual path even through a light lie. And the difficulty of practising the truth can be seen in the story of Harishchandra

Often, the intensity of lying varies according to the situation, your profession, age, relation, etc.

If you are a teacher it is your duty to be a role model for all your students. The same is true in the case of parents and their children. So you should always tell the truth.

But if you are a doctor, sometimes you may have to lie to hide some serious illness to appease the patient and give him confidence when there is no alternative solution. The same is true in the case of a first-aid provider. Even then he never hides the truth from the relatives.

If one can imagine the negative effects, before telling the truth, shocking news is often told starting with a light lie. (Eg: Death of close relatives or friends)

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Jill Biden enthusiastically supports Joe after debate: 'You did such a great job'

First Lady Jill Biden gave President Joe Biden a warm welcome as he stepped on stage at an Atlanta hotel after Thursday night's debate − despite his performance sparking concerns about his candidacy .

"Didn't the president do a great job? Yes!" said Jill Biden to supporters who gathered at the hotel after Joe stepped on stage. After a brief pause, the crowd starting chanting "four more years!" before Jill joined in on the chant.

"Joe you did such a great job," she went on. "You answered every question, you knew all the facts." Then she turned to the crowd to ask, "And what did Trump do?"

"Lie!" they all shouted in unison.

Other reactions to the first debate were mostly negative. Here's a look at what people are saying.

Swing state voters react to Trump-Biden debate

Reporters for USA TODAY's network partners interviewed swing-state residents shortly after the debate ended to see how they thought each candidate fared.

A voter in Nevada compared  President Joe Biden’s performance  to elder abuse.

A voter in Georgia was so disgusted with  what he was hearing  from the Democratic incumbent and former President Donald Trump that he quit watching, walked to a liquor store and bought a six-pack of beer.

Another voter in Wisconsin called it “a painful experience.”

Debate reactions from morning television

Morning show anchors had a variety of reactions Friday morning to what happened on stage Thursday night.

"The president struggled with answers...Trump struggled with the truth," "Good Morning America" host George Stephanopoulos said Friday morning at the opening of the show.

Pres. Biden and former Pres. Trump go head-to-head and trade personal attacks in first debate. @rachelvscott reports. https://t.co/ld2zv1VO9B pic.twitter.com/USbMbiObPu — Good Morning America (@GMA) June 28, 2024

"Both presumptive nominees were hoping to shake off concerns about their age and their fitness for office, but President Biden failed to land any knockout blows, and his stumbling performance is raising a lot of alarm bells for many Democrats this morning," "CBS Mornings" host Gayle King said.

"His struggles drew attention away from a blizzard of false claims from Donald Trump," "CBS News" Chief White House Correspondent Nancy Cordes said in the post-debate report.

Both candidates are facing criticism after last night’s presidential debate, with Democratic lawmakers using words like “disappointing” and “painful” to describe President Biden’s performance. Some are now openly questioning whether it’s too late to replace him. pic.twitter.com/GgUkKtLAnM — CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) June 28, 2024

"Today" kicked off their Friday morning show with reactions and analysis to the debate with anchors from "NBC Nightly News" and "Meet the Press."

"President Biden's struggles in some ways overshadowing the multiple lies and grievances from former President Trump as both candidates now look ahead to rallies today in states they hope to win," "Sunday NBC Nightly News" anchor Hallie Jackson told hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie.

Contributing: Michael Collins, Melissa Cruz, Christina Avery, Fernando Cervantes Jr., Sabine Martin, Kerria Weaver, Laura Schulte, Matthew Rink, Chris Ullery, Mark Robison, Emily DeLetter & Karissa Waddick; USA TODAY

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X  @GabeHauari  or email him at [email protected].

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Ethical/moral theory and dilemma, from my world to yours, is it ever right to lie how ethical questions bring us to philosophy of mind.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2024

Moral and ethical agreements require sufficiently shared values, or at least some common ground. We might think of this in terms of a shared ‘form of life’, ‘lebensform’, as Wittgenstein describes it in his Philosophical Investigations . Yet it is not clear what will be sufficient , nor how to bridge gaps when disagreement occurs, for instance on whether it is ever right to lie. Ethical and moral theories offer some guidance, but there is no guide for which theory one ought to follow. Whether you favour eudaimonist (flourishing, well-being), deontological (duty), or utilitarian (consequentialist) principles, the selection of a philosophy says much about who you are (preferences, judgements, beliefs) and your context (social, political, cultural). More than this it can indicate certain psychological and personal dispositions, whether defined as brain states, mental states, or personalities. In this article I outline some arguments for why ethics might need a philosophy of mind, and why this poses problems for ethical and moral theory building.

I often start an ethics or moral philosophy class with the question: is it ever right to lie? It has proven a useful approach, and I believe it to be a common one. It is especially helpful to illustrate some well-known philosophical arguments and positions. For instance, you may already know that Aristotle asks us to think about the good life ( eudaimonia ), Kant encourages us to consider our duties to others (deontology), while Mill emphasizes consequences (utilitarianism), especially as measured against actions. So when we ask whether it is ever right to lie, we can develop or assess answers according to these approaches, and in relation to some core reasons and arguments.

As we puzzle through our answer to the question, rationality is key. Indeed, Kant takes rationality to be an essential component of what it is to be a person. Mill, meanwhile, gives some consideration to emotions, particularly passions, as an account for at least some of our motivations, though the extent to which these drive us remains uncertain. So the answer to the question of rightness with regard to lying can be answered by reference to theory, consequences or duties, and according to reasons and feeling. It might be right in this context, or because of these outcomes , says one person, but then you show by example that lying is OK and how will we ever build trust , says another.

The question about lying also helps to illustrate what I consider a more pressing question: why do you think that way? What makes one set of principles or theories more or less convincing, one answer more or less acceptable? And what might this tell us about motivations, tendencies, dispositions, and so on? Could we even answer such questions with certainty anyway? In short: do you know why you think the way you do about lying, and do you think that way because of reason and/or emotion, or do you just think that way?

It seems reasonable to assert that when we talk about ethics and morality, we therefore also partly engage with epistemology (philosophy of knowledge), and to some extent also with philosophy of mind. After all, moral and ethical theories include expectations about ourselves and others, including beliefs about what someone might think or value, feel and believe, and what they expect, know and understand, including about themselves. From this it would seem that moral and ethical theories require at least some presuppositions about people, and more than this, some (sufficient) commonality between people. This includes, for instance, that a person's wants, needs, vulnerabilities and commitments are sufficiently intelligible to the other, and indeed that they are meaningful.

In the case where there is disagreement, for instance about the question of lying, the possibility to give reasons can be very important. Why does it matter to you whether I'm lying , a person may ask. They might already have an answer, or if their reasons are unknown or uncertain, they might reply It just does matter. Even then, reasons are possible and that is important. I may not know what your needs or values are, but I can at least suppose (a) that you have some, whether you know what they are or not, (b) that they will not be entirely alien from my own, and (c) that while I suppose all of this you may be supposing likewise about me and mine, such that there is scope for mutual intelligibility and understanding. You may not know exactly why one person considers lying to be terrible, while another thinks context is what matters most, but you can expect the possibility for reasons.

Our capacity and willingness to understand each other seem therefore an important feature of ethical and moral theory building. If, for instance, I am keen for you to understand my point of view, such as about lying, I may ask you to look at things from my position, to consider my situation, or to walk in my shoes , and in return you may ask the same of me. Whether we can each do this may depend on many factors, including a person's capacity to imagine, to feel, to understand, or the strength of their empathy and sympathy. It could also depend on their wish or desire to behave or to act in a certain way, or to be seen to do so. In short: I may wish for you to see something, and you may want or be able to do so, and the motivations for each may be complicated and uncertain.

To understand the other, therefore, may be an intellectual or imaginative exercise, or one of feeling, or some combination of these. Ethical dilemmas and thought experiments try to tease this out. Consider for instance, those that require a difficult decision with extreme ethical consequences. Some such scenarios feature (nameless) sadistic guards who seek to torture you by making you choose between killing one person or another, or between one and many, and often these examples feature judgements about a person's value (by virtue of age, health, ‘goodness’, etc.). Other examples feature boats or balloons without enough space for everyone, or runaway trolleys that will kill one or many. Always you have to choose, and often someone is fated to die. What would you do , the experimenter asks. In turn, you are expected to consider the question by imaginatively engaging with the scenario, or to put yourselves in the shoes of the person in this dilemma. But how much does this help to show someone's motivations or what matters to them, and can this answer the question of why they think as they do?

Motivations are complicated, and it is not always easy to project oneself beyond one's concrete experience. This applies even to one's future life, let alone to very different lives or far-fetched scenarios like those about sadistic guards. If I ask what you will want to eat on a given day next month, you may struggle to answer: it depends on context, you might reply, and that would be a reasonable response. To know exactly what one will think, want, prefer, or hope, from one day to the next would mean that much would be certain, and little would be unpredictable or surprising. We can try to explain these issues in terms of brain states, mental states, or personalities, but this defers rather than answers the question: why those states or personalities?

We have to consider therefore what we think a person can know about themselves in these scenarios, and to what degree. On the one hand, an ethical dilemma asks someone to speculate about what they might do at some hypothetical point in time or space, even if we cannot know how accurate their prediction may be. On the other hand, we want to allow that a person can know or understand themselves enough , such that they can offer some answers to even hypothetical ethical and moral questions, that is, to have a sense of what they would do if . To better understand this tension, we might need to adjust our initial question.

What happens if we adapt the question of lying thus: why do you think as you do about whether it is ever right to lie ? This question takes us from ethics and moral theory to questions of psychology and minds and brains. In other words, when you prefer one ethical or moral theory over another, is this preference rational, emotional, dispositional, learnt, imposed, cultural, or some combination of these and/or other factors? To answer this question, you might think to yourself, about yourself, but how far will such introspection take you?

Wittgenstein was highly critical of those who try to speak confidently or impartially about such things, or who assume understanding about the other, as if it is easy to infer what things look like from a different point of view. Similarly, the ‘view from nowhere’ assumes the possibility to arrive at objective positions or knowledge through reason. A counter to such views is one that considers the ‘standpoint’ to be important, namely, one that takes a person's position in time and space as an essential feature of their capacity to sense, perceive, think, and to know. This is not only a limitation, however, since specificity is also valuable. Indeed, it is the concrete reality that makes certain kinds of knowledge especially valuable, and experience is an indispensable feature: if I am a passenger in a plane, I would like it if my pilot has expertise that includes practice, including flight simulations, though I'd prefer it if they had flown an aircraft before.

Knowledge or even evidence about one's mind (let alone those of others) is far trickier to establish. How does a person prove what they feel, such that another person can know it as they might know their own feelings (and what does it mean to know one's own feelings anyway)? Something external to us, like the temperature of a room, might be felt subjectively while also being externally measurable. What measures can we apply to minds? And from this, how can you or I really be sure why one ethical theory appeals to you while another repels you? If I say that I think lying is never right, how can I be sure about why this is my position, or why you hold yours? I can give reasons, point to a theory, give an argument and defend a position, but this may not answer the question of why it matters to me, though for ethics to be meaningful we have to presuppose, somehow, that it does. As Wittgenstein describes, we value the falling of a person differently from the falling of a stone.

To reach deep into an ethical question, to address the philosophy of mind that affects and motivates us to ask such ethical questions in the first place, leads us to run against a limit: to knowledge, to words, to understanding, including about minds and motivations. To theorize about ethics thus necessitates a theory of mind that is also impossible. I need to believe there is sufficient symmetry between you and me in order to take your wants, needs, and vulnerabilities into account (in ways that I may not bother to do for my coffee cup). But this does not count as knowledge in the way that an ethical question might expect or even demand.

There are some general claims we can make about human experience that are useful for recognizing what we share and how this plays out in terms of needs and vulnerabilities. We all need food, water, sleep, and some kind of shelter, for instance. We can see this in the overlap between cultures, even where norms may be very different. Yet even here the differences are clear. Perhaps you consider a tent as sufficient shelter, perhaps I feel happier in a hotel room. Our tastes and appetites will differ, even if our need for sustenance remains. We can use the principles of similarity to care for each other, to share resources, and to build moral theories about reciprocity, care, harms, values, responsibility, and even contracts, among other concerns. But in so doing we need to take great care not to erase the specificity of the individual. Teasing out motivations and tendencies in ethical positions can help to make this clear, but the uncertainty may not be so easily resolved.

I feel quite sure that I cannot really know what it is like to walk in your shoes, nor you in mine. My experiences are not yours, and what is shared is not identical. The possibility for overlap is clear and indeed essential for the further possibility of understanding and agreement. We share the same forms of life , and in our living our kinship is apparent. I know what it is like to wear shoes, and to walk the same roads you may have walked, but I will never do this in the way that you have, and you will likewise never know what it has been to walk my path. If I want to say that lying is never right, I express more than a philosophical commitment to something akin to a deontological position, in the same way that if you say context matters I should not simply consider yours a consequentialist position. Our statements also express a way of viewing the world that is concrete and complicated, which eludes even the most sophisticated of thought experiments. To capture what a person means and why goes beyond the ethical statements we express, and towards the qualia of what it is to be someone who, in that moment commits to an ethical position.

Wittgenstein's idea of a language-game tries to capture the shifting, complex, context specific, yet necessarily shared nature of meaning, understanding and use. More than this, it points to the fact that these possibilities are tied to one's involvement in the game, whether playing or watching. This is the foundation for shared understanding, and it is why you can understand the words that I write here, even if you will not know the motivations that led me to write them. It is also clear that shared meaning does not mean we will always understand each other, especially when we talk of emotion and feeling, which ethics and moral theory cannot avoid. Sharing one's pain, sadness, fear, shame and grief sometimes requires much more than theories capture. Much may be missed, not all can be shared, and we may look to art and the metaphysical to show meaning. That we may do these things in similar ways means I can expect some understanding from you on what I point to here, but the specificity or standpoint of you as a concrete other cannot, ought not, to be assumed. Our similarities offer the possibility for understanding, not a guarantee. The words I do not think it is ever right to lie carry more than can be explained by an ethical theory. They assert a way of being far more complicated than that.

A person's capacity to understand the reasons and arguments of the other is essential to thinking about what it may be good to know and to do, or how to treat each other. Ditto for the theories we build to explain and secure these beliefs, arguments and behaviours. But we ought to take care in this that we do not claim these speculations as knowledge about the other. If I ask you whether you think it is ever right to lie, I may be asking which moral theory speaks to you, but I may also want to understand how you see the world, and that also requires a philosophy of mind. Your speculation or mine in response to that question, or whatever it is that a thought experiment shows, does not amount to knowledge , whether of ethics or of the minds that think about them. It seems to me that they cannot, and we ought to take this very seriously.

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• Volume 23, Issue 66
• Yasemin J. Erden (a1)
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1477175623000398

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More From Forbes

How not to write your college essay.

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If you are looking for the “secret formula” for writing a “winning” college essay, you have come to the wrong place. The reality is there is no silver bullet or strategy to write your way to an acceptance. There is not one topic or approach that will guarantee a favorable outcome.

At the end of the day, every admission office just wants to know more about you, what you value, and what excites you. They want to hear about your experiences through your own words and in your own voice. As you set out to write your essay, you will no doubt get input (both sought-after and unsolicited) on what to write. But how about what NOT Notcoin to write? There are avoidable blunders that applicants frequently make in drafting their essays. I asked college admission leaders, who have read thousands of submissions, to share their thoughts.

Don’t Go In There

There is wide consensus on this first one, so before you call on your Jedi mind tricks or predictive analytics, listen to the voices of a diverse range of admission deans. Peter Hagan, executive director of admissions at Syracuse University, sums it up best, saying, “I would recommend that students try not to get inside of our heads. He adds, “Too often the focus is on what they think we want.”

