Many pundits treated Williamson's brief campaign as comic relief, such as Peter Wehner of "The New York Times" calling her "an amusing presence," or Alexandra Petri of "The Washington Post" writing, "We are all dreams in the mind of Marianne Williamson. If she stops believing in us even for a second, we will all vanish." However, some came to acknowledge that her message was ultimately persuasive and influential. After the July 30, 2019 Democratic debate, "New York Times" columnist Jamelle Bouie wrote, "It feels insane to say this, but Williamson out-debated virtually everyone else on the stage. She gave a compelling answer on reparations and returned again and again to the most important issue for Democratic voters, beating Trump." The following year, after Joe Biden accepted the Democratic nomination, Tom Scocca wrote an essay in "Slate" titled, "Marianne Williamson Won the Democratic Primary." Scocca compared Williamson's challenge to Trump ("I’m going to harness love for political purposes. I will meet you on that field, and sir, love will win.") with Biden's acceptance speech ("For love is more powerful than hate. Hope is more powerful than fear. Light is more powerful than dark."), and concluded that "Marianne Williamson’s message is what the Democrats are carrying into November."