Donald Trump and Joe Biden go head- to- head in separate events
President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden squared off, in a way, on Thursday night as their scuttled second debate was replaced by duelling televised town halls.
The events showcased striking differences in temperament, views on racial justice and approaches to the pandemic that has reshaped the nation.
Mr Trump was defensive about his government' s handling of the corona virus, which has claimed more than 215,000 American lives, and evasive when pressed about whether he took a required Covid- 19 test before his first debate with Mr Biden.
Angry and combative, he refused to denounce the QAnon conspiracy group - and only testily did so on white supremacists.
The president also appeared to acknowledge he was in debt and left open the possibility that some of it was owed to a foreign bank.
Meanwhile Mr Biden, appearing nearly 1,200 miles away, denounced the White House's handling of the virus, declaring that it was at fault for closing a pandemic response office established under former president Barack Obama.
Though vague at times, he acknowledged it was a mistake to support a 1994 crime bill that led to increased black incarceration.
The president, less than two weeks after being diagnosed with Covid- 19, dodged directly answering whether he took a test the day of the 29 September debate, only saying "possibly I did, possibly I didn't".
Debate rules required that each candidate, using the honour system, had tested negative prior to the Cleveland event.
Mr Trump backed out of plans for the second presidential face-off originally scheduled for the evening after debate organisers said it would be held virtually following his Covid- 19 diagnosis.
The difference in the men's tone was immediate and striking.
The president was loud and argumentative, fighting with host Savannah Guthrie, complaining about the questioning - and eventually saying for the first time that he would honour the results of a fair election.
He again sought to minimise revelations from a New York Times investigation that he has more than $ 400 million (£ 312 million) in debt.
“It's a tiny percentage of my net worth,” Mr Trump said, adding that he didn’t owe any money to Russia.
Mr Biden took a far different, softer, approach with audience questions. The former vice president vowed to say before election day whether he will support expanding the number of justices on the Supreme Court if Democrats win the presidency, the Senate and hold the House after November.
Mr Biden also blasted the president's f oreign policy, declaring that "' America first' has made 'America alone'" and "this president embraces all the thugs in the world".
He turned introspective when asked what it would say if he lost.
“It could say that I'm a lousy candidate, that I didn't do a good job,” Mr Biden said. “But I hope it doesn't say that we're as racially, ethnically and religiously at odds as it appears the president wants us to be.”