“Would You Shut Up, Man”: A Mood

The first presidential debate was off to an interrupt-y start, with President Donald Trump completely unable to stick to the serious subjects at hand and instead yelling and insulting his way through his time to speak — and also Joe Biden’s. The night began with moderator Chris Wallace asking a question about Judge Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s far-right Supreme Court nominee, but the conversation soon veered off to healthcare, and about a million other subjects. 

Biden tried to argue — despite being interrupted — that by overturning the Affordable Care Act, which the Trump administration is currently trying to do, and which is already on the docket in the Supreme Court, Trump would take away health insurance from 20 million Americans, including many people with preexisting conditions. Instead of finally telling us about the much-promised — and likely non-existent — Republican plan in return, Trump attacked Biden for being a “far-left” “socialist” and managed to insult Elizabeth Warren with the slur “Pocahontas” in the same breath. 

But it was after Biden and Trump went back and forth calling each other liars, and Trump continued to interrupt the former Vice President, that Biden captured the mood of the night by saying: “Would you shut up, man?”

A couple seconds later, he added: "Keep yapping, man."

In any other presidential debate in any other year, “would you shut up, man” would have seemed totally out of line and made huge news for being an unpresidential thing to say. But tonight, we just nodded along as Biden channeled an entire country’s feelings about Trump: Will you shut up? No, really? Will you please just shut up? We’re exhausted — from COVID and economic insecurity and climate change and this chaotic election — and all we want is for Donald Trump to just shut up. Forever. That’s the only mood we can get behind right now.