More civil, less civil war, as mute button dictates tone of final presidential debate
The second and final presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden was a much more civil affair than last month's widely- panned first debate.
With a mute button in place this time around, the candidates interrupted each other far less frequently, even as they clashed on issues ranging from the coronavirus to crime and global warming.
While Mr Trump and Mr Biden responded to each other's answers - shaking their heads disapprovingly or smiling, in the case of Mr Biden - the two largely avoided speaking over one another.
And neither man tried to speak at length while he was muted during opening questions.
They opened the debate by sparring over the coronavirus pandemic. Mr Trump insisted he had done a good j ob with the worldwide pandemic and said the country needs to "learn to live with it". Mr Biden shot back: "People are learning to die with it."
Responding to unfounded allegations from Mr Trump that he has received funds f rom Russian sources, Mr B i d e n n o t e d t h a t h e h a s released 22 years of t axes, which he says show "I have not taken a penny from any foreign source ever in my life".
Pointing his f i nger at Mr Tr u mp, Mr B i d e n a s k e d : "What are you hiding?"
The t wo candidates t ook questions on how they would deter foreign interference in American elections.
US officials have reported t hat Russian hackers have
targeted the networks of dozens of state and local governments in the United States in recent days, stealing data from at least two servers. The president said that nobody has been tougher on Russia through sanctions and pushing f or increased military spending by NATO than him.
Mr Biden said his son did nothing inappropriate while
working f or a company i n Ukraine whil e not i ng t he president was the one who got impeached for dealings with that country.
Mr Trump said Mr Biