US President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden, during their final debate, sparred and traded allegations over the pandemic, foreign election meddling, scandals, North Korea nuclear talks, racism,and climate change, among other issues.Trump opened the debate defending his record against the pandemic, saying that his administration would announce a vaccine within weeks.
"We have a vaccine that's coming, it's ready, it's going to be announced within weeks," Trump said. "I've been congratulated by heads of many countries on what we've been able to do."
Trump said that Americans are learning to live with COVID-19 and the US needs to open schools. Trump again blamed China for US woes from the virus.
"We're learning to live with it," said Trump, who has played down the virus for months. "We have no choice."
Biden, in response, observed that Trump still has no comprehensive plan to fight COVID-19. The former vice president called Trump's approach "tragic".
"A renowned journal called his response absolutely tragic," said Biden.
Trump reiterated that he wants to open schools and the country while Biden said "we want a safe opening."Foreign InterferenceBiden said Iran and Russia will pay a heavy price for allegedly meddling in the US election if he is elected president.
"It's been overwhelmingly clear this election [...] that Russia has been involved, China has been involved to some degree, and now we learn that Iran is involved," Biden said on Thursday night. "They will pay a price if I'm elected."
Trump accused Biden of being paid by "Russians." Biden responded by saying that he has never taken "a penny" from any foreign source.
"Joe got $3.5 (million) from Russia. And it came through Putin because he was very friendly with the former mayor of Moscow, and it was the mayor of Moscow's wife. And you got $3.5. Your family got $3.5 million. Someday you're going to have to explain why," Trump claimed.
The Hunter Biden scandal was also raised. Biden said nothing was unethical about Hunter's business dealings in Ukraine. He said his son never made any money in China.DPRKWhen the topic moved to North Korea, Trump said there was a possibility of nuclear war and that millions of people would have been dead if not for him.
“They tried to meet with him, he wouldn't do it,” Trump said about DPRK's Kim Jong-un and the Obama administration. “He didn't like Obama, he didn't like him, he wouldn't do it. OK? They tried. He wouldn’t do it. You know what? North Korea, we’re not in a war, we have a good relationship.”
Biden said he would negotiate with Kim if North Korea reduced its nuclear capabilities.
"On the condition that [Kim] would agree to drawing down his nuclear capacity," Biden said on Thursday, responding to moderator Kristen Welker’s question of under what condition the Democratic candidate would meet with the North Korean leader should he assume presidency.
Healthcare, Racism, 'Russia, Russia, Russia, Again'With respect to healthcare, Trump called for entirely terminating Obamacare and accused Biden of planning to socialize medicine. The former vice president promised to reduce drug prices if he wins the 3 November election, promoting a "public option" in a purportedly new healthcare plan labelled by the former vice president as "BidenCare".Switching to racism, Trump claimed that Democratic administrations built cages for immigrants, while Biden slammed the president for separating children from their families at the border.Trump claimed that he has done more for the Black community than any other president (with Abraham Lincoln as a possible exception) and boasted of his record on criminal reform.
“Nobody has done more for the black community than Donald Trump,” Trump claimed. “If you look, with the exception of Abraham Lincoln — possible exception, but the exception of Abraham Lincoln — no one has done what I’ve done.”
Biden said that, during the Obama administration, 1,000 prison sentences were commuted, compared to Trump's 20. The former vice president also said that, in total, some 38,000 people were removed from federal prisons.The candidates traded insults over the Russia probe and the purported Ukraine scandal. Biden asserted that the information regarding the Hunter Biden allegations were part of a Russian plan, prompting Trump to chant "Russia, Russia, Russia, again."Regarding climate change, Biden warned that the US cannot handle four more years of Trump rolling back environmental regulations. Biden said that, after the transition to clean industries, he would stop federal subsidies for the oil industry.Their second televised showdown took place in Nashville, Tennessee, on Thursday, shortly after 9:00 p.m. EST (1:00 a.m. GMT Friday), moderated by NBC News correspondent Kristen Welker. The debate rules were changed, as the moderator was allowed to mute microphones, given that the candidates interrupted each other repeatedly during the previous debate.Biden is ahead by an average of 8 percent nationally in the most recent eleven surveys posted on poll aggregator Realclearpolitics.com (RCP).Trump is behind in polling in 8 of the top 12 battleground states, nearly all within a typical margin of error, while most have tightened in the past week.Over 47 million early votes have been cast as of Thursday, outpacing 2016 by nearly a factor of eight, with 70% received by mail ahead of the November 3 election.
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