[Above: SNL parodies a presidential debate, October 2020. -- eds]
Donald Trump is a serial liar unrivaled in modern politics. He often goes on weird tangents that have nothing to do with a question, either because he can't retain any knowledge related to any policy or legislation or because he lacks enough attention span to do so.
Since he rode down the escalator in 2015, Trump has been implementing Joseph Goebbels's strategy: when you tell a lie long enough, people will believe it. Trump has taken this tactic to extraordinary heights within the confines of the US Constitution.
What we learned from the CNN debate back in July with President Biden is that Trump, without rules, governor the debate. Donald Dump turns the debate into two-minute rallies of unedited crazy MAGA propaganda, conspiracy theories, and outright lies.
Since debate moderators aren't allowed to interfere, it's left to the political rival to either ignore, comment on the question, or attack Trump. This leaves little time to discuss the actual questions posed by the moderators.
That's what Trump thrives on: confusion, chaos, and weird analogies.
Lorraine Ali of the LA Times writes Trump uses a form of debating called the Gish gallop, used in 1994 to undermine the theory of evolution.
