November 3, 2020

How Biden and Trump Spent Their Election Day Mornings Could Not Be More Different

Hint: one spent it whining about media coverage and sounding very defeated.

AP

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

In the final hours of the 2020 presidential race, the stark contrast between Donald Trump and Joe Biden has, once again, come into sharp focus.

This morning, Trump called into Fox & Friends nearly an hour late, using his appearance to blast the media and complain that his time in office has been “mean.” Though his words projected confidence—”we’re feeling very good,” he claimed—Trump sounded deflated and his hoarse voice hinted at exhaustion. In a surprising twist, Trump unleashed his harshest criticism on Fox News.

“In the old days, they wouldn’t put sleepy Joe Biden on every time he opened his mouth,” Trump said, whining about the network’s decision to air Biden rallies. He added, “It’s a much different operation, I’m just telling you.”

Meanwhile, in Delaware, Joe Biden attended morning mass and visited the gravesite of his late son, Beau Biden.

It’s a small thing, but the difference in how the candidates spent their respective mornings on the most important election in a generation could not be more pronounced. It tells you a whole lot about character—if that’s still something you’re inexplicably undecided about.

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate