The night of the recent presidential debate, my relatives decided to watch it together and came over for an early dinner. We sat down to a jolly meal where we, like others around the country, debated playing “Trump Bingo,” each square representing one of Trump’s patented lies. As we left the table for the living room, I cheerfully warned my guests not to throw anything at the television set whenever Trump was speaking.

The fun died quickly.

Whatever value the debate had for factual content devolved into a meeting of one uncle bragging incoherently while zonked on meth while visiting the other aged, asthmatic uncle confined to a bed in a nursing home. After a half-hour of mostly expressions of utter horror, my guests gave up, wandered around the house and only periodically dared view the television set as if it were emitting poisonous fumes.

We watched the after-debate analysis where even the liberal spin was lame and not convincing even for those spinning it. The only high point was an interview with California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom, who observed, “I tried to write a list of all the lies Trump told tonight but soon ran out of paper.” My remaining guests reconvened and we held a straw poll as to whether Joe Biden should step down and allow another candidate to take his place.

My sister-in-law said yes, my wife no, and I found myself unable to answer. I didn’t think Kamala Harris could ever win considering that half the nation considers a racist like Trump a viable candidate, and although Newsom is a dynamic powerhouse who would smash Trump’s softballs over the fence, most Americans don’t like California liberals. Heck, even I don’t like California liberals.

We discussed messaging and I offered that the error Democrats often make is throwing up a blizzard of facts and numbers while thinking that a well-reasoned argument will sway people’s opinions. In truth, all the numbers, facts and percentages proving that our economy under Biden is in good shape mean nothing to someone having to pay more for milk, eggs and butter than they did a year ago. Facts are meaningless, especially to the MAGA crowd who don’t even know what a fact is anymore. They just listen and unquestioningly obey the Master’s voice.

Which brings us to Trump, a pathological liar who, as many pundits wrote, won the debate by default thanks to Biden’s comatose performance, a fact that no amount of liberal double-talk can erase. Trump appeared younger, more dynamic, more in command and totally nuts. He had me the minute he blamed Nancy Pelosi for causing the Jan. 6 attempted coup, which made as much sense as blaming Eleanor Roosevelt for Hitler starting World War II.

But sense went out the window for the next 90 minutes. I found myself writing my own responses to Trump’s lies that Biden fumbled and yelling at the television.

Trump’s message could be shrunk down to this (with my comments in parentheses.) “Dark-skinned immigrants (Hispanics) are coming to rape and murder everyone in America, steal your Medicare and Social Security (no, that’s the Republicans), take your jobs (of all you white folks cleaning hotel toilets and picking fruit) and destroy our country (read “Project 2025” for that outcome.)

“Everything in America is horrible, terrible, awful, the worst in history; Black people love me (no, they don’t,) I have the best climate record (no, you don’t) and the world adores me and hates Joe Biden (actually, the world is terrified by your unhinged behavior) but I will make everything perfect again because historians have already voted me the best president in American history (actually, they place you at the bottom).”

Trump evaded every uncomfortable question and made it clear he will only accept the election results if he wins and that unleashing political violence is still a possibility. MAGA Republicans are fine with that. Like all cult true believers, they accept whatever their fearless leader tells them no matter how ridiculous, dangerous, deceitful or downright crazy, four bases Trump covered on debate night.

So it doesn’t look good for the home team. A recent poll says that a third of voters ages 18-29 might sit out the election altogether, while older progressives care more about Gaza than America. Meanwhile the “Christian” nationalist right is continuing its deliberate assault on the constitutional guarantee of separation of church and state. One wonders if come November, the price of milk and butter will outweigh the price of democracy.

Daniel A. Brown lived in Franklin County for 44 years and is a frequent contributor to the Recorder. He lives outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico with his wife, Lisa and dog, Cody.