Last debate features harsh exchanges
But less chaos seen as two rivals trade words in a relatively polite and calm way
From handling the coronavirus pandemic to delivering leadership, US President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden exchanged barbs and critiques as they tried to make their cases to voters in the second and final presidential debate on Thursday night.
The 90- minute clash in Nashville, Tennessee, moderated by Kristen Welker of NBC News, focused on topics including fighting the pandemic, families in the United States, race relations, climate change, national security and leadership.
Unlike their first face- off on Sept 29 which featured chaotic interruptions and cross- talk, the two rivals traded words in a relatively polite and calm way, thanks to the nudging of the moderator and a new rule that muted the microphone of the candidate who was not talking in the first two minutes of each segment.
The two candidates offered contrasting views on the still raging pandemic that has claimed at least 220,000 lives in the US, infected more than 8 million, and has left the economy in tatters.
Trump insisted he had done a good job with it and said the country needs to “learn to live with it”, to which Biden responded: “People are learning to die with it.”
Asked to outline his plan for the future, Trump said: “We’re fighting it and we’re fighting it hard. ... We’re rounding the corner. It’s going away.”
Biden said: “If you hear nothing else I say tonight hear this. ... Anyone who’s responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of United States of America.”
“We can’t lock ourselves up in a basement like Joe does,” Trump said.
Asked about his openness to further lockdowns, Biden said: “I’m going to shut down the virus, not the country.”
“They’re shut down so tight, and they’re dying,” Trump said of Democratic states. “I have a young son. He also tested positive. ... It just went away. People are losing their jobs. They’re committing suicide.”
Both men managed to get in various attacks on each other, with Trump repeatedly bringing up the foreign business relationships of Biden’s son, Hunter.
Biden defended his family and said that he had never made “a single penny” from a foreign country, before turning to accuse Trump of skirting his taxes and trying to distract the US people.
“Release your tax returns or stop talking about corruption,” Biden said.
“There’s a reason why he’s bringing up all this malarkey,” the former US vice- president said, looking directly into the camera. “It’s not about his family and my family. It’s about your family, and your family’s hurting badly.”
The two candidates clashed on Russia and Ukraine.
“They spied on my campaign,” Trump said. “( Former special counsel Robert) Mueller spent $ 48 million and they found nothing wrong.”
“Not one single solitary thing was out of line ( in Ukraine),” Biden said. “The guy who got in trouble in Ukraine is this guy.”
On healthcare, Trump said: “We have 180 million people out there that have great private healthcare. ... They want to terminate 180 million plans.”
“I think healthcare is not a privilege. It’s a right,” Biden said. “I am very proud of my plan,” which he said would be called “Bidencare”.
“How many of you are rolling around in bed wondering what in God’s name would happen if you get sick.”
There also was a clash on immigration, particularly on children being separated from their parents at the US border.
Climate change
The two sparred over the issue of climate change, with Trump trying to justify his 2017 decision to retreat from the Paris Agreement, and Biden, committed to rejoining the global climate pact, saying he plans to create new jobs in remaking the clean- energy industry.
“The Paris accord, I took us out because we were going to have to spend trillions of dollars and we were treated very unfairly. ... It would have destroyed our businesses,” Trump said.
Biden said: “Global warming is an existential threat to humanity. We have a moral obligation to deal with it.”
Cal Jillson, a political scientist and historian at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, said climate change is a critically important topic, but “more immediate concerns, like the pandemic and economic recovery, will drive voter choices.”
A record 47.6 million people had voted in the 2020 general election ahead of the debate, representing 34.6 percent of the total ballots cast in 2016, according to data released by the University of Florida’s US Elections Project on Thursday.
“Trump has been trailing by seven to 10 points for months, most voters have already made up their minds, and 40 million votes, one- quarter of the likely total, have already been cast, so Trump has to try to induce a Biden stumble,” Jillson said.
William Banks, distinguished professor emeritus at Syracuse University College of Law in New York, said the debate was unlikely to alter the course of presidential campaigns.
He also said polls show that voters are more attentive to climate issues now than before.