So said our President*** during last nights debate. The words of a wannabe autocrat during what can only be described as the least Presidential of any Presidential Debate in history.

Within the first five minutes I just wanted the ability to disable the President’s*** mic. Had it happened he might have had a chance to let his challenger step on his own feet. But Trump’s incessant interruptions and bullying was just a Trumpian example of his lack of… hell, any sense of humanity.

And just for the record Mr. President***, Philadelphia was where the following words were first conceived…

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

Declaration of Independence

“Bad things happen in Philadelphia!” Yes they do Mr. President***. democracy was birthed there. Autocrats the world over fear that birth. Your buddies, little men holding tight to unearned power all, fear an outbreak of this “bad thing” in their “law and ordered” little kingdoms. They do exactly what you are trying to do… cast doubt on the fairness of elections. Send their “poll watchers” in to intimidate and guarantee the outcome they require to stay in power. You fear the unchecked exercise of the power of the people… so you do everything in your power to hinder it…

When asked by the moderator to condemn white supremist, the Bully-in-Chief could only come up with…

“Proud Boys, stand back and stand by,”

A not unexpected statement from a unabashed apologist for all things white supremist. Dog whistles to his base through the bully pulpit.

What did others see last night?

But here’s the deal, as Biden would say: Only one man on that stage persuasively communicated that he has the interests of the American people at heart. Only one man on that stage seemed at all interested in maintaining a tether to the truth. Only one man demonstrated any respect for Wallace or for the process. Only one man would be bearable for the next four years.

Frank Bruni, After That Fiasco, Biden Should Refuse to Debate Trump Again

Donald Trump delivered a most grotesque, mendacious, disrespectful and outright disgusting debate performance. Trump’s flagrant indecency, intended to project strength, projected only contempt for America’s voters and democratic traditions. Joe Biden’s forbearance, patience, seriousness and coherence (when he was allowed to speak) shone like a lighthouse showing the way to safe harbor through a raging, chaotic storm.

Will Wilkinson, Biden and Trump’s First Debate: Best and Worst Moments

There was no pivotal moment. It was 90 minutes of watching the president of the United States show he is a sociopath. Most people have never fully internalized what it means to have a sociopath as president. They should have.

Peter Wehner, Biden and Trump’s First Debate: Best and Worst Moments

Let’s be clear about this: A sitting president of the United States has openly and actively claimed control of a legion of white supremacist domestic terrorists, and that legion of white supremacist domestic terrorists has openly and actively told him they’re his to command. You can’t pretend it didn’t happen — the white supremacists certainly aren’t pretending that. They heard him loud and clear. This wasn’t a dog whistle. “Stand down and stand by” is an explicit admission of control and a passing of orders.

John Scalzi, A White Supremacist, For White Supremacists, Counting on White Supremacists

It was an exhausting mess that spun beyond moderator Chris Wallace’s control and outside the bounds of anything that could reasonably be called a debate. It was a 90-minute display of a president’s testosterone-fueled, unmanaged rage and insecurity.

Robin Givhan, Interruptions, accusations, chaos: Trump trolled the debate stage