Duelling town halls for Trump, Biden
President continues his verbal assault on rival ahead of election day
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden competed for TV audiences in duelling town halls on Thursday night instead of meeting face-to-face for their second debate as originally planned.
The two took questions in different cities on different networks: Trump on NBC from Miami, Biden on ABC from Philadelphia. Trump backed out of plans for the presidential faceoff originally scheduled for the evening after debate organizers said it would be held virtually following Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis.
The town halls offered a different format for the two candidates to present themselves to voters, after the two held a chaotic and combative first debate late last month. But Trump, speaking on Fox Business on Thursday morning, launched early attacks on Biden, calling him “mentally shot,” a “liar” and a “corrupt politician.” He also said he had no plans to change his tone going forward.
“Many people said I won it, but some people said I was rude. But you have to be rude,” Trump said of the last debate. “The guy’s a liar.”
He also preemptively attacked NBC, charging that it went easy on Biden in a recent interview and asked questions geared for a child. Trump said NBC asked him to do the town hall.
“It’s a different audience and it’s good for me to have a different audience,” he said.
As the pace of the campaign speeds up in its final weeks, the two candidates first are taking care of other electoral necessities Thursday: Trump had a midday rally in battleground North Carolina, and Biden was raising campaign cash at a virtual event.
During his fundraiser, Biden warned supporters that Trump is “going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at me” and will deliver “an overwhelming torrent of lies.” Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, came under scrutiny this week following a New York Post report outlining an email Hunter allegedly received from a Ukrainian businessperson discussing a meeting with the elder Biden. Biden’s campaign has said the meeting never happened, and experts have raised questions about the veracity of the emails.
Indeed, with just 19 days until election day, there remains ample time for unexpected developments to throw off the candidates’ plans — like they did Thursday, when Biden campaign manager Jen O’malley Dillon announced the campaign was cancelling running mate Sen. Kamala Harris’ inperson campaign events through Sunday “out of an abundance of caution” after two staffers tied to the campaign tested positive for the coronavirus.
The campaign told reporters Thursday morning that Harris’ communications director and a flight crew member tested positive after a campaign trip to Arizona last week, during which Harris and Biden campaigned together throughout the state. Biden and Harris both have tested negative multiple times since then, and the campaign said Harris was never in close contact with the staffers.