Andy Strickler, dean of admission and financial aid at Connecticut College agrees, warning, “Do NOT get caught in the trap of trying to figure out what is going to impress the admission committee. You have NO idea who is going to read your essay and what is going to connect with them. So, don't try to guess that.” Victoria Romero, vice president for enrollment, at Scripps College adds, “Do not write about something you don’t care about.” She says, “I think students try to figure out what an admission officer wants to read, and the reality is the reader begins every next essay with no expectations about the content THEY want to read.” Chrystal Russell, dean of admission at Hampden-Sydney College, agrees, saying, “If you're not interested in writing it, we will not be interested when reading it.” Jay Jacobs, vice provost for enrollment management at the University of Vermont elaborates, advising. “Don’t try to make yourself sound any different than you are.” He says, “The number one goal for admission officers is to better understand the applicant, what they like to do, what they want to do, where they spend the majority of their time, and what makes them tick. If a student stays genuine to that, it will shine through and make an engaging and successful essay.”

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Don’t Be Artificial

The headlines about college admission are dominated by stories about artificial intelligence and the college essay. Let’s set some ground rules–to allow ChatGPT or some other tool to do your work is not only unethical, it is also unintelligent. The only worse mistake you could make is to let another human write your essay for you. Instead of preoccupying yourself with whether or not colleges are using AI detection software (most are not), spend your time focused on how best to express yourself authentically. Rick Clark is the executive director of strategic student success at Georgia Institute of Technology, one of the first institutions to clearly outline their AI policy for applicants. He says, “Much of a college application is devoted to lines, boxes, and numbers. Essays and supplements are the one place to establish connection, personality, and distinction. AI, in its current state, is terrible at all three.” He adds, “My hope is that students will use ChatGPT or other tools for brainstorming and to get started, but then move quickly into crafting an essay that will provide insight and value.”

Don’t Overdo It

Michael Stefanowicz, vice president for enrollment management at Landmark College says, “You can only cover so much detail about yourself in an admission essay, and a lot of students feel pressure to tell their life story or choose their most defining experience to date as an essay topic. Admission professionals know that you’re sharing just one part of your lived experience in the essay.” He adds, “Some of the favorite essays I’ve read have been episodic, reflecting on the way you’ve found meaning in a seemingly ordinary experience, advice you’ve lived out, a mistake you’ve learned from, or a special tradition in your life.” Gary Ross, vice president for admission and financial aid at Colgate University adds, “More than a few applicants each year craft essays that talk about the frustration and struggles they have experienced in identifying a topic for their college application essay. Presenting your college application essay as a smorgasbord of topics that ultimately landed on the cutting room floor does not give us much insight into an applicant.”

Don’t Believe In Magic

Jason Nevinger, senior director of admission at the University of Rochester warns, “Be skeptical of anyone or any company telling you, ‘This is the essay that got me into _____.’ There is no magic topic, approach, sentence structure, or prose that got any student into any institution ever.” Social media is littered with advertisements promising strategic essay help. Don’t waste your time, energy, or money trying to emulate a certain style, topic, or tone. Liz Cheron is chief executive officer for the Coalition for College and former assistant vice president of enrollment & dean of admissions at Northeastern University. She agrees with Nevinger, saying “Don't put pressure on yourself to find the perfect, slam dunk topic. The vast majority of college essays do exactly what they're supposed to do–they are well-written and tell the admission officer more about the student in that student's voice–and that can take many different forms.”

Don’t Over Recycle

Beatrice Atkinson-Myers, associate director of global recruitment at the University of California at Santa Cruz tells students, “Do not use the same response for each university; research and craft your essay to match the program at the university you are interested in studying. Don't waste time telling me things I can read elsewhere in your application. Use your essay to give the admissions officer insights into your motivations, interests, and thinking. Don't make your essay the kitchen sink, focus on one or two examples which demonstrate your depth and creativity.” Her UC colleague, Jim Rawlins, associate vice chancellor of enrollment management at the University of California at San Diego agrees, saying “Answer the question. Not doing so is the surest way we can tell you are simply giving us a snippet of something you actually wrote for a different purpose.”

Don’t Overedit

Emily Roper-Doten, vice president for undergraduate admissions and financial assistance at Clark University warns against “Too many editors!” She says, “Pick a couple of trusted folks to be your sounding board when considering topics and as readers once you have drafts. You don’t want too many voices in your essay to drown you out!” Scripps’ Romero agrees, suggesting, “Ask a good friend, someone you trust and knows you well, to read your essays.” She adds, “The goal is for the admission committee to get to know a little about you and who better to help you create that framework, than a good friend. This may not work for all students because of content but helps them understand it’s important to be themselves.” Whitney Soule, vice provost and dean of admissions at The University of Pennsylvania adds, “Avoid well-meaning editorial interference that might seem to polish your writing but actually takes your own personal ‘shine’ right out of the message.” She says, “As readers, we connect to applicants through their genuine tone and style. Considering editorial advice for flow and message is OK but hold on to the 'you' for what you want to say and how you want to say it.”

Don’t Get Showy

Palmer Muntz, senior regional admissions counselor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks cautions applicants, “Don’t be fancier than you are. You don’t need to put on airs.” He adds, “Yes, proofread your work for grammar and spelling, but be natural. Craft something you’d want to read yourself, which probably means keeping your paragraphs short, using familiar words, and writing in an active voice.” Connecticut College’s Strickler agrees, warning, “Don't try to be someone you are not. If you are not funny, don't try to write a funny essay. If you are not an intellectual, trying to write an intellectual essay is a bad idea.”

Anthony Jones, the vice president of enrollment management at Loyola University New Orleans offers a unique metaphor for thinking about the essay. He says, “In the new world of the hyper-fast college admission process, it's become easy to overlook the essential meaning of the college application. It's meant to reveal Y...O...U, the real you, not some phony digital avatar. Think of the essay as the essence of that voice but in analog. Like the completeness and authenticity captured in a vinyl record, the few lines you're given to explain your view should be a slow walk through unrestrained expression chock full of unapologetic nuances, crevices of emotion, and exactness about how you feel in the moment. Then, and only then, can you give the admissions officer an experience that makes them want to tune in and listen for more.”

Don’t Be A Downer

James Nondorf, vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid at The University of Chicago says, “Don’t be negative about other people, be appreciative of those who have supported you, and be excited about who you are and what you will bring to our campus!” He adds, “While admissions offices want smart students for our classrooms, we also want kind-hearted, caring, and joyous students who will add to our campus communities too.”

Don’t Pattern Match

Alan Ramirez is the dean of admission and financial aid at Sewanee, The University of the South. He explains, “A big concern I have is when students find themselves comparing their writing to other students or past applicants and transform their writing to be more like those individuals as a way to better their chances of offering a more-compelling essay.” He emphasizes that the result is that the “essay is no longer authentic nor the best representation of themselves and the whole point of the essay is lost. Their distinctive voice and viewpoint contribute to the range of voices in the incoming class, enhancing the diversity of perspectives we aim to achieve.” Ramirez simple tells students, “Be yourself, that’s what we want to see, plus there's no one else who can do it better than you!”

Don’t Feel Tied To A Topic

Jessica Ricker is the vice president for enrollment and dean of admissions and financial aid at Skidmore College. She says, “Sometimes students feel they must tell a story of grief or hardship, and then end up reliving that during the essay-writing process in ways that are emotionally detrimental. I encourage students to choose a topic they can reflect upon positively but recommend that if they choose a more challenging experience to write about, they avoid belaboring the details and instead focus on the outcome of that journey.” She adds, "They simply need to name it, frame its impact, and then help us as the reader understand how it has shaped their lens on life and their approach moving forward.”

Landmark College’s Stefanowicz adds, “A lot of students worry about how personal to get in sharing a part of their identity like your race or heritage (recalling last year’s Supreme Court case about race-conscious admissions), a learning difference or other disability, your religious values, LGBTQ identity…the list goes on.” He emphasizes, “This is always your choice, and your essay doesn’t have to be about a defining identity. But I encourage you to be fully yourself as you present yourself to colleges—because the college admission process is about finding a school where your whole self is welcome and you find a setting to flourish!”

Don’t Be Redundant

Hillen Grason Jr., dean of admission at Franklin & Marshall College, advises, “Don't repeat academic or co-curricular information that is easily identifiable within other parts of your application unless the topic is a core tenant of you as an individual.” He adds, “Use your essay, and other parts of your application, wisely. Your essay is the best way to convey who your authentic self is to the schools you apply. If you navigated a situation that led to a dip in your grades or co-curricular involvement, leverage the ‘additional information’ section of the application.

Thomas Marr is a regional manager of admissions for the Americas at The University of St Andrews in Scotland and points out that “Not all international schools use the main college essay as part of their assessment when reviewing student applications.” He says, “At the University of St Andrews, we focus on the supplemental essay and students should avoid the mistake of making the supplemental a repeat of their other essay. The supplemental (called the Personal Statement if using the UCAS application process) is to show the extent of their passion and enthusiasm for the subject/s to which they are applying and we expect about 75% of the content to cover this. They can use the remaining space to mention their interests outside of the classroom. Some students confuse passion for the school with passion for their subject; do not fall into that trap.”

A Few Final Don’ts

Don’t delay. Every college applicant I have ever worked with has wished they had started earlier. You can best avoid the pitfalls above if you give yourself the time and space to write a thoughtful essay and welcome feedback openly but cautiously. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to be perfect . Do your best, share your voice, and stay true to who you are.

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Presidential debate live updates: the Biden-Trump faceoff is over, but the wider debate is just beginning

This live blog is no longer being updated. The NPR Politics Podcast will be out with a new episode overnight. For more post-debate updates and analysis on Friday morning, check back on NPR.org, tune into NPR’s Morning Edition and subscribe to NPR’s Up First and Politics newsletters . 

Trump and Biden faced off in the first presidential debate of the 2024 election with new rules, high stakes and no live audience. The candidates traded insults, went down tangents and argued about golf .

Both candidates had shaky moments — Trump repeatedly dodged committing to accepting the election results , while Biden’s raspy voice and sometimes rambling answers likely did little to assuage critics’ concerns about his age.

• Immigration , the economy and foreign policy dominated the 90-minute debate. Other key topics, like abortion , young voters and climate change , got much less airtime.
• Interruptions were relatively few, thanks to the new rules around muting candidates’ mics . But moderators did little to fact check or follow up on what was said. 
• The insults got personal: Each candidate called the other the worst president in history. Trump insulted Biden’s cognitive abilities and golf game, while Biden went after his weight and appearance. 
• Trump’s campaign immediately declared victory , while the Biden campaign focused on substance over style. Biden himself gave a more upbeat report at a campaign event right after the debate. 
• The first debate may be over, but the political calendar is still chock-full for the summer .

The live blog is closing down, but NPR's coverage will continue bright and early

By Rachel Treisman

This live blog is wrapping up, but we'll have plenty more post-debate coverage and analysis for you early birds in the hours ahead — from a new overnight episode of the NPR Politics Podcast to Morning Edition to takeaways on NPR.org

Thanks for sticking with us, and see you back here soon!

NPR Special Coverage: Abortion a miss for both candidates

By Clayton Kincade

The issue of abortion was expected to be a big win of the night for President Biden, but neither candidate made cohesive arguments about their policy stances. NPR’s Steve Inskeep said that this portion of the debate was hard to follow, as each candidate failed to push forward their views in an appropriate manner.

NPR’s Elissa Nadworny said that Biden looked "uncomfortable” when talking about abortion, mentioning his stumbles when Trump asked him about his stance on late-term abortions. Nadworny attributed this fault to the fact that the issue has been more closely tied to Vice President Kamala Harris during his presidency, who has frequently spoken on the issue in recent months.

NPR’s Deepa Shivaram also noted that Biden did not mention Trump's relation to Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization , which overturned Roe v. Wade . Trump has campaigned on the Dobbs decision during this election cycle and takes credit for appointing three conservative-leaning justices to the court.

On the other hand, Trump repeated false claims about abortion and seemed hesitant to tie himself to the current Supreme Court.

Trump claimed that doctors have adopted the widespread practice of executing babies born alive after a failed abortion, but Nadworny said that it has only happened 143 times in 12 years, according to CDC data.

NPR Special Coverage: One of Biden's biggest vulnerabilities on full display — his age

By Jeongyoon Han

While Biden seemed to gain more energy throughout the course of the debate, one of Biden's biggest weaknesses with voters — his age — did not do him any favors tonight.

"He wasn't able to parry the attacks from former President Trump in the way that he would want to, wasn't able to deliver the attacks back on him to be able to pivot," NPR's Domenico Montanaro told host Steve Inskeep.

"There have to be a lot of Democrats wondering what it would be like to have a different candidate on that stage," Montanaro said.

White House correspondent Deepa Shivaram added that Biden's performance tonight stood in stark contrast to his State of the Union delivery.

"That's not really the Biden we saw tonight," Shivaram said.

Shivaram noted Biden was slower to respond to Trump and missed key opportunities to go on the offensive.

"He didn't really have the bandwidth to respond on the issues that he really needed to hammer home," she added, including on abortion, the economy, and democracy.

Biden gives supporters an upbeat recap after the debate

By Barbara Sprunt

Tamara Keith

Immediately after the debate, Biden made a stop at a nearby hotel ballroom where a few hundred supporters had watched his performance.

Entering the room to chants of “four more years,” Biden — more energetic than he had been on the debate stage — gave brief remarks.

"Look, folks: what's going to happen over the next couple of days is they're going to be out there fact-checking all the things he said. I can't think of one thing he said that was true," he said, referring to Trump.

"We're going to beat this guy. We need to beat this guy," he said.

Biden campaign focuses on substance of debate, sidestepping the performance problems

By Tamara Keith

After the debate, the Biden campaign didn't send out a statement instantly declaring victory, as Trump's did.

Given Biden’s cold-weakened voice, stumbles and at-times halting answers, the Biden campaign emphasized substance rather than style.

The campaign pointed to the fact that Trump refused to say he would accept the election results if he loses, his January 6th denialism and his promise of retribution for his political enemies.

“Trump’s performance tonight reminded the American people why they fired him four years ago, and reinforced just how high the stakes are this November for the future of our country,” said top campaign adviser Jen O’Malley Dillon.

But none of that stopped a full-fledged freak-out from Democrats who had been hoping to see a better performance from the president.

Speaking on CNN, Kate Bedingfield, a long-time Biden aide now working for the network, described Biden’s debate performance as “disappointing.”

“His biggest issue was to prove to the American people that he had the energy, the stamina — and he didn’t do that,” said Bedingfield.

But another Biden campaign official posted that despite it all, the president was having a record fundraising day.

Twitter: Doing twitter stuff. Biden supporters: Doing the work, powering us to our best grassroots fundraising day of the cycle by far. — Rob Flaherty (@Rob_Flaherty) June 28, 2024

Missing from the debate? A mention of young voters

By Elena Moore

President Biden has been struggling in the polls with younger voters — a key group that overwhelmingly backed him four years ago and one he is counting on again this year.

The president did not directly address young voters during the debate. However, he did mention his newly unveiled Climate Corps jobs and training program — which plans to offer thousands of climate and conservation jobs for young Americans.

Former President Donald Trump also did not address young Americans — but his campaign is not relying on massive youth support in the same way, given that younger voters typically vote for Democrats.

Trump's campaign is already declaring victory

Moments after the debate wrapped, the Trump campaign sent an email to supporters touting his "historic debate victory."

Co-campaign managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said Trump delivered "the greatest debate performance and victory in history to the largest voter audience in history, making clear exactly how he will improve the lives of every American."

In contrast, they said, Biden "showed exactly why he deserves to be fired."

"Despite taking a week-long vacation at Camp David to prepare for the debate, Biden was unable to defend his disastrous record on the economy and the border," they added, accusing him of lying, inventing stories and not articulating "a single plan to make things less expensive and keep our people safe."

The debate had shaky moments for both candidates. Trump made outsized claims and again refused to commit to accepting the election results regardless of the winner, while Biden's visible stumbles likely did little to assuage critics' concerns about his age and mental fitness.

There's a lot on the political calendar before the next debate. See key dates here

Trump will likely announce his pick for vice president in the coming weeks. There will also be a vice presidential debate this summer. The date has not been finalized, but Vice President Harris agreed to one held either July 23 or Aug. 13.

On the legal front, Trump will appear for sentencing in his criminal trial on July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention, which begins on July 15 in Milwaukee. A month later, the Democratic National Convention will kick off on Aug. 19 in Chicago.

Trump and Biden will debate a second time on Sept. 10.

Fact check on addiction and the opioid crisis

By Brian Mann

CNN's Jake Tapper asked both candidates about the addiction and overdose crisis that worsened under the Trump and Biden administrations. More than 100,000 people in the U.S. are dying every year of drug overdoses.

