A ‘horrifying’ answer. CNN’s Oliver Darcy says last night’s town hall session showed President Trump not only implausibly claiming ignorance of the QAnon conspiracy sham but also praising it.
■ In a simultaneous session, Joe Biden promised that, before the election, he’ll come down off the fence on whether to expand the Supreme Court.
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■ Poynter’s Tom Jones: “Who had the best night of all? NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie” …
■ A Trump campaign adviser tells The Daily Beast: “He didn’t spend the whole time yelling, he didn’t piss himself… so this was as best as we could have hoped for.” (Cartoon: Keith J. Taylor.)
Trump trolled. Hours after Guthrie grilled Trump on his Twitter dependency, the president early today apparently earnestly retweeted a piece from the satirical Babylon Bee …
■ … which promptly dug the president’s hole a little deeper.
■ C-SPAN has suspended its political editor—who was to have moderated the presidential debate that didn’t happen last night—after he admitted lying about a tweet he sent.
‘What the heck were any of us thinking, that selling a TV-obsessed, narcissistic individual to the American people was a good idea?’ That’s Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse, criticizing Trump early in the week on a phone call with constituents …
■ … and warning of a “Republican blood bath” in the November elections for Senate.
■ The daughter of presidential lawyer Rudy Giuliani urges people to vote for Biden.
■ But the Tribune’s Eric Zorn warns, “Don’t for a second think this race is over.”
■ A coalition of House progressives, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is calling for a Biden administration not to give Senate-confirmed jobs to corporate executives or corporate lobbyists.
■ The Washington Post: Trump staffers are on edge about their job prospects if he loses.
No sleeping bag required. But. The Sun-Times’ Mark Brown: “It took me two hours and seven minutes to early vote this week … only five minutes of which involved actually filling out the ballot.”
■ Ready to vote? The Chicago Public Square voter guide is here for ya. (Cartoon: Keith J. Taylor again!)
‘I hope you’ll forgive me for ignoring the hearing completely.’ Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg anticipates confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett—and the potential end of abortion rights—would result in “furious Americans … finally getting the laws in place that should have been there all along.”
■ The disgraced creator of A Prairie Home Companion, Garrison Keillor, is under fire for a Facebook suggestion that Roe v. Wade isn’t “worth fighting for anymore.”
Top cop slop. The Sun-Times reports Chicago’s dishonored ex-Police Supt. Eddie Johnson took at least seven out-of-town taxpayer-funded business trips with a female bodyguard now accusing him of sexual assault.
■ A new report from the city’s inspector general condemns the department’s response to Johnson’s infamous night of drinking.
■ Better Government Association chief David Greising hails the Chicago City Council’s surprising vote in favor of ethics reform.
It’s still here. Chicago’s top health official sees reason for “grave concern” in a second surge of coronavirus cases.
■ Chicago plans to reopen school buildings to its youngest and most medically vulnerable students before the end of the year …
■ … but keep most kids learning remotely.
■ Chicago Public Schools reports a “stunning” drop in enrollment this year—the biggest in two decades.
■ Colleges in particular face a Thanksgiving break menace.
Taps for Tab. After almost 60 years, Coca-Cola is killing its original diet soda.
■ Also: R.I.P., Diet Coke Feisty Cherry.
As you watch Aaron Sorkin’s Chicago 7 movie … The Trib’s Mary Schmich hopes you’ll remember one of the jurors for the trial revisited by an acclaimed show arriving today on Netflix.
■ From the archives: Your Square proprietor’s 1994 interview with Chicago 7 defense attorney—and self-described “radical lawyer”—William Kunstler.
■ Ready to move to a TV streaming device? Consumer Reports surveys the newest models.
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■ Thanks to Pam Spiegel for some capital help correcting this edition.