This Election Is the Tiebreaker Over Trumpism

Is this really the most consequential election of our lifetimes?

On this last episode of “Matter of Opinion” before the election, the hosts reflect on some defining moments of the campaign (other than President Biden dropping out), from Donald Trump’s indictments to Project 2025 to Ron Desantis’s lack of charisma. Plus, a visit from the ghosts of election nights past.

(A full transcript of this audio essay will be available within 24 hours of publication in the audio player above.)

Recommended in this episode:

• “Why Biden Is Unlikely to Defy the Naysayers” by Ross Douthat
• “Democrats Have a Better Option Than Biden” by Ezra Klein
• “The Presidential Fantasy Draft America Needs” from “Matter of Opinion”
• “The Woke Burnout Is Real — and Politics is Catching Up” from “Matter of Opinion”
• “Politics Without Winners: Can Either Party Build a Majority Coalition?” by Ruy Teixeira and Yuval Levin
• “Why the Heck Isn’t She Running Away With This?” by David Brooks
• “The Polls Show a Dead Heat, but They Don’t All Tell the Same Story” by Kristen Soltis Anderson

Thoughts about the show? Email us at matterofopinion@nytimes.com or leave a voicemail at (212) 556-7440.

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