“We were doing very well on addiction until the COVID came along,” Trump said during the debate. “We had two and a half, almost three years of like nobody’s ever had before any country in every way.”

In fact, drug deaths rose during the first two years of Trump’s term, declined slightly and then surged again during COVID.

The increase in fatal overdoses accelerated sharply during Biden’s first term. Public health experts blame the rise on the pandemic and on the spread of street fentanyl.

Biden answered the question by arguing that a bipartisan border deal opposed by Trump would have paid for better security and new high-tech surveillance equipment designed to detect smuggled fentanyl.

“I want to make sure we use the machinery that can detect fentanyl,” Biden said. “We need those machines.”

Critics have been skeptical of Biden’s border plan, saying it’s unlikely that it would significantly slow fentanyl trafficking into the U.S.

Debate moderators let whoppers and insults fly

At the start of the debate, CNN's Jake Tapper described how he and co-moderator Dana Bash would be approaching their roles: “Our job is to facilitate a debate between the two candidates tonight,” he said.

Throughout the debate, Bash and Tapper mainly opted not to follow up or fact-check, sticking to the allotted times and often moving on to another topic. Biden struggled with this format, while Trump often filled his speaking time with wide-ranging comments and accusations that were unrelated to the question he had been asked.

Whoppers and insults were often followed with a pause of the mics being cut and a “thank you, next question.”

Finally, 90 minutes into the debate, Bash followed up three times when Trump failed to answer a question about whether he would accept the results of the election in November, something he refused to do four years ago. Trump never did fully commit to accepting the 2024 election results.

Heading into the debate, CNN political director David Chalian told AP that fact-checking wasn’t the role of the moderators.

“They are not here to participate in this debate,” Chalian said. “They are here to facilitate a debate between Trump and Biden.”

The debate is done, but NPR's coverage is not

The debate is over, after much anticipation and 90 minutes of back and forth.

But our coverage is still going strong. Tune into NPR — online, on your local station or on the NPR app — for analysis from our political reporters until 11 p.m. ET. Click here to listen .

Trump says he'd be enjoying himself if Biden 'was a great president'

Towards the end of the debate, Trump suggested multiple times that he didn't necessarily want to be onstage — or in the presidential race at all.

Instead of answering the first (of three) questions about whether he would accept the election results regardless of the winner, Trump at one point returned to the topic of Biden.

"I'll tell you something, I wish he was a great president, because I wouldn't be here right now," he said. "I'd be at one of my many places, enjoying myself. I wouldn't be under indictment because I wouldn't have been his political ... opponent, because he indicted me, because I was his opponent."

He continued along those lines, adding at one point, "I would rather have that I wouldn't be here. I don't mind being here. The only reason I'm here is he's so bad at president."

Several minutes later, Trump — still dodging the election question — doubled down on that point.

"I wasn't really going to run until I saw the horrible job he did. He's destroying our country," he said. "I would be very happy to be someplace else, in a nice location."

Debate briefly derailed by golf as candidates spar over age

Age is one of the biggest issues in this campaign, with the oldest-ever president (Biden, 81) squaring off against the second-oldest (Trump, 78.)

Asked about his age, Trump bragged that he passed two cognitive tests and had recently won golf tournaments.

"To do that, you have to be quite smart, and you have to be able to hit the ball a long way," he said. Trump claimed that Biden "can't hit a ball 50 yards."

Biden quickly replied, "Take a look at what he is," a dig at Trump's weight and appearance.

Biden said he'd be willing to play golf against Trump, and bragged about the impressive golf handicap he had when he was vice president.

"I'd be happy to have a driving contest with him," Biden said.

Trump avoids committing to accepting the election results

Addressing one of voters' primary concerns about Trump, Bash asked him to pledge tonight "that once all legal challenges have been exhausted, that you will accept the results of this election, regardless of who wins, and you will say right now that political violence in any form is unacceptable?"

Trump didn't exactly do so.

"Well, I shouldn't have to say that," he said. "But of course, I believe that it's totally unacceptable. And if you would see my statements that I made on Twitter at the time, and also my statement that I made in the Rose Garden, you would say it's one of the strongest statements you've ever seen, in addition to the speech I made in front of, I believe, the largest crowd I've ever spoken to."

Trump then went on a tangent about Jan. 6 and foreign policy, before Bash returned with a follow up: Would he accept the election results regardless of the winner?

"Just to finish what I said, If I might, Russia, they took a lot of land from Bush," Trump answered. "They took a lot of land from Obama and Biden. They took no land, nothing from Trump, nothing."

Bash tried a third time: "The question was, will you accept the results of the election, regardless of who wins? Yes or No."

Trump answered with remarks similar to those he made on the debate stage in 2020 — before he was charged with working to overturn the election results and trying to stop the peaceful transfer of power.

"If it's a fair and legal and good election, absolutely," he said. "I would have much rather accepted these, but the fraud and everything else was ridiculous, and if you want, we'll have a news conference on it in a week, or we'll have another one of these on in a week. But I will absolutely, there's nothing I'd rather do."

What will the candidates do to slow the climate crisis?

By Ximena Bustillo

Neither candidate had direct answers to how they plan to slow the climate crisis in their second terms.

Trump boasted having the “best environmental numbers ever,” after at first avoiding the question. But Trump has a history of casting doubt on the scientific consensus that burning fossil fuels is the main cause of climate change.

“I want absolutely immaculate clean water, and I want absolutely clean air. And we had it,” Trump said. Still, Trump has campaigned on the promise to “drill, baby, drill” and ending various energy efficiency and rescinding foreign and domestic climate policies .

Biden used the question to boast about passing the “most extensive climate change legislation in history,” referencing the Inflation Reduction Act — which Trump and various Republicans have vowed to repeal — and criticizing Trump for pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord, a decision Trump still stands by.

Biden directly addresses concerns about his age

When asked about voters' concerns about his age, Biden — who would be 86 at the end of his second term — said he spent half his career as the "youngest person in politics."

Biden was 29 when he was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972, making him the seventh-youngest person ever elected to be senator. "Now I'm the oldest," Biden said.

"This guy's three years younger and a lot less competent," Biden added.

One more commercial break and then it's almost over

We're now in the final commercial break, with minutes left in the debate.

Trump denies his Charlottesville, Va., comments 

About 40 minutes into the debate, Biden reiterated that he decided to run for president in 2020 in part because of former Trump’s response to the deadly violence at the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville.

Trump said at the time that there were “very fine people on both sides,” and Biden has likened that comment to Trump siding with white supremacists.

"What American president would ever say, Nazis coming out of fields, carrying torches, singing the same antisemitic bile, carrying swastikas, are fine people?" Biden said during the debate.

Trump, in response, argued that Biden "made up the Charlottesville story.”

Though Trump did not link the “fine people” to white supremacists, he did, in fact, say the statement.

Below is a quote from Trump’s press conference after the rally and subsequent violence between demonstrators and counter-protesters.

TRUMP: You had some very bad people in that group. But you also had people that were very fine people on both sides. You had people in that group, excuse me, excuse me, I saw the same pictures as you did. You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down of, to them, a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park, from Robert E. Lee to another name.

Trump attacks Biden for not 'draining the swamp'

Trump claimed that Biden has not fired “enough” people as president, bragging about his own layered history of firing senior officials while as president.

Trump is notorious for running on the catchphrase of “draining the swamp” in 2016, which refers to the idea that Washington is inherently corrupt . Trump fired many officials during his time as president, such as terminating former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and former Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, who served on the National Security Council.

Trump also said that Biden “hasn’t fired anybody,” which is false. Biden fired former Architect of the Capitol J. Brett Blanton after bipartisan criticism that Blanton wasted taxpayer money, among other complaints.

Who are you calling the worst president in history?

Each candidate has now called the other "the worst president in history."

Trump has made the claim twice, both in the context of Biden's stance on immigration. Biden fired back later, saying "159 presidential scholars voted him the worst president in the history of United States of America."

He was mostly right, off by just a few numbers: As NPR reported back in February , 154 historians and presidential experts ranked Trump dead last of all U.S. presidents.

The 2024 edition of the Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey has Biden in 14th place, just ahead of Woodrow Wilson and Ronald Reagan. Trump comes in 45th, behind fellow impeachee Andrew Johnson and James Buchanan, the perennial cellar-dweller in such ratings due to his pre-Civil War leadership.

Biden doubled down later, though he said "don't hold me to the exact number."

"They've had meetings, and they voted who was the worst president in American history," he added. "They said he was the worst in all of American history. That's a fact. That's not conjecture."

Trump shot back that "we have other things that they rate him the worst, because what he's done is so bad." Despite his muted mic, Biden can be seen — and heard slightly on Trump's mic — saying "show me."

Trump continued on that he was actually rated "one of the best," and said "if I'm given another four years, I will be the best."

Trump namedrops one VP contender: Tim Scott

While the moderators asked Trump what he would do about climate change, Trump pivoted back to the topic of Black voters and criminal justice to respond to Biden's answer on Black Americans.

In answering the question, Trump commended South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott for implementing opportunity zones in the state as an economic development initiative.

"Tim Scott was incredible. He did a great job. Great senator from South Carolina," Trump said of Scott.

Scott ran for the 2024 Republican nomination before dropping out in January. In recent weeks, he was one of eight people Trump requested financial documents from as he decides who his running mate will be. Scott has ardently supported Trump in his bid for the presidency and made numerous TV appearances to defend Trump's record.

Trump's criminal conviction and alleged affair

Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts — but he still says he did nothing wrong.

In May, Trump became the first former or sitting president to both be tried on criminal charges and to be found guilty. A 12-person New York jury convicted Trump of 34 counts of falsified business records.

Still, Trump has long argued without evidence that the trial, the prosecution and the verdict was politically motivated against him.

“We have a system that was rigged and disgusting. I did nothing wrong,” Trump said during the CNN presidential debate.

In a letter to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the Justice Department said it found no emails about the Trump probe between Justice Department leadership and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office who prosecuted him. The letter underscored that the District Attorney’s office is a separate entity from the DOJ.

Biden argued that Trump has also received multiple civil penalties — citing other New York trials Trump has been found liable in. These included when Trump was found liable of sexually assaulting columnist E. Jean Carroll. Biden also accused Trump of having the “morals of an alley cat” for allegedly having an affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Trump denied the alleged affair, which was at the center of the criminal conviction. The falsified business records were the invoices, ledgers and checks used to pay his former lawyer Michael Cohen for originally paying Daniels to keep quiet about the alleged affair as Trump ran for president in 2016.

Here's what recent polling shows about Black voters' preferences

When asked about the climate crisis, Trump swiftly pivoted to other topics: police, criminal justice and Black voter support.

He said he has "the best numbers with them in maybe ever," based on his work in criminal justice and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. And he said the opposite of Biden: "He's lost much of the Black population because he's done a horrible job for Black people."

Black voters were critical to Biden's win in 2020. He has intensified his push to court them in recent months, with signs that support from people of color may be dropping this time around.

A Pew Research Center survey released last month shows early signs of where Black voters stand:

Black voters remain largely aligned with the Democratic Party (83% identify with or lean to the Democrats), and 77% of Black registered voters say they would prefer to vote for Biden over Trump in 2024.

Black voters are simultaneously critical of Trump, with 72% believing he was a poor or terrible president.

Even so, 49% of Black voters ay they would replace both Biden and Trump with different candidates if they had the ability to decide, which Pew notes is similar to the share of all voters who say this.

No, the Southwest border is not open

By Sergio Martínez-Beltrán

Trump has accused Biden of opening the U.S. borders to unauthorized migrants.

“He decided to open up our border, open up our country,” Trump said tonight.

While it is true that under President Biden unauthorized crossings hit an all-time high and, at times, the number of migrants overwhelmed certain border communities, the border is not open.

In fact, the border is arguably more reinforced than ever.

The federal government has added more sections of the U.S. Southern border walls, and there have been more military operations at the border. Biden has also severely restricted asylum claims between ports of entry, blocking most unauthorized migrants from attaining asylum.

The administration has also increased the number of expedited removals.

Biden has tried to work with Congress to overhaul the immigration system, but a majority of Republican lawmakers have not advanced the proposals.

And now back to the action

The first of two commercial breaks has ended. Over the next 30+ minutes we're expecting more questions, answers and closing statements.

It's time for a commercial break

We're now in a commercial break, the first of two planned for the evening. It's not clear when the next one will be, but the debate is slated to end at 10:30 p.m. EST.

Some of the topics covered so far include the economy, immigration, abortion and democracy. Stay tuned for more.

Biden asks Trump to disavow the Proud Boys, again

While talking about democracy and Jan. 6, Biden asked Trump point blank to denounce the Proud Boys — in a flashback to their first presidential debate in 2020 .

At that debate, moderator Chris Wallace asked whether Trump would denounce white supremacists, and Trump asked for a name. Both Wallace and Biden suggested the Proud Boys.

“Proud Boys, stand back and stand by,” Trump said, in what sounded more like a call to action, and quickly became part of the far-right extremist group’s new social media logo .

Biden recalled that moment onstage tonight, as Trump visibly rolled his eyes. Then Biden addressed him directly.

"Will you denounce these guys?" he asked, a few times.

Trump seemed momentarily at a loss for words. The moderators jumped in to change the subject, asking Trump instead about comments he made recently about going after his political opponents.

Trump falsely accuses Biden of orchestrating his prosecutions

By Shannon Bond

Asked about Trump supporters’ attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump accused Biden of weaponizing the government to persecute a political opponent.

Trump and his supporters have repeatedly accused Biden of orchestrating his prosecutions.

That includes the false claim that the president was behind Trump’s historic conviction in New York on 34 counts of falsifying business records to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. That case was brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is an official of New York state, not the federal government .

Biden and Trump spar over 'suckers and losers' comment

Biden used a recent trip he made to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France to call Trump a loser.

More than 2,200 Marines who died in the World War I battle at Bellau Wood in France are buried at Aisne-Marne. Trump was supposed to visit the cemetery in 2018, but bailed on the stop when rain prevented him from taking Marine One.

The White House at the time explained that it would have taken too long to motorcade. But it was later reported in the Atlantic and confirmed on the record by Trump’s then chief of staff that he didn’t want to go and described the war dead as “suckers” and “losers.”

Biden recounted this, landing the line: “You're the sucker. You're the loser.” Loser is an insult Biden has increasingly hurled at Trump. Trump said it was a “made up quote” published in a “third rate magazine that’s failing.”

Trump says he'll end the Russia-Ukraine war before he even takes office

Trump, like many Republicans , expressed discontent with how much money the U.S. is spending to support Ukraine defending itself against Russia.

Then he went a step further, saying he would be able to end the war himself.

"I will have that war settled between Putin and Zelenskyy as president-elect before I take office on January 20," Trump said. "I'll have that war settled. People being killed so needlessly, so stupidly, and I will get it settled. And I'll get it settled fast before I take office."

Trump has said before that he would end the conflict, but has not elaborated because, as he's put it, he doesn't want to reveal his hand before negotiations.

Trump blames Biden for enabling foreign wars, which Biden calls 'malarkey'

Trump blamed Biden for the wars in Europe and the Middle East, saying the U.S.' chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 encouraged Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade Russia.

Thirteen U.S. service members and roughly 170 Afghan civilians were killed in the withdrawal, widely considered a low point in Biden's presidency. It was planned and announced by Trump before he left office, and the Biden administration officially blames the " conditions created by [Biden's] predecessor " for how it went.

Trump continued laying into Biden, at one point saying "the whole world is blowing up under him."

"The difference is he never would have invaded Ukraine, never, just like Israel would have never been invaded in a million years by Hamas," Trump said.

Biden, in response, said "I've never heard so much malarkey in my whole life."

Unauthorized crossings hit all-time high under Biden tenure. The numbers have also gone down

Immigration has been a big point of debate tonight for Trump and Biden.

Under President Biden’s tenure, unauthorized crossing hit a record-high. But over the last few months, Biden has implemented a handful of policies aimed at reducing the number of crossings, and asylum claims, at the Southern border.

One June 4, Biden severely restricted asylum, making it really difficult for migrants to successfully claim fear of persecution if turned back to their home countries.

The Biden administration has said that since the policy went into effect, there has been a 40% decrease in unauthorized crossings . But that’s not surprising — historically, these policies deter migrants for a short period of time. Eventually the numbers tend to go up.

Why Biden's voice is so raspy

President Biden’s voice is noticeably hoarse in tonight’s debate — the result of a cold, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

But a raspy voice is something that has vexed Biden throughout his presidency, particularly at the beginning of remarks, when he often has to clear his throat multiple times.

During his first year in office, Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor did an extensive work-up of what he described as the “increasing frequency and severity of ‘throat clearing’ and coughing during speaking engagements.”

He concluded , in consultation with multiple specialists, that the throat clearing was caused by gastrointestinal reflux.

Trump accuses Biden of opening the Southern border to migrants who commit crimes. Data shows otherwise

Throughout his reelection campaign, Trump has said that Biden has allowed criminals to come into the U.S. without authorization.

“They are killing our citizens at a level that we’ve never seen before,” Trump said tonight.

Republicans have been saying the same, particularly after two Venezuelan immigrants were charged with capital murder for killing a 12-year-old girl.

But data from Northwestern University shows immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than U.S. born people .

The muted mics were a big question heading into the debate. They seem to be working

We're more than 30 minutes into the debate, and both Trump and Biden's mics were muted at least once. Both have visibly talked over their allotted without being heard by the viewing public.

How immigration helps grow the economy

By Scott Horsley

Increased immigration – both legal and illegal – has helped to grow the labor force in recent years, allowing employers to keep adding jobs at a rapid clip without putting too much upward pressure on prices.

Over the last 12 months, for example, the foreign-born workforce has grown by 740,000 while the native-born workforce added just 134,000 people.

Trump jumps from topic to topic in answering question about the economy

Trump delivered an assortment of statements on several issues to the singular question, "Why does Trump believe top earners and corporations should pay even less in taxes than they do now?"

In answering the original question, Trump stated that tax cuts he implemented boosted the economy. But then he pivoted, stating that Biden implemented a COVID-19 vaccine mandate that was highly unpopular. He also alleged that Biden was bringing "illegal immigrants" into the country and that Biden has been weaponizing the electoral process to his own political benefit.

Medication abortions more than half of all abortions in U.S.

By Elissa Nadworny

Medication abortions make up more than half of all abortions in the U.S. Telehealth, where people can get abortion pills by mail, is a big factor in the fact that the number of abortions in the US has gone up nationwide , despite many state bans.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court tossed out a challenge to the FDA’s rules for prescribing and dispensing abortion pills .

But lawyers who brought that case say they're working on strategies to bring additional legal challenges.

Biden appears to lose his train of thought

Early in the debate, Biden appeared to lose his train of thought while answering a question about tax cuts.

He accused Trump of implementing tax cuts to benefit the wealthy, and pledged he would fix the tax system by making them pay more. Then he stumbled, paused and trailed off.

"We'd be able to help make sure that all those things we need to do, child care, elder care, making sure that we continue to strengthen our health care system, making sure that we're able to make every single solitary person eligible for what I've been able to do with the COVID, excuse me, with dealing with everything we have to do with look, if we finally beat Medicare," he said.

Critics have often held up Biden's public pauses and gaffes to argue that the 81-year-old is too old for the job. His performance tonight is being closely watched by those eager to jump on his stumbles.

Fact-checking Trump's abortion claims

Trump has accused doctors of executing babies who are born alive after a failed abortion attempt many times.

Federal data suggests that very few U.S. babies are born alive as a result of a failed abortion. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 143 deaths during a 12 year period ending in 2014 involving infants born alive during attempted abortions.

The majority of abortions in the U.S. happen in the first trimester (first 12 weeks of pregnancy). Only about 1.3% take place after 21 weeks, according to the CDC , and many are not viable or may endanger the mother.

Here's how long each candidate has to answer questions

Each candidate has two minutes to answer a question, plus one minute for responses and rebuttals. They may also get an additional minute for clarifications, at the discretion of the moderators.

At the end, each will have two minutes for closing statements. Trump will go last, as determined by a coin flip ahead of time — Biden won and chose his podium placement instead (on the right-hand side) of the viewers.

Biden and Trump disagree about extending 2017 tax cuts

According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center , more than half the savings from the 2017 tax cut went to the top 10% of earners, and more than a quarter went to the top 1%.

Large parts of the 2017 tax cut are due to expire next year. Trump has proposed extending all of them, and while also calling for additional, unspecified tax cuts.

Biden has proposed extending the tax cuts for everyone making less than $400,000 a year (97% of the population) while raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy.

Under Biden, the IRS has also beefed up tax enforcement to ensure that wealthier people and businesses pay what they owe. GOP lawmakers have criticized that effort, and it would likely be reversed in a second Trump administration.

First question at the debate: inflation

The debate kicked off with a question about why prices are so high — one of voters' top concerns.

Inflation soared to a four-decade high of 9.1% in 2022, according to the consumer price index. While inflation has since fallen to 3.3%, prices are still climbing faster than most people would like.

The pandemic roiled the economy, tangling supply chains. Government spending in the U.S. under both Biden and Trump also may have contributed, putting more money in people’s pockets and enabling them to keep spending in the face of high prices.

While high prices are a source of frustration for many Americans, the average worker has more buying power today than they did before the pandemic. Since February 2020 (just before the pandemic took hold in the U.S.) consumer prices have risen 21% while average wages have risen 22%.

Many prices were depressed early in the pandemic, however, so the comparison is less flattering if you start the clock when Biden took office. Since early 2021, consumer prices have risen 19% while average wages have risen 16%. Wage gains have been outpacing price increases for the last year, so that gap should eventually close.

The federal debt has grown under both Trump and Biden

The federal debt grew substantially under both Trump and Biden. While the pandemic accounts for much of that red ink, both presidents have overseen large deficits, including periods before and after the pandemic when the economy was in good shape.

According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget , the federal debt grew by $7.2 trillion during Trump’s time in office, while another $6 trillion has been added so far on Biden’s watch.

Thanks to rising interest rates, the cost of carrying that debt has soared in recent years. This year, the government will pay an estimated $892 billion in interest on the debt – more than it spends on national defense.

Where the candidates stand on tariffs

Donald Trump raised tariffs sharply while he was in office, and he’s pledged to go further if he returns to the White House. During his first term, Trump imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, washing machines, solar panels and numerous products from China. Many trading partners retaliated, slapping tariffs of their own on U.S. exports. Farmers and manufacturers suffered as a result .

Despite the fallout, Biden has left most of the Trump tariffs in place, while adding his own, additional levies on targeted goods from China such as electric vehicles.

In a second term, Trump has proposed adding a 10% tariff on all imports, with a much higher levy on all Chinese goods. Researchers at the Peterson Institute for International Economics estimate such import taxes would cost the average family $1700 a year .

Biden and Trump are both taking credit for creating jobs. Here are the numbers

Trump had a solid record of job growth during his first three years in office, when employers added 6.6 million jobs.

Unfortunately, those gains and more were wiped out by the pandemic, which briefly drove the unemployment rate up to 14.8%.

Although employment began to rebound by the summer of 2020, there were still 2.7 million fewer jobs when Trump left office than when he entered the White House four years earlier.

The United States has continued to add jobs since then – a whopping 15.6 million jobs since Joe Biden was sworn in as president. The unemployment rate has been at or below 4% for the last two and a half years.

The debate is officially underway

The moderators are onstage, the candidates are behind the lecterns, and the debate is officially underway.

A reminder: It's set to run for 90 minutes, with two commercial breaks. We'll bring you updates and context here on this live blog, and you can also tune into your NPR station (or stream us live on the NPR app) to hear the CNN debate live, followed by analysis from NPR political reporters.

Biden mocks Trump claim that he's on performance-enhancing drugs

President Biden is poking fun at a conspiracy theory that Former President Donald Trump and his allies have been pushing ahead of the debate: that Biden is using performance-enhancing drugs.

In a post on the social media site X in the moments before the debate began, Biden posed with a can of Biden-branded water.

I don't know what they've got in these performance enhancers, but I'm feeling pretty jacked up. Try it yourselves, folks. See you in a bit: https://t.co/vD3mL9slj1 pic.twitter.com/Li4EM9mzve — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) June 28, 2024

Trump has increasingly turned to the false claim that Biden is using performance-enhancing drugs before events like this debate so that people don't realize how old he is.

A Biden campaign spokesperson said Trump was resorting to "desperate, obviously false lies" to distract from his positions on abortion rights and other issues.

The drugs line has become something of a go-to explanation anytime Biden exceeds the very low bar Trump sets for him.

“Many media outlets on the right suggested stridently that President Biden’s only chance for winning tonight's debate with Donald Trump was for his doctors to inject him with some type of magical chemical concoction that would make him peppy and vigorous,” said Howard Polskin, who monitors conservative media for his newsletter and website TheRighting .

Trump started talking about drug testing after Biden’s State of the Union address earlier this year, saying he was “high as a kite.”

But you can go even further back to September 2020 , before his debates with Biden that fall, to find Trump demanding his opponent take a drug test.

Trump also used the line against Hillary Clinton after a 2016 debate.

Debate prep: Where the candidates stand on foreign policy

When it comes to foreign policy, a lot has changed since Trump and Biden last took the debate stage — and there's a lot on the table for them to discuss tonight.

Morning Edition spoke with NPR White House correspondents Franco Ordoñez and Asma Khalid about some of the hot-button global issues that could come up tonight, and what viewers should keep in mind going into the debate.

Trump argues that the world is a more dangerous place since he was in office. He says Biden allowed Russia to attack Ukraine, and blames him for Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Trump also blames Biden for the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in August 2021, in which 13 U.S. service members and some 170 Afghan civilians were killed — even though that was a plan Trump himself put in motion.

That was also the moment when Biden's approval rating "first began to dip underwater," Khalid notes.

"I think that's worth keeping in mind because Biden really came into office as the adult in the room — the man who could provide stability, both here at home, globally, after some of the more chaotic moments under the Trump presidency," she adds.

Can Biden still make the case for himself as the adult in the room?

Biden has helped defend Ukraine — and by extension, Europe — without committing any U.S. troops on the ground, and worked to strengthen NATO and rebuild alliances in the continent that were broken under Trump.

"There's no question that Europe sees the United States as being more dependable," Ordoñez says. "That said, what Trump is saying about too much war is resonating with a lot of the American public, and that has been an effective message for him."

Biden's response to the Israel-Hamas war, in particular, has cost him some support — at least during the primary season — among people of color and young voters , who were key to his win in 2020.

Ordoñez says Trump has said in interviews he has a plan to resolve those issues quickly, but can't say what they are because that would "reveal his hand and he wouldn't be able to negotiate once he's in power."

For more context, check out these stories:

• Trump could — and wants to — shake up U.S. foreign policy even more in a second term
• Will the generational divide on support for Israel impact the presidential election?
• How 2 unexpected wars are defining Biden's presidency
• What a second Biden or Trump presidency could mean for American allies and foes

As Trump takes to the stage, his signature style may be muted

By Franco Ordoñez

When President Biden and former President Donald Trump face off Thursday , it will mark the first time a sitting president and a former president have ever debated.

The Trump campaign has been trying to frame this election as a contest between strength and weakness.

Those efforts could be undercut by a new format designed to avoid the chaos that marked their first faceoff.

Trump has given little indication that he plans to play along.

"How should I handle him?" Trump asked supporters this weekend in Philadelphia. "Should I be tough and nasty? ... Or should I be nice and calm and let him speak?"

Their first debate four years ago quickly unraveled into a mess of angry insults and personal attacks as Trump sought to bulldoze over Biden, questioning what he said.

It’s largely because of those interruptions that this debate switches up that format. There will be no audience. And host broadcaster CNN will mute microphones.

The change is largely expected to hurt Trump.

Here's why .

How Trump and Biden were greeted by their supporters in Atlanta

Biden arrived in Atlanta just after 3 p.m. As he made his way downtown, he was greeted by supporters downtown holding "Biden Harris" and " Dark Brandon " signs.

Atlanta, it’s good to be back! I met some incredible supporters who are fired up ahead of tonight’s debate. Let’s finish the job. pic.twitter.com/hGDGtuvnC8 — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) June 27, 2024

The president then entered a nearby hotel for a closed-door meeting, according to White House pool reporters.

Trump landed in Atlanta a few hours later, around 5:30 p.m. Georgia Public Broadcasting reports that he "descended the stairs alone and waved to supporters without speaking and got into his awaiting vehicle."

GPB reports that around 7 p.m., Trump supporters gathered on an overpass in Midtown Atlanta, waving flags and chanting at the cars driving below them on the interstate.

. @realDonaldTrump en route to @CNN Debate in Atlanta, Georgia… pic.twitter.com/HfxKv5B4su — Dan Scavino Jr.🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) June 27, 2024

Follow GPB's debate live blog here .

When and how to watch tonight's debate

The CNN presidential debate starts at 9 p.m. ET and will run for 90 minutes. It will be moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash at the network’s studios in Atlanta.

The debate will be available on CNN and the streaming platform Max, formerly known as HBO. Viewers without a cable login can also watch on CNN’s website .

You can follow NPR's live blog for updates during the debate and watch the livestream that CNN is making available to other media organizations. That stream will include CNN's commercials and branding; NPR.org will carry that livestream as a public service.

Plus, tune into your NPR station, our online radio player or the NPR app to catch live radio coverage of the debate starting at 9:00 p.m. ET, followed by analysis from NPR reporters.

5 big questions ahead of the debate

By Domenico Montanaro

Tonight’s debate between President Biden and former President Trump is the first major moment of the general election with only one other debate scheduled. Here are 5 questions to think about ahead of tonight’s debate:

It’s getting old to talk about Biden’s age, but will he show vigor and be on top of the job to reassure voters he is up to the job?

If you watch conservative media, Biden is often described as senile, which has lowered the bar for him at every other major public event, like State of the Union addresses. He’ll have to do it again, but Trump and conservatives have lowered the bar to the point that Biden might only need to step over it. Because of it, Trump has resorted to baselessly alleging that Biden uses performance-enhancing agents. This will likely be the largest single audience of any day in this campaign yet, so Biden having a good, energetic performance would likely do a lot to reassure his base, which he desperately needs. 

Can Trump look like he has a coherent grasp of the issues – or will he be unhinged, as he has in past debates?

Trump has said in recent days that he has been preparing his whole life and doesn’t need to hunker down for a week or two to prepare, which is what Biden has been doing. Often a president is the one who stumbles in the first debate in a reelect, but Trump also may be rusty, considering he chose not to participate in any primary debates. He’s never been a policy wonk, and his conspiracy theories, like about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, are rabbit holes that have turned off swing voters in recent elections.

What issues will the moderators focus on?

Expect inflation, abortion, foreign policy, immigration and Trump’s conduct, including his felony conviction and promise to pardon Jan. 6ers to be a major part of the debate. But what gets more time and focus? Polling shows Trump is currently trusted more on inflation, foreign policy and immigration, but Biden gets higher marks on handling abortion rights, and majorities think the investigations into Trump have been fair – despite his cries of political targeting. And how will the moderators handle fact checking? CNN has indicated it would be leaving that to the candidates.

Who will control the debate?

The moderators? Biden? Trump? Someone will affect the flow and that could show which candidate is more of the alpha. Trump has often run over moderators and candidates in past debates. Will new rules rein him in?

Who will the new rules benefit?

There won’t be a studio audience and candidates will be muted when the other candidate is talking. In theory, that should help Biden get his point across without the rampant interruptions of the 2020 debates when Biden told Trump to “shut up, man.” Or will it have an inverse effect by helping Trump look more sedate? 

Debate prep: What to know about abortion and the election

Earlier today, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of temporarily allowing abortions in medical emergencies in the state of Idaho.

The decision shines an even brighter spotlight on the issue of abortion, a key issue for many voters, especially in the two years since the Supreme Court overturned federal abortion protections.

White House correspondents Franco Ordoñez and Asma Khalid appeared on Morning Edition to talk about the candidates' positions on abortion ahead of the CNN presidential debate.

Khalid says the Biden campaign makes two central arguments.

They tie the fall of Roe v. Wade to Trump, saying he hand-picked the three Supreme Court justices who helped overturn that decision. And they argue that Trump would further restrict access to reproductive rights, like IVF and contraception.

"I was out covering Kamala Harris, the vice president, at a campaign rally in Maryland this week," Khalid adds. "She said explicitly that Donald Trump, if he gets the chance, would sign a national ban on abortion that could outlaw abortion in every single state in the country."

Trump, for his part, insists he wants to keep the issue of abortion with states.

"This is an issue that Trump does not really want to talk about," Ordoñez says. "I mean, this is an issue that's been very difficult for him and very difficult for Republicans. He knows, politically, that extremely well."

At the same time, Biden and the Democrats broadly see abortion as one of their biggest strengths. Abortion has been a winning issue for the party since 2022.

"The question here is whether Biden on the debate stage can connect himself directly to that issue," Khalid adds. "So does it mean that voters who support abortion will also come out and support the Democratic candidate for president?"

Check out these stories for more:

• 6 key facts about abortion laws and the 2024 election
• As abortion looks like a key issue in 2024, voters more divided by party than ever
• How political stances on abortion have shifted — for Biden, Trump and voters
• Trump's anti-abortion stance helped him win in 2016. Will it hurt him in 2024?
• Most Americans say criminalizing abortion is wrong — and are divided on deportation

Biden hopes to draw a contrast with Trump in 3 main areas

By Asma Khalid

President Biden has said that his aim with the debate is to draw a contrast with Donald Trump.

“Say what I think. Let him say what he thinks,” Biden told ABC News anchor David Muir in a recent interview. “Remind people what he says, and what I believe and what he believes.”

A Biden campaign official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss debate plans, said the president will be focused on drawing distinctions with Trump in three main areas of focus for his campaign:

• Abortion — the campaign has sought to  pin the blame for the loss of abortion rights  on Trump, who named conservative justices to the Supreme Court, which overturned  Roe v. Wade  two years ago.
• Democracy — Biden has argued Trump is a threat to democracy, focusing on the Jan. 6 riot of Trump supporters at the Capitol, where lawmakers were formalizing the 2020 election results.
• Economy — Biden wants to raise taxes on billionaires, and says his opponent would give tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations.

Read more here on Biden's debate prep.

Debate prep: What the economy has — and could — look like under Biden and Trump

One of the topics likely to get a lot of attention tonight is the economy, a consistently key concern for many voters.

Morning Edition 's Steve Inskeep spoke this week with economic correspondent Scott Horsley and political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben to get a sense of what the candidates might say — and what viewers should keep in mind.

Horsley puts it this way:

"Presidents always get more credit and blame for economic conditions than they should. But Trump had a pretty good track record during his first three years in office. His trade war did some damage. Exports suffered, but the economy did add 6.6 million jobs in those three years. Of course, then the pandemic hit, unemployment soared, and Trump was the first president since Herbert Hoover to leave office with fewer jobs in the country than when he came in."

"Now, under Biden, the economy's added more than 15 million jobs. Unemployment's been at or below 4% for the last two and a half years. It's a record that would be the envy of almost any president. But of course, it's been marred by high inflation."

Inflation hit a four-decade high of 9.1% in 2022 and has since come down by some two-thirds, though people still feel squeezed by the prices of everyday goods, especially groceries .

Kurtzleben says that high inflation helps explain the steady stream of polls showing Americans' negative economic outlook — including the most recent NPR/PBS News/Marist poll that shows a majority of Americans saying Trump (54%) would tackle the economy better than Biden (45%).

"The curious thing is, Trump kind of gets a pass on pandemic job losses because voters say, hey, he didn't cause the pandemic," Horsley adds. "Voters don't give Biden the same kind of pass on inflation, even though it's also at least partly the byproduct of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine."

So how would another Trump or Biden presidency change things?

As far as Trump:

• Horsley says some of his proposed economic policies would "probably make inflation worse," like the blanket 10% tariff and mass deportations he's called for while campaigning.
• Trump is also regularly calling to "drill, baby drill" — increase U.S. oil and gas production to lower their costs, but Kurtzleben says it's not clear that would work.
• Many of the Trump-era 2017 tax cuts are set to expire at the end of 2025. Trump wants to extend them for everyone and cut taxes even further.

As far as Biden:

• Biden has made systematic proposals for saving ordinary people money, as Kurtzleben puts it, like cutting insulin prices for seniors and eliminating " junk fees ."
• Biden wants to extend the 2017 tax cuts for people earning under $400,000 while raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy.

Here's some more background reading to whet your appetite:

• Four 'American Indicators' share their view of the U.S. economy — and their politics
• Biden has taken more action on climate than any president. His pitch? It creates jobs
• As the election nears, an analysis of Donald Trump’s economic proposals
• What Would The Economy Look Like If Donald Trump Gets A Second Term?
• Voters in this 'boomerang' county say they're nostalgic for the Trump economy
• Biden touts economic 'comeback' in election-year pitch to skeptical voters

Why did Biden and Trump break up with the group that plans debates?

For more than three decades, the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) ran the debate process, scheduling the events and setting the ground rules.

But not this year. President Biden and former President Donald Trump parted ways with the CPD this spring.

Both campaigns complained the CPD was planning debates for too late in the season, well after many Americans vote in early voting.

Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon also pushed for a simplified format, with no live audience and muted microphones unless candidates are directed to speak –- choices she said allow voters to focus on the subject matter. The CPD typically holds debates at a college or university in front of a packed crowd.

“The Commission’s model of building huge spectacles with large audiences at great expense simply isn’t necessary or conducive to good debates,” O’Malley Dillon wrote to the CPD.

The Trump campaign agreed to the switch in rules. Leading up to the decision to debate on CNN, Trump had vowed to faceoff against Biden "anytime, anywhere, anyplace."

There have also been feuds with CPD in the past. Both campaigns criticized the CPD’s handling of the 2020 debates. Plus, in the spring of 2022, the Republican National Committee announced it would be leaving the CPD, accusing the organization of bias .

In an  interview with NPR , Frank Fahrenkopf, the co-chair of the commission, said that it was created as a neutral body "to avoid the haggling over key issues like the number of debates, schedule, format and moderators," he said. "The debates belong to the American public, not to the campaign or the parties."

RFK Jr. didn't make the debate stage, but plans to participate in his own way

By Stephen Fowler

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s longshot presidential bid has hit several roadblocks in recent days: After not hitting polling thresholds and not being on enough state ballots, he will not be on this week’s presidential debate stage .

The latest fundraising reports show the campaign does not have much money in the bank, but Kennedy’s campaign manager and daughter-in-law Amaryllis Fox Kennedy is not worried about the prospects for the future of the campaign.

In an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition, she insists there will be a “three-way debate” Thursday, falsely claiming that the independent presidential candidate met the criteria published by CNN to appear on the debate stage alongside President Biden and former President Donald Trump.

Later Tuesday afternoon, the campaign announced "The Real Debate" counter-programming, in which Kennedy will "answer the same debate questions live" on a website and streaming on the X social media site.

"I'm going to be on that debate stage with or without their permission," RFK said in a video.

When asked what Kennedy would do on Thursday instead of attending the debate, his campaign manager teased the debate counter-programming announced Tuesday.

“Well, look, I think that the American people want leaders who believe in their ability to make up their own mind, and one way or another, there will be a three-way debate on Thursday,” Amaryllis Fox Kennedy said.

Read more here about the debate qualifications and ensuing drama.

This debate will be different from those in the past. Here are the new rules

Typically, presidential debates occur in front of a live audience, often in an event space on a college or university campus, and are coordinated by the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD.)

But not this year. Both candidates have said they will not participate in the CPD’s previously scheduled and announced debates, lobbying for earlier matchups .

Instead, Biden and Trump will take part in Thursday’s debate on CNN and then a second in September hosted by ABC News.

Biden and Trump have agreed to the following rules :

• Microphones will be muted unless a candidate is directed to speak.
• Candidates are not allowed to bring prewritten notes or props. They will receive a pen and paper and a bottle of water.
• A coin toss determined podium positions and the order of closing statements. According to CNN, Biden’s campaign won the coin toss and chose the podium to the viewers' right. As a result, the Trump team chose to deliver the final closing statement of the evening.

Frat boys and RFK supporters are partying near the debate site

ATLANTA — The debate is being held in CNN's Techwood Studios in midtown Atlanta.

Much of the surrounding area is closed and Atlanta's notoriously bad traffic was a little worse as the two presidential candidates arrived. The studio is adjacent to the campus of Georgia Tech, with the school's basketball arena serving as spin room and media work area for hundreds of reporters.

Even inside the security perimeter, life goes on. Supporters of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. — who did not qualify for the debate — put up a lemonade stand, while nearby, fraternity members engaged in a little day drinking.

Happy presidential debate day. Most of midtown ATL is locked down as Biden and Trump arrive, but the men of Georgia Tech’s Kappa Sigma chapter darty on undeterred. They’re near the media rideshare drop off, as what appears to be RFK supporters have a setup as well. pic.twitter.com/vP5Vi9mLXi — stephen fowler (@stphnfwlr) June 27, 2024

The debate will be a politics-themed social event at these D.C. bars

Food and drink establishments across the nation's capital are gearing up for a night of watch parties, four years after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic forced people to tune in from home.

Mexican restaurant Johnny Pistolas will hold a watch party with aptly named $10 drink specials: the Filibuster Buzz, the Bipartisan Breeze and Swing State Sangria.

At Union Pub in Capitol Hill, attendees can partake in a "red vs blue" drink poll: They can order a vodka-based drink with either red grenadine or blue curacao. The most popular one wins.

"Yes, there will be a drinking game companion!" it wrote on Instagram.

Elsewhere, Shaw's Tavern plans to air the debate inside and on the patio, with half-priced bottles of wine available all night.

The restaurant and bookstore chain Busboys and Poets will hold parties at all of its locations to watch the debate and celebrate the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange .

It says the event is free and open to all, and co-hosted by Make All Votes Count DC , a local group promoting a ranked choice voting ballot initiative.

"This event is your chance to engage in thought-provoking discussions, soak in the intensity of the debate, and be a part of history in the making," the chain advertises on its website.

Other local watering holes are offering happy hour pricing and drink specials, as The Hill , the Washingtonian and Washington Post report.

Biden's debate prep involved catching up on Trump's recent remarks

Last Thursday, President Biden arrived at the presidential retreat in the woods of Maryland, known as Camp David , to prepare for the debate.

It’s a secluded site other recent presidents have also used to get ready during their reelection campaigns.

“Biden’s a really big homework guy,” said Jim Messina, who ran former President Barack Obama’s reelection bid in 2012.

But one big challenge for Biden is that he has had less time to do the homework than he did four years ago.

This month alone, he has made two diplomatic trips to Europe, for the G7 summit and for the anniversary of D-Day. And his family has been focused on the trial and conviction of his son Hunter Biden on gun charges.

Biden prepared for the debate in part by catching up on what Trump has been saying in his rallies and interviews — events that Biden has been too busy to watch in real time, a second person involved in debate planning told NPR, also speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss strategy.

Read the full story here .

Georgia, where the debate is happening, could decide the election

By Sam Gringlas

Just under 12,000 votes separated Joe Biden and Donald Trump when they last appeared on the ballot in Georgia.

Four years later, the rivals are sharing the debate stage in Atlanta as they fight for the slice of Georgia voters who could swing the presidential election.

Some of those voters with outsize influence live in Alpharetta, a suburb of Atlanta where new subdivisions keep sprouting and have helped turn this formerly Republican stronghold purple.

Reading a novel on a lounge chair in the sun at Alpharetta’s Wills Park Pool, Kerry Webster is the kind of voter Biden and Trump need to persuade.

Webster says she is unhappy with her choices for president. And though she voted for Trump in 2020, he has since been convicted on 34 felony counts and faces more charges, including in Georgia.

A grand jury indicted Trump just a few miles from the debate stage on charges that he attempted to overturn Georgia's 2020 presidential election result.

"He's a conniver. He's not really a good person — he's really not," Webster said. "But the economy was better, and Biden, I don't know if he does a lot for us, hate to say."

But Webster does not plan to watch Thursday's debate. Despite living in a state and a suburban community that helped decide the presidency in 2020, she says she feels unmotivated about her options and has wondered whether her vote matters much.

Prasad and Mansi Vichare are watching their kids splashing nearby as a DJ bumps Taylor Swift on repeat and older kids leap from a tall diving board for prizes. The Vichares identify as political independents. And though they plan to vote, they think debates are mostly a useless exercise.

"To be honest, they're a waste, but that's just my opinion," Prasad said. "I'm indifferent," added Mansi, who believes the candidates just tell people what they think they want to hear. "I feel like it's somewhat fake, and so I don't know if it's really that helpful."

Read more here about what the Biden and Trump camps are doing to try to win over Georgia voters.

A Trump will be spinning for Biden tonight

Campaigns bring people into their debate “spin rooms” to send a signal about who their candidates have in their corners.

Tonight, President Biden’s campaign will have Mary Trump, the former president’s outspoken niece, on hand in Atlanta to offer her analysis to reporters there.

A psychologist by training, Mary Trump wrote a book , published in 2020, that aired her family’s dirty laundry. Now the Biden campaign is giving her a big platform to share her concerns about her uncle.

“For my whole life I have witnessed my uncle’s narcissism and cruelty,” said Mary Trump in a statement released by the campaign. "His sense of inferiority has always driven his jealousy and his pathological need to dominate others and this is information that is crucially important for the American people to have in advance of the most important election of our lifetimes.”

Trump is no stranger to inviting splashy guests to debate spin rooms. In 2016, immediately following the release of the Access Hollywood video , he attempted to create a distraction by inviting women who had accused former president Bill Clinton of sexual assault.

Tonight, there’s widespread speculation that Trump’s spin room operation may also be the ultimate vice presidential audition , as he's said his pick for a running mate will be there.

There are no reporters in the room. That's a break with precedent

There will be plenty of cameras in the debate room tonight, but in a break with precedent, no independent reporters will be there to bear witness.

Going back decades, a pool of 13 journalists travel with the president wherever he goes, and have eyes on him whenever he is in public. It includes a television crew, print and wire reporters and photographers, and a radio reporter.

The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) spent weeks advocating for the pool to be allowed into the CNN studio where the debate is happening. CNN and the campaigns agreed to allow still photographers in. But as for the rest of the pool, CNN ultimately decided to only permit a single print reporter to enter “during a commercial break to briefly observe the setting," the WHCA said in a statement.

WHCA respectfully requests that CNN grant access to the WH print pool reporter for the duration of the debate. Access matters. Independent observation matters. Precedent matters. pic.twitter.com/wNxf8du4t1 — Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) June 27, 2024

However, while the two men are actually debating, the print pool reporter won’t be there to note off-camera or off-mic interactions for the rest of the press corps.

“We don’t know how this will play out in real time,” said WHCA president Kelly O’Donnell, noting that there is no audience and that CNN will mute the candidates’ microphones when it isn’t their turn to speak.

COVID tests and crosstalk: What happened the last time Trump and Biden debated

Biden and Trump are set to go one-on-one on the debate stage Thursday for the first time in four years.

It's likely to be a memorable night if 2020 is any indication. Here’s a look at what happened last time the two took the stage together.

Trump derailed the first debate

The first round of debates in September 2020 was, by many accounts, a disaster. NPR’s Domenico Montanaro called it “maybe the worst presidential debate in American history.”

Trump arrived on the debate stage trailing in the polls and, apparently, jonesing for drama. He interrupted Biden constantly, peppering him with questions and personal slights despite moderator Chris Wallace’s pleas for order.

Biden tried to ignore Trump talking over him throughout — but called him a “clown” more than once. At one point he had clearly had enough.

“Will you shut up, man?” he said exasperatedly, as Trump continued accusing him of wanting to pack the Supreme Court. “This is so unpresidential.”

Trump even bulldozed over Wallace, prompting the then-Fox News anchor to declare, “Mr. President, I am the moderator of this debate and I would like you to let me ask my question and then you can answer.”

Still, a few substantive moments stood out amidst the chaos and crosstalk. When asked to disavow white supremacist groups, Trump told the Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by,” and he refused to commit to urging his supporters to stay peaceful during the counting of votes.

The second debate was scrapped over COVID concerns

Their next debate, scheduled for Oct. 15 in Miami, was scrapped altogether due to disagreement between the campaigns and the Commission on Presidential Debates over COVID-19 protocols .

Trump refused to debate virtually after he was diagnosed with the virus himself.

At the time, questions were mounting about whether Trump had taken a test — and gotten a positive result — before his first debate with Biden. It later became apparent that he had.

On Oct. 8, the commission announced it would shift to a virtual debate due to health and safety concerns. Trump’s team countered that he would be cleared for public events by then, saying there was “ no medical reason ” why the debate couldn’t be held in person.

Trump ultimately pulled out of the virtual debate, calling it “a waste of time.”

Each candidate ended up holding individual town halls — Trump on NBC News, Biden on ABC News — on Oct. 15, both airing at the same time.

The final debate was a little less dramatic

Trump and Biden returned to the debate stage in Nashville on Oct. 22, less than two weeks from Election Day.

By that point, more than 40 million Americans had already cast their votes by mail, Biden held a 10-point lead in an average of national polls, and only a small sliver of voters appeared willing to be persuaded .

The debate proved much less dramatic than the first round, partly due to new rules that kept each candidate’s microphone muted during the first two minutes of their opponent’s speaking time, and the no-nonsense approach of moderator Kristen Welker of NBC News.

Montanaro wrote, “Even Biden appeared bored, and near the end of the debate checked his watch.”

Both candidates were relatively restrained when talking about issues — COVID, healthcare and the economy dominated the conversation — though things got more personal as the night went on.

Read the full recap here .

Trump hasn't announced who it is, but says his VP pick will be in attendance

Trump has been hinting for months that he knows who his running mate will be, fueling speculation and (ever-shrinking) shortlists.

The former president even told NBC News over the weekend that the person he has in mind will "most likely" be in attendance, although there will be no studio audience.

"They’ll be there,” he said. “I think we have a lot of people coming.”

Trump has previously said he'll announce his VP pick during the Republican National Convention in mid-July.

Some of the top contenders, as NPR has reported , include South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Other possible picks include some of Trump's former primary rivals, like South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

Many of those elected officials have made the cable TV rounds in recent weeks to sing Trump's praises.

It's a fitting form of vetting for a presidential candidate who rose to fame in part as the host of a reality show competition — and for a VP who will likely get a lot of airtime.

The stakes for the VP slot are high, especially since Trump has been the de-facto Republican nominee since the race started. His second-in-command will shape the future of the MAGA movement and potentially woo harder-to-reach voting blocs, like moderates.

Choosing a vice president generally comes down to strategy. NPR's Ron Elving says Trump's likely priorities should be doing no harm, followed by creating some form of unity in the Republican Party.

"Trump doesn't need any more controversy," Elving adds. "He doesn't need anybody who carries any baggage of his own or her own."

Read more from Elving about the stakes of VP selection over the decades — and how Trump is putting his spin on a familiar storyline.

Who's watching this debate anyway? Recent polling holds some clues

If you're planning on watching tonight's debate, you're not alone.

A NPR/PBS News/Marist National Poll released last week found that a majority of Americans — 61% — plan to watch most or all of the debate.

Another 24% say they will not be watching the debate, but plan to pay close attention to the news coverage of it. If that's you, hi and thanks for being here!

A smaller sliver, 14%, have no plans to watch or pay attention to the debate.

The survey found that independents (56%) are less likely than Republicans (70%) or Democrats (67%) to tune in.

And that's notable, since independents could play a major role in deciding the election. The Marist poll has Biden and Trump tied evenly at 49% among registered voters nationwide.

Who will be on stage?

Biden and Trump are the only presidential candidates who qualified for the debate stage.

Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. failed to meet the threshold , which required candidates to poll at 15% or higher in four national surveys and appear on enough state ballots that could theoretically push them past the needed 270 Electoral College votes to secure the presidency.

Legal dramas, policy questions and undecided voters: What we're watching for

Candidates will likely speak to recent respective legal dramas.

The debate comes about a month after Trump was found guilty of 34 criminal charges in New York, becoming the first U.S. president in history to be convicted of felony crimes.

On a less historic note, Biden’s son, Hunter, who is not running for office, was convicted on felony gun charges in Delaware in mid-June and faces a second federal trial in September over failing to pay his taxes.

Biden will also likely address concerns over his age and ability to serve a second term. At 81, he is the oldest sitting president in U.S. history, and if elected for a second term, he would exit office at 86.

While the president has had public slipups throughout his first term, Trump, who is 78, has repeatedly criticized Biden’s mental ability , most recently speculating he should take a cognitive test. In that same speech, Trump incorrectly named the doctor who conducted his own cognitive exam while president.

On the issues, the candidates are expected to discuss the state of the economy and immigration policy, as both are consistently top issues for voters in national polling. It’s also possible the candidates will weigh in on international politics, given voters remain divided on whether the U.S. should be sending military aid to Ukraine and Israel in their respective wars.

The debate may also be an opportunity for Biden to address his decreasing support, when compared to 2020, among key parts of his base, notably Blacks , Latinos and young voters .

Trump is losing some ground among older voters, and the Biden campaign is trying to capitalize on that . Plus, the former president may still need to repair relations with Nikki Haley supporters who remain uncertain about backing him again.

Welcome to presidential debate night. Here's how to follow along

Got your popcorn ready?

Tonight's presidential debate kicks off at 9 p.m. ET and will run for 90 minutes. Expect two commercial breaks, no live audience and at least a little tension.

The debate is hosted by CNN at its midtown Atlanta studios, and moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.

NPR will carry a livestream from CNN here and broadcast it alongside our radio special coverage — with commentary from NPR political journalists — from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET. You can hear that online , on your local NPR station and on the NPR app .

Plus, this blog will be updated regularly with updates, fact-checks, context and color — so keep this tab open and stick with us as the night unfolds.

KCSE SET BOOKS ESSAY QUESTIONS and ANSWERS

Enjoy free KCSE revision materials on imaginative compositions, essay questions and answers and comprehensive analysis (episodic approach) of the set books including Fathers of Nations by Paul B. Vitta, The Samaritan by John Lara, A Silent Song by Godwin Siundu, An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro and Parliament of Owls by Adipo Sidang'. This blog is useful to Kenyan students preparing for KCSE; and their teachers.

Friday 25 December 2020

The umbrella man siddhartha gigoo pdf, the umbrella man- siddhartha gigoo.

·         The need for hope in the face of adversity. 

The Umbrella Man Synopsis 

“A thing which had been discarded and instead of having been disposed off with other useless things, had found refuge in the solitary ward of Number 7”

The Umbrella Man by Siddartha Gigoo is a story of a mentally ill patient confined to the depressingly dull and bleak life of an asylum. The main character has lost identity due to insanity and is simply referred to as Number 7. This is a story about having hope in a colourless, bland world of patients in a mental facility. 

Due to his calm disposition and compliance, Number 7 is allowed to wander out of the asylum gates and spend time in the street nearby. Other inmates could only stroll within the walls of the asylum.

“Beyond that brick and stone wall was vast darkness, oblivion”

Although rain had evaded the place for months, Number 7 hopes that it would rain that evening. He has an umbrella with yellow and red stripes which has become his playmate. No one knows how he acquired the umbrella. Like the other inmates, he has not received any visitors for years. The umbrella has become his inextricable companion.  

“It was the most beautiful thing in the entire asylum; more beautiful than the bed of wild flowers along the wall of the compound. The very sight of it in the mornings brought a smile on his lips.”

The inmates have no worldly possessions. The other inmates look at Number 7 with amazement, admiring his beautiful umbrella. “But no one was attracted to the dazzling beauty of his dainty yellow-and-red stripped umbrella as Number 7.”

“Not many in the asylum knew what beauty was.”

The gloomy nights in the solitary wards are lonesome. Number 7 imagines he is not alone but with an illusory child. He would wake up from his apprehensive sleep to comfort the child and lull him to sleep. He would pray in silence, convinced that some power would answer his prayer. He tells the child, “You are not alone my child” . As much as he seemingly lives in a world of hopelessness and sheer despair , he still clings on to hope and even offers his imaginary young friend companionship. He knows that with hope there is power and that is why he prays hoping for help from the infinite universe.

“For years during his life in isolation in the asylum, the child never grew up. The man grew old”

Number 7 grows old but remains hopeful like a child. His face is covered with white strands of hair and he has little strength in his bones but he keeps hope alive. It does not fade.

Number 7 also spends time beyond the gates of the asylum conversing with his other friend, a puny little fellow. They talk about the hope brought about by the bountiful nature, the bees, the flowers, the beehive, and the bees. The puny little fellow reminds number 7 of hope and nature’s miracles.

“Do you believe that someday it will rain here and that the earth will turn moist and smell of wild flowers?”

It does not rain for several days after that. Some months later, Number 7 is discharged from the facility. He receives the news from two smiling doctors. The doctors never smiled. They tell him the committee had agreed that he be set free. Their efforts had borne fruit, they say. After careful examination, evidence and facts, Number 7 is deemed fit to leave. Keeping hope alive finally pays off. This is his last night in confinement. This is an ordinary night for him. He narrates a story to his imaginary child companion who falls asleep. He also falls asleep.

It rains on the day of his release.

  “He woke up to a strange smell that wafted into his cell from the compound. A strange fragrance flooded the ward. Outside, a wet puddle greeted him. The wild flower drooped in the wet soil.”

After a long wait clinging on to nothing but hope, it finally rains on the day he is released from the grim forbidding walls of the asylum. Finally his umbrella is useful.

“What good was an umbrella if it had not been used in the rain? The dance of the raindrops on the nylon cloth held together by slender aluminum strips was a distant dream.”

Without rain, an umbrella is surely worthless. It has no real value or use. The same can be said about a man living without hope.

In life, the wait may be lengthy and the path lacerating but one needs to stay hopeful no matter how bleak and murky the future seems.

Challenges facing the inmates at the asylum

1.      Restricted movement/ Limited liberty (Pg46)   ·        Allowed to go out of their wards only in the evening ·        Could only stroll within the compound of the asylum ·        Due to his obedience and calm disposition, Number 7 is the only inmate allowed to saunter out of the gate to the nearby street but the 90-something yards narrow avenue also ends at a wall ·        Thus, he earned this limited liberty. It had taken months ·        Restricted by a wall enclosing the 120 square metres asylum ·        Nowhere to go beyond the wall – their life ended at the wall ·        Beyond the brick-and-stone wall was vast darkness, oblivion. ·        Booming siren to return to the cell (Pg49) ·        Number 7 seems to envy the puny little fellow when he says, “But you are free to do whatever you want to do and roam around without any restrictions” (Pg 50) ·        Rely on a committee of “serious people who never concurred” (Pg50)   2.     No visitors or worldly possessions (Pg48)   ·        Number 7 has not had any visitors for many years ·        None of the inmates had visitors ·        Had no worldly possessions – just two sets of clothes (woolen and cotton) ·        The umbrella is number 7’s only companion ·        He lives in a solitary ward ·        His umbrella makes him smile – it is beautiful ·        Not many in the asylum knew what beauty was   3.     Loneliness (Pg 48)   ·        On lonesome nights, number 7 imagines he’s not alone in the cell ·        He would see the image of a child ·        He had nervy sleeps ·        He comforts the child, “It is just a dream” ·        Strokes the child's hair tenderly, “Go back to sleep, I’m by your side.” ·        Talk to the child night after night ·        Worries about the child every single night ·        Prays for it ·        He has become a father and a mother ·        The child never grows up, Number 7 grows old   4.     Doctors   ·        Two attending doctors beaming with smiles give Number 7 good news ·        The doctors don’t smile on most days ·        The good news – Number 7 is free to go now ·        According the doctors, “Our efforts have yielded fruit”. The committee agreed to their assessment. They assess evidence,   facts and conduct a careful examination.

·       Committee had serious members, never concurred, never signed any discharge papers   - the inmates freedom is in other people’s hands.

·        Day of his release and permanent freedom

  Number 7’s conduct earns him a better life at the asylum  compared to other inmates

·        Given limited liberty by the doctors (Pg46) ·        The umbrella may be a gift from one of the asylum orderlies or doctors (Pg48) ·        He has leisurely walk on sunny afternoons – other inmates watch from windows of their wards (Pg48) ·        He’s released by the doctors, committee unanimously (Pg50) ·        When he is released, orderly says, “ I will miss you” (Pg50)

Moral lessons

Hope is essential (absolutely necessary) for man's survival.  One who clings on to hope in the face of affliction sees the light at the end of the tunnel.  

Next: Window Seat by Benjamin Branoff 

See analyses of all stories in  Memories we Lost  here

Wednesday 23 December 2020

No need to lie-rolf schmid,   no need to lie – rolf schmid.

• Strong willpower and determination lead to victory 
• Coping with cancer

What would you do if you were diagnosed with a potentially fatal disease?

Rolf Schmid, a 50 year old chef, had resolved to live a healthy lifestyle when he is diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. What started as harmless bout of tonsillitis turns out to be cancer. When it persists and needs the doctors to carry out a biopsy, Schmid is fearful that it may be AIDS. He is somewhat relieved when Dr. Rupani informs him that it is cancer. It is still devastating news nonetheless. His wife Asmahan receives the traumatic news with tears in her eyes. (Pg 125) 

Rolf Schmid is certainly a strong-willed character. When he books himself into a spa and loses 12 kilograms, he receives praises from his wife and friends. He later develops a sore throat that he mistakes for tonsillitis that could be soothed with Strepsils sweets. (P 122)

His doctor, Mrs. Ven Enk, refers him to Doctor Rupani, a specialist, since she knows this is not your ordinary tonsillitis. Schmid infers that it may be more serious than he had imagined. He is gripped by fear when he thinks of AIDS, a death sentence at the time. He imagines the stigma. A bullet to the head could solve the problem; 

“Suicide is for cowards and I am not one of them,” - comes his strong conviction. (P 123)

He seems determined to fight through his afflictions which since remains a mystery to him-at least for now.

After the biopsy, Schmid learns from a family friend, one professor Alberto, that his condition is grave. Is it cancer or AIDS?

Schmid says, “I just could not let myself die” .  

He wilfully adds that he was not going to give in to cancer. 

When Dr. Rupani calls him at 8 o’clock in the morning to inform him that he has cancer, he thanks God saying “my willpower was strong and determined.” (Pg 125)

Schmid feels that he is too young to die.

At the radiation room, he sees patients who had lost hair and looked appalling. The appliances in the radiation room look humongous and terrifying.

It is not long before the cancer takes a toll on Mr. Schmid. He suffers excruciating pain, oral ulcers and the peeling of the skin covering his gums. He is a pale shadow of his former self. He now weighs a measly 87.3 kg from 125. His wide biceps and 54 centimetre chest have been chewed away by cancer. (Pg 126)

Does he capitulate? Your guess is as good as mine. The unyielding cook is devastated at the thought of imminent death. However, his ardent personality keeps on reminding him not to give up.

“When I was at my lowest, I summoned the faces of my children one by one as a visual reminder of the reason I had for living, I kept telling myself, ‘you can’t die now’”   (Pg 126)

Schmid suffers pain and endless medication. He is forced to eat and take at least three litres of liquid lest the doctor feeds him intravenously while confined to a hospital bed. He is scared about the thought. Schmid is forced to feed by a half inch rubber pipe. It is a painful but inevitable ritual.

Schmid compares his battle against cancer to a judo match. He alludes to the words of a Japanese judo sensei, adorned in a white judogi,  commanding him to meditate and focus on the task at hand to knock out the opponent.

“The confidence of years of training years of service and years of pain assured me of victory”

But this was not a judo match! 

“This was life and death, my life” . (Pg 127)

The feeding is painful and Schmid would often scream in severe pain. He loses several friends due to his predicament. The insurance company he assumed would pay for his medical expenses would not pay much since he is self-employed. Some of his friends opt to fundraise for him. He does not give up. (Pg 127)

Schmid realizes that many cancer patients die not because of the malignant malady but because of despair and lack of hope. This gives him an unstoppable desire for health.

“I was going to live and see my children grow up, play more polo, do more sculptures and be with Asmahan, my beautiful wife.” (Pg 128)

He wilfully endures four agonising sessions of chemotherapy. He had heard about people losing hair and going completely bald, among other miseries. (Pg 128)

In the face of adversity, Schmid is optimistic that he was going to beat cancer. “but am I going to be alright? I mean no more cancer?”  (Pg 128)

Alberto does little to calm his anxiety. He tells him that he has to be brave. It all depends on how his mind copes with it. Our good old mulish chef concludes that cancer, like any other adversity or predicament, is a process that requires a strong willpower, (food) and optimism. (Pg 128) 

When Mr. Schmid attends his first chemotherapy on a Saturday evening at seven o’clock, he feels like a condemned convict on the way to the gallows. He endures a nerve wracking 8 hours intravenous drip without feeling sick. The lovely nurse is astounded by his unyielding strength. “Heee Bwana, you are strong really strong.”  She calls him a real ndume (strong man).

The headstrong chef decides to head down to the polo club after the chemo session to show everyone how tough he was. This is testament to his strong will and optimism Alberto thought he was crazy. He had lost almost 36 kilograms! He used to weigh 125 kilograms now weighs only 56 kilograms. His horses must think he is somebody else!  (Pg 129-131)

After the four chemo treatment Schmid has lost half his hair but was spared by the devastating ill experience most cancer patients undergo. He vomits while playing polo but declares this his turning point after going back to finish the chucker (a period of a polo game).

“If I could do that, death could not be waiting round the corner.” (Pg 131)

Such buoyant positivity!

Mr. Schmid has to catch a flight to Germany for specialised treatment. There is a glimmer of hope since tumour on his neck has shrunk to an almost unnoticeable size. He is, however, angry. He dismisses the doctors and their diagnosis and prognosis. He is confident that he is going live; that he has a chance. He is iron-willed; such an admirable trait.

Rolf Schmid’s children do not know about their father’s predicament. All they know is daddy is going to Germany to visit his friend Roland and will return with many presents. He fights back tears and stomach cramps while driving to the airport. (Pg 131) 

Asmahan, his wife, asks him to pray and believe in the power of prayers. He recalls Dr Meister who had died after suffering from a similar malady. Was he going to die in Germany and be buried next to his grandmother? He resolutely pushes the ominous thought out of his head. He had not even written a will. He hopes the paralyzing anaesthesia in Katharinen Krankenhaus hospital, Stuttgart would melt his worries.

In Germany, he meets his caring friend Roland, who is ever so buoyant and sanguine. Roland predicts that Rolf was going to out live him. Sadly, this comes to pasd when he dies a year later in a freak accident. 

Mr. Schmid goes under the knife in Doctor Terrahe's hands without fear or anxiety. After the operation, he is upbeat about the fact that he is alive.

“Ooh I am alive...Great. No more cancer!”  (Pg 133)

He suffers a few bouts of nausea and faints when he realizes that his swollen head is twice its original size and there is a chunk of muscle missing from his neck. The doctor reassures him that normalcy will return in two weeks or so.

Schmid is as stubborn as a mule. He sneaks out of the hospital feeling triumphant. 

“I am alive! Look at me, I’ve beaten cancer.”  (Pg 134) 

He faints again and is reproached by the doctor for his imprudence.

Weeks go by and he feels better and better. He calls all his friends to share his happiness.

It feels like a rebirth, a return to normalcy, a new beginning; the start of a new life. 

He returns to Nairobi to a hero’s welcome. His obstinate willpower and mind over matter attitude win over cancer!

“Of course, my stubborn refusal to be defeated by cancer and mind over matter attitude made me an example to a lot people.” (Pg 135)

Strong willpower and optimism is key to beating adversity, misfortune or affliction.

KCSE SAMPLE QUESTION ON MEMORIES WE LOST -  NO NEED TO LIE 

In the face of misery, one needs to be strong willed and optimistic. Write a composition to validate this statement making reference to Rolf Schmid’s No Need to Lie .

Write an essay on the challenges faced by cancer patients citing evidence from No Need to Lie by Rolf Schmid. 

Next: The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World by Gabriel  Garcia Marquez 

See analyses of all stories in  Memories we Lost  here.

Monday 21 December 2020

My father's head okwiri oduor, my father’s head – okwiri oduor.

My Father’s Head by Okwiri Oduor is an exquisite tale about a young woman trying to cope with the death of her father. As we get immersed into the riveting prose poetry, we soon get entangled in the mystery of grief and mourning.

The story opens with the words: “I had meant to summon my father only long enough to see what his head looked like but he is here now and I did not know how to send him back”.

Simbi is the first person narrator. She works as a caregiver in an old people’s home. Her father is dead. The solitude and vacuum created by his death compel her to summon him from the mysterious world of the dead. Now he is here and she does not know how to send him back. Of course her father is not here physically; he is only here as an illusion created by her memory.

Many Africans believe that dead relatives can visit sometimes in form of spirits and we can actually see them. Okwiri seeks to debunk this mystifying myth. Ghosts and spirits are actually images we create in our minds -a figment of imagination

One night Simbi spends the entire night on her stomach on the sitting room floor drawing her father. She could see his face, his mouth, irises, ear and temple and even a thick line of sweat and brown veins. His head, however “refuses to appear within the borders of the paper”

When she shows Bwibo (the cook at the old people house) some of the drawings, Bwibo says, “Your father was a good man. Good men never show you their heads; they show you their faces”

Indeed Simbi’s father was a good man. His memories linger in Simbi’s mind. She remembers how her father could chew a handful of groundnuts and feed the mush to her. She was old enough to chew with her own teeth but young enough to desire that hot masticated love. 

She remembers the day he mourned the death of his friend Sospeter son of Milkah, who taught Agriculture, in Mirere Secondary when he heard about it through the radio.

After listening to a sermon by father Ignatius Okello from Kitgum, Simbi is reminded of her own father. She says “I was stringing together images of my father, making his limbs move and his lips spew words so that at the end he was a marionette and my memories of him were only scenes in a theoretical display”

She remembers him as an industrious reliable man who was ready to help people who flocked their house every Saturday morning when the water pipes burst or when a maid flushed a baby down the toilet.

As much as he was a good man, people only saw his face and not the head. People judge a book by its cover. The face represents the superficial outward (physical) appearance. What people fail to see is the inner spiritual realm. A man’s trait, values or what he truly espouses.

As we try to understand Simbi’s vague stream of consciousness, we appreciate the recollection of painful pent-up memories. The father appears to her as a form of memory. 

The story is therefore about coping with loss or grief. The incomplete drawing symbolizes the incompleteness of memory as we try to recreate the past. Our dead loved ones can only return in form of hazy dim recollections, not in physical form. The fact that they existed and now they don’t may create a puzzling state of confusion.

When her father appears to her he looks paradoxical to say the least; “he was something at once strange and familiar, at once enthralling and frightening- he was the brittle, chipped handle of a ceramic tea mug and he was the cold yellow stare of an owl.”

Simbi serves him tea and tells him about his friend Pius Obote who died four years ago. He grieves bitterly. After the tea, her father asks to leave. She asks him to stay for a couple of days. She confesses, “I did not really want him back. I just wanted to see his head.”

Grief is indeed a difficult thing to comprehend. Just like death and loss, some of the characters in the story are shrouded in mystery and only vaguely described. Take for instance the woman who hawked candy, or a man whose one roomed house is a kindergarten in the day time and a brothel in the evening, or the woman whose illicit brew had blinded five people in January.

It is important to appreciate people when they are alive. Look at their head (character traits) not just their faces (appearance).

Next: Analysis of Umbrella Man by Siddartha Gigoo . 

See analyses for all stories in Memories we Lost here

Sunday 20 December 2020

Hitting budapest analysis [pdf], hitting budapest noviolet bulwayo.

Characters:

Basta – 11 years old Chipo – 10 years old Godknows- 9 years old Sbho – 8 years old Stina Narrator – 9years old

Main concern

·         The devastating impact of poverty on children (juveniles)

Other issues;

·         Poverty ·         Immigration ·         Social classes ·         Exploitation ·         Delinquency

Hitting Budapest explores the hardships encountered by children living in a poor neighbourhood ironically named Paradise. These are Basta, Chipo, Godknows, Sbho, Stina and the (unnamed) narrator.

They lack basic needs like food because of poverty. They are forced to steal guavas to quell their hunger pangs. They used to steal guavas from Chipo's uncle’s tree but now they steal from strangers who live in an affluent neighbourhood called Budapest.

Getting out of Paradise is easy since the adults are too preoccupied with plaiting hair or playing draughts. As they ran, it turns out Chipo who was the fastest among them is slower today. She is pregnant after being sexually exploited by her grandfather. She has to sit down and rest.

Chipo describes Budapest as “a country where people who are not like us live” There is social stratification. The children are accustomed to the life in the shanty where there is pollution from burning things and smell of cooking food and rotting things.

Their mission in Budapest is stealing guavas. At Budapest they meet a thin woman from London known as Mello. To their surprise, she smiles at them. Nobody at Budapest smiles at them. When Chipo asks about the food she is eating, the woman mistakenly thinks she’s asking about the camera she was holding. They have different worries; point of views. The children are surprised when woman throws away food.

The narrator has dreams of moving to America where her aunt Fostalina lives. She expects to live a better life there. Africans feel life is better overseas especially in Europe and America. Godknows’ uncle, Polite, lives in London.

As they go back to paradise the ill-mannered children spit and litter the streets of Budapest with guava peels. Chipo vomits. They admire the big houses in Budapest. Sbho says she will live in houses like those one day. Basta dismisses this as a pipedream and throws guavas at the house. Basta is violent. He has beaten all the children except Stina. Sbho dreams of marrying a man from Budapest to escape the shanties of Paradise, Heaven and Fambeki.

Basta also dreams of going out of the country where he will make lots of money and buy houses in Budapest, Paris or Los Angeles. He wants to go to South Africa or Botswana.

Chipo remembers what her teacher Mr. Gono told her-that you need education to make money. Now she doesn’t attend school anymore but she thinks she does not need school to make money- that’s what the Bible says in her understanding.

Basta says nasty things about America and this hurts the narrator who dreams of living there. She feels boiling rage and has fantasies about violently accosting him.

Later, they are rounded up and taken to the Juvenile correctional centre. The narrator can now read and write. She is now reformed. She will write to Mello to apologise for their misdemeanour to the people of Budapest. She still hopes to go to America after her studies. Chipo who has since delivered, would like to continue with her studies and become a counsellor to guide and help children from Paradise.

Apart from basic needs like food, shelter and clothes, children also need love, compassion and guidance. They also need education and protection from predators. Without these, they engage in serious detrimental behaviour. 

NEXT: Missing Out by Leila Aboulela

Saturday 12 December 2020

Window seat benjamin branoff, window seat, benjamin branoff .

Challenges of urbanization in developing countries

Over loaded van (P 62) Inefficient public servants-The indifferent sentry (P 63) Poor dusty roads (P 63) Noise pollution (P 64) Poor waste management/disposal (P 66) Poverty/depravation of luxuries (P 66) Corruption/bribery (P 68) Crime/The lost wallet (P 69)

This short story captures the journey of a mzungu traveling in an African country. The author takes us on a bumpy ride through the roads of Dar es Salaam. Through the narrator’s eyes, we appreciate the challenges of urbanization in developing African countries.

The narrator has a window seat in an old Hyatt minivan commonly referred to as daladala . The van is overloaded; twenty four passengers are squeezed inside a van meant to carry about ten people. The conductor stands by the sliding door. During rush hours four more people would stand with the conductor. The old van old van build for ten could carry twenty eight people. The greedy owner of the van added more rows of seats not made with the van to accommodate more people

The narrator experience inefficient public service at the gate leaving Chuo. The indifferent sentry does a poor job of checking the van for something amiss. As the journey commences, the narrator notes, that the roads a dusty. One cannot, however, shut the window since they need fresh air.

At Mwenge, noise pollution is apparent. Horrible 80s music plays from a large stereo of a man selling CDs. Apart from that, conductor screams at the top of their voice trying to persuade people to board their daladalas .

As the mzungu heads toward the post buses after alighting from the old minivan, he notices that the town is crowded. There is high population. He fails to meet and greet a young French foreign exchange student called Monique (whom he fondly refers to as Le Fille ). The bus has to maneuver through a sea of humans who walk dangerously close to it oblivious of the danger. This is probably due to poor infrastructure; lack of sidewalks or pavements.

We also notice dumping of waste and poor waste disposal; people burn rubbish and dead foliage on the roadside. The pollution is evident by the rancid smell of garbage and human filth and decomposition. The waste is pulled and left to rot or burnt by the road side.

After the next stop we meet a beautiful young woman the narrator refers to as Kanga. She looks healthy and beautiful but we can tell that she’s poor, deprived of luxuries and has to endure endless work in her lifetime. Kanga seems amiable or sincerely friendly.

The police in Dar es Salaam are corrupt and incompetent. They are not concerned with the safety of the passengers. To the dismay of impatient bus drivers and conductor, they forcefully squeeze a bribe out of them. The police man is indifferent about the overloading of the bus.

After the bumpy 45 minute ride, the narrator is shocked to find his wallet missing. In the crowded bus, anyone could have pinched it but all evidence points to Kanga. Developing African countries are riddled with crime and insecurity due to poverty.

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8 Questions Your College Essay Should Answer

Your college essay should reflect your opinions and experiences and display clear and critical thinking. It’s more than a list of facts or a highlight reel of successes; it helps college admissions officers understand your character. So show them who you are. Set yourself apart from other candidates by painting a vivid picture of yourself.

Colleges may provide writing prompts or leave the topic up to you. Whether requirements are specific or vague, your college essay should answer important questions to grab the attention of each college admissions officer who reads it.

How Important Is the College Essay?

It depends . If you have a high GPA, competitive test scores, and stand-out extracurricular activities, acceptance is less likely to hinge on your essay. If you’re on the borderline, an essay can’t make up for inadequate scores or stats, but a good essay might give you the edge over another student.

Even at top schools, college essays can make a difference by allowing your personality, passions, and determination to show through. Schools like students with a track record of success. Your essay can show them where you shine and what benefits you’d bring to their community.

According to the College Board, “a majority of colleges and universities believe the essay to be of considerable or moderate importance in determining which academically qualified students they would choose.” Since colleges take essays seriously, you should, too.

Questions to Answer

Including all the facts, feelings, and impressions necessary to set you apart in 600 words is a tall order, but you can do it. Below are questions your college essay might address to get the right kind of attention. Consider these common prompts before you write. Then write to the supplied prompt or choose your own focus. First create an outline and estimate how long each section should be before you start writing. Some schools put no upper limit on size, but if you write more than 700 words, overworked admissions officers become frustrated. Aim for about 550 to 600 words.

1. How can you foster your passion and love of learning at this school?

If you mention specific things about a college, get the facts straight. Mention courses, programs, or opportunities that show you’ve done research. Don’t feel you need to praise the school too much. This isn’t about buttering people up; it’s about showing how you’d fit into the college environment. Share something specific to emphasize what makes you a good fit. Describe how the school would benefit from your presence. Mention planned majors or extracurriculars that show how you’d take advantage of their resources. Demonstrate that you’re ready to be active in classes, leadership opportunities, or other activities.

2. What are your long-term goals?

Show that you’re self-aware. Share your plans. Don’t know what you’ll major in? Focus on your most likely general field of study. Discuss what drew you to it and what you’ll do in future. How is the college the best place for you to meet those goals? Focus on one or two; don’t mention too many things without addressing any in depth.

3. Do you intend to go to graduate school?

This question assesses planning abilities and awareness of strengths. If you see yourself going on to graduate school, describe what you’ll study. Express how you’ll use undergraduate time to prepare for that future. Describe resources that will help you achieve your goals.

Show that you’re open to considering further study once you see how you develop during college. Even if you don’t intend to go to grad school, demonstrate that you’re a devoted student. Focus on how you’ll benefit from undergraduate work. Describe how much it matters to have a first-rate undergrad education.

4. Do you take initiative? Are you self-motivated?

A cardinal rule of good writing is: Show, don’t tell. Don’t tell colleges how important something is— show them what you’ve done. Describe times when you’ve taken action. Write about instances when discipline and persistence helped you. Show evidence of initiative and determination. Describe examples of self-starting behavior so readers imagine you in action.

5. How involved are you in extracurriculars? What have you learned from them?

Extracurriculars show evidence of determination, creativity, teamwork, passion, or civic-mindedness. They clarify what you value, what motivates you, what sets you apart. Give examples of ways you’ve pushed yourself outside of school. Which challenges did you overcome? Focus on one or two and make an impression with personal details.

6. Have you gone beyond the high school curriculum to challenge yourself?

Describing extracurriculars that show talents and interests is valuable. Consider also showing concern for others. Have you volunteered, tutored, been a counselor, helped parents with their business, or worked after school? How do you challenge yourself as part of a team? Help readers see how well you’d integrate into their community.

7. How do you overcome obstacles and problems?

Don’t talk about lofty principles; give examples of problems you’ve solved. Write about ways in which you’ve overcome obstacles. Willingness to get help is good—knowing limits is healthy. Being willing to get assistance and learn from others is impressive. If you show how you’ve improved after getting help, you show willingness to stick to difficult tasks.

8. What sets you apart from other applicants?

Don’t list characteristics; focus on behaviors. Enthusiasm, attitude, and drive are easier to see if you explain that you used them to start a club, work at a dog shelter, or build a boat. Let readers imagine you doing and succeeding. Share times you did something you’re proud of. Let that behavior illuminate who you are.

Once you’ve written your college essay, set it aside, then  re-read it with fresh eyes. Get at least one person (a teacher or counselor is ideal) to proofread i it. Show what you care about and what makes you different. Then you’ll really shine!

Things to Keep in Mind Before You Write

If you’re supplied with a writing prompt, read it carefully. Your essay shows how well you follow directions. Some schools don’t ask a question or suggest a topic; those that do want to see that you address it directly. Don’t let your essay feel generic or written to answer a different prompt.

What’s the reason for the prompt? What does the college hope to learn? Sarah Myers McGinty , author of The College Application Essay , says essays often uncover how well a student might fit at the school, or show whether a student can do the work. She says colleges tend to ask three kinds of questions:

• You questions about who are you and what you’d offer to the college community
• Why us questions about why you think the college would be a good fit
• Creative questions that give you chances to share inventive, original thoughts

Before writing to a prompt, take time to consider what kind of question it asks. What is the college really interested in learning about you? Write to address that interest.

Make answers specific and personal. Don’t write too broadly. Don’t tell your life story or echo the rest of your application. Focus on one thing in detail. Make your story something readers won’t find elsewhere. It should be less about experiences than about how you respond to them. Differentiate yourself from others.

Don’t just describe what happened—reflect on it. Just telling a story isn’t the point. Giving a glimpse into how you think is more important. Show what insights you’ve gained from experiences.

Creative doesn’t mean unfocused. If a college essay prompt is meant to show creativity, you must still write a detailed, logical essay with a point. Avoid meandering or pretention. Even off-the-wall prompts require well-written responses. Don’t let parents or teachers influence your style so much that you sound like they do. Write in your own voice. Also, stick to the truth; don’t embellish your history.

Be careful with humor. Writing vividly without trying to be funny usually works best. Show enthusiasm but avoid jokes or humor that might offend or confuse admissions officers or professors who read what you write.

Don’t write a sob story. Students often write about unusual challenges. Stories about adversity have built-in drama and evoke sympathy. But sympathy alone won’t get you admitted. Don’t rely too heavily on emotions; include important facts. If you focus on challenges, describe how you overcame them.

For more ideas about writing a college essay, check out these articles in the CollegeVine blog:

How to Prepare for College Level Writing in High School

What Is a College Personal Statement?

4 Ways Parents Can Help Their Teen with College Essays

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

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Essay questions and answers | memories we lost and other stories.

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How to Write a Good Answer to Exam Essay Questions

Last Updated: March 17, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Tristen Bonacci . Tristen Bonacci is a Licensed English Teacher with more than 20 years of experience. Tristen has taught in both the United States and overseas. She specializes in teaching in a secondary education environment and sharing wisdom with others, no matter the environment. Tristen holds a BA in English Literature from The University of Colorado and an MEd from The University of Phoenix. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 647,808 times.

Answering essay questions on an exam can be difficult and stressful, which can make it hard to provide a good answer. However, you can improve your ability to answer essay questions by learning how to understand the questions, form an answer, and stay focused. Developing your ability to give excellent answers on essay exams will take time and effort, but you can learn some good essay question practices and start improving your answers.

Understanding the Question

• Analyze: Explain the what, where, who, when, why, and how. Include pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses, etc.
• Compare: Discuss the similarities and differences between two or more things. Don't forget to explain why the comparison is useful.
• Contrast: Discuss how two or more things are different or distinguish between them. Don't forget to explain why the contrast is useful.
• Define: State what something means, does, achieves, etc.
• Describe: List characteristics or traits of something. You may also need to summarize something, such as an essay prompt that asks "Describe the major events that led to the American Revolution."
• Discuss: This is more analytical. You usually begin by describing something and then present arguments for or against it. You may need to analyze the advantages or disadvantages of your subject.
• Evaluate: Offer the pros and cons, positives and negatives for a subject. You may be asked to evaluate a statement for logical support, or evaluate an argument for weaknesses.
• Explain: Explain why or how something happened, or justify your position on something.
• Prove: Usually reserved for more scientific or objective essays. You may be asked to include evidence and research to build a case for a specific position or set of hypotheses.
• Summarize: Usually, this means to list the major ideas or themes of a subject. It could also ask you to present the main ideas in order to then fully discuss them. Most essay questions will not ask for pure summary without anything else.

• Raise your hand and wait for your teacher to come over to you or approach your teacher’s desk to ask your question. This way you will be less likely to disrupt other test takers.

Forming Your Response

• Take a moment to consider your organization before you start writing your answer. What information should come first, second, third, etc.?
• In many cases, the traditional 5-paragraph essay structure works well. Start with an introductory paragraph, use 3 paragraphs in the body of the article to explain different points, and finish with a concluding paragraph.
• It can also be really helpful to draft a quick outline of your essay before you start writing.

• You may want to make a list of facts and figures that you want to include in your essay answer. That way you can refer to this list as you write your answer.
• It's best to write down all the important key topics or ideas before you get started composing your answer. That way, you can check back to make sure you haven't missed anything.

• For example, imagine that your essay question asks: "Should the FIFA World Cup be awarded to countries with human rights violations? Explain and support your answer."
• You might restate this as "Countries with human rights violations should not be awarded the FIFA World Cup because this rewards a nation's poor treatment of its citizens." This will be the thesis that you support with examples and explanation.

• For example, whether you argue that the FIFA World Cup should or should not be awarded to countries with human rights violations, you will want to address the opposing side's argument. However, it needs to be clear where your essay stands about the matter.
• Often, essay questions end up saying things along the lines of "There are many similarities and differences between X and Y." This does not offer a clear position and can result in a bad grade.

• If you are required to write your answer by hand, then take care to make your writing legible and neat. Some professors may deduct points if they cannot read what you have written.

Staying Calm and Focused

• If you get to a point during the exam where you feel too anxious to focus, put down your pencil (or take your hands off of the keyboard), close your eyes, and take a deep breath. Stretch your arms and imagine that you are somewhere pleasant for a few moments. When you have completed this brief exercise, open up your eyes and resume the exam.

• For example, if the exam period is one hour long and you have to answer three questions in that time frame, then you should plan to spend no more than 20 minutes on each question.
• Look at the weight of the questions, if applicable. For example, if there are five 10-point short-answers and a 50-point essay, plan to spend more time on the essay because it is worth significantly more. Don't get stuck spending so much time on the short-answers that you don't have time to develop a complex essay.

• This strategy is even more important if the exam has multiple essay questions. If you take too much time on the first question, then you may not have enough time to answer the other questions on the exam.

• If you feel like you are straying away from the question, reread the question and review any notes that you made to help guide you. After you get refocused, then continue writing your answer.
• Try to allow yourself enough time to go back and tighten up connections between your points. A few well-placed transitions can really bump up your grade.

Community Q&A

• If you are worried about running out of time, put your watch in front of you where you can see it. Just try not to focus on it too much. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• If you need more practice, make up your own questions or even look at some practice questions online! Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Tips from our Readers

• Look up relevant quotes if your exam is open notes. Use references from books or class to back up your answers.
• Make sure your sentences flow together and that you don't repeat the same thing twice!

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• ↑ https://www.linnbenton.edu/student-services/library-tutoring-testing/learning-center/academic-coaching/documents/Strategies%20For%20Answering%20Essay%20Questions.pdf
• ↑ https://www.ius.edu/writing-center/files/answering-essay-questions.pdf
• ↑ https://success.uark.edu/get-help/student-resources/short-answer-essays.php

About This Article

To write a good answer to an exam essay question, read the question carefully to find what it's asking, and follow the instructions for the essay closely. Begin your essay by rephrasing the question into a statement with your answer in the statement. Include supplemental facts and figures if necessary, or do textual analysis from a provided piece to support your argument. Make sure your writing is clear and to the point, and don't include extra information unless it supports your argument. For tips from our academic reviewer on understanding essay questions and dealing with testing nerves, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Is there a right time to lie? Essay

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Telling a lie is when an individual tells something which he/she knows is not the truth but intentionally maintains it as the whole truth. There are several types of lies, bad faith lies-lying to oneself, big lies, bluffing, emergency lies, lying to children and white lies among others.

An emergency lie is an intentional lie to prevent harm on the third party. For example, when a person is looking for another to cause bodily harm, then one can lie about the whereabouts of the third party. An emergency lie is temporary, and the truth can always be told later. On the other hand, a white lie is a minor lie which is harmless but beneficial. White lies are half truths where one avoids questions so as to achieve a greater good.

A lie may be discovered or undiscovered, but the consequences may vary from one case to another. Once a lie is discovered the integrity of the liar is lowered and causes a change in behavior. The lie may also continue and be an entangled web of lies in the long run.

Historically, philosophers such as Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas condemned lying, but other philosophers supported lies which were intended to achieve good. Thus, when is the right time to tell a lie?

Telling the truth or a lie is a matter of personal honesty. The truth depending on the intention can build or break a relationship. A white lie a few times, is good for creating healthy interpersonal relationships. However, the fundamental foundations of relationships are built on absolute truth and trust in each other.

One can tell a lie when the truth may cause pain or insult to a person. There are lies that prevent people from feeling bad about them, for example, ‘I like your dress,’ when in the real sense the dress looks horrible. Personal opinions about how someone looks or what they are wearing often do not contribute to relationships. The truth in this circumstance can be hurtful; hence, one is not obligated to tell the whole truth if they will hurt someone’s feelings in the process.

Children’s innocence and imagination need to be protected, therefore, white lies such as the existence of Santa Claus, Easter Bunny and the tooth fairy help to activate a child’s imagination and give them joy. Other small pleasantries like ‘am ok thanks’ when one is indeed not fine at all are white lies, which help to make people relaxed.

Breaking sad news or disappointing news to someone may be difficult, for example, the death of a loved one may require one to tell a lie until one is able to bear the news. Compliments which are exaggerated, for example, ‘this is the best meal I’ve ever had,’ are good and harmless in that they help people to get along well. Thus, a white lie is usually told to protect others, and hard lies are told to protect oneself.

During grief and difficult times, people who are grieved may not be good company, and are better left alone to deal with the problem, though; it would feel unloving to tell him/her that they are better left alone. Hence, one should be careful when telling the truth so that they do not look as if they are putting their feelings before other people’s feelings.

In some instances, people say yes when they mean no or say it is okay when it is not. This happens when one does not want to upset another, so they pretend to enjoy what the other person is doing, for example, watching a movie, a topic of discussion and food. Most people are afraid that the truth will hurt others especially, parents, siblings colleagues and friends.

Lies are also told to avoid conflict between people, for example, when talking on the phone to someone they may not be able to understand so a white lie can be told to avoid a conflict. When the two people meet later the whole issue can be resolved.

When someone does not want to be rejected or attacked by his friends and relatives they can lie to be accepted. In the bible, there are times when lying brought good, for example, the Hebrew midwives lied to the Pharaoh resulting in God’s blessing on them(Exodus 1:15-21). Rahab also lied to protect the spies from Israel, however, the bible does not praise these lies even they gave good results.

During the times when the Nazi occupied Holland a woman named Corrie ten Boom hid Jews in her home to protect them from the Nazis. When the soldiers asked her where the Jewish men were hiding she lied to protect them from death. In this case, she lied to protect the loss of human life. Lies can be told in desperate and dangerous situations so as to prevent an evil from occurring. These are the few circumstances when telling a lie might be the right thing to do.

The bible may make an account of the times when lies were used to give positive results but it does not make it a right thing to do. People should learn to hold the truth firmly and allow the other person to experience the circumstances of the truth. The other person will learn to bear with the truth without blaming others for their feelings.

Most people tell lies in order to avoid hurting or annoying the other person, but this is only part of the problem. Dealing with the response of the other person to the truth is also a problem, for example, when one tells someone that the food was not well cooked, they get hurt and that leaves one feeling terrible. Uncaring responses to the truth can cause one to feel lonely and dejected. Therefore, most people are afraid of the uncaring response and loneliness after telling the truth. However, when one lies they still feel uncared for, lonely and depressed because of ignoring their feelings.

Truthfulness and honesty are extremely important in society so that relationships can last for long. Without trust in a relationship, the quality of the relationship will be weakened. Therefore, telling a lie has never been better than telling the truth. No matter how hurtful the truth may be one has the right to be told the truth. For example, if someone is suffering from a serious disease the family should be told the truth even if it is hurtful.

To tell the truth one has to gather a lot of courage to bear the response. By avoiding a person’s anger and hurt it does not substitute to love. When one tries to avoid the anger and hurt of others they create strains in their relationship, which can ruin the relationship.

A person’s integrity is more important than any pain, conflict or loneliness that the truth may cause. It is better to lose a person than to lose one’s integrity. Withholding the truth to protect one from conflict and loneliness makes one to blame and judge themselves later. Hence, a lie leads to misery, loss and judgment.

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IvyPanda. (2018, November 6). Is there a right time to lie? https://ivypanda.com/essays/is-there-a-right-time-to-lie/

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The Short Story No Need to Lie Cancer may not be a terminal disease as most people take it to be. Write an essay in support of the above statement drawing your illustrations in Rolf Schmid's story, No Need to Lie.

• memories we lost
• no need to lie

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Introduction  In the story, No Need to Lie, Cancer, a disease which is perceived as fatal by many of its victims, may actually not be so as Rolf Schmid summons all in his power to defeat it, at its third and very dangerous stage. 

• Rolf's strong desire to see his family members, particularly his children grow up under his care, gives him the motivation and the strength to fight the disease successfully. (pgs 125, 126, 131, 132, 134, 135) 
• He has an outstanding strong-will and optimism summoned and translated from his judo and other sporting experiences, which make him believe that he must conquer the disease and he does so with success at every stage. What makes Rolf survive the cancer onslaught is his will-power and sense of optimism. He convinces himself that he cannot allow himself to die, “I am too young to die,” he tells himself, “I have children, a wife, a business and a future. No, I am not going to die." And he repeated this over and over in his mind. The sight of people who have lost their lives in the radiation scare him, yes but that does not dampen his spirit. He loses hair and weight and the pain is excruciating but his ardent inner personality keeps on reminding him not to give up. And he keeps on telling himself that he cannot die (pgs 125, 126, 127, 129, 134) -optimism
• Schmid succeeds because of his dedicated and genuine friends. Many fake friends abandon him but the few that remain with him become the proverbial straw that he clings onto all the way to defeating the disease. “Although I lost several friends, I could still feel the support of few true friends, the honesty of their concern and vowed that I would not let them down." (pgs 127, 128, 131, 134).
• He ensures that he forces food down his throat despite the pain it causes him. Schmid gets to realize that the most important route to recovery from cancer is to eat and he ensures that despite the excruciating pain he feels in the course of eating, he does so with all the strength of will. (pgs 126 - 127)
• Schmid respects and follows doctor's advice and readily apologizes when need be. Cancer treatment comes with devastating consequences like loss of weight as well hair from the head but Rolf faces it, as the doctor demands, with courage and goes through on biopsy, radiotherapy and finalizes with the most dreaded chemotherapy: (pgs 123, 128, 131, 133, 134-135)
• Schmid keeps his body strong with sporting activities even when his physical condition is traumatizing. 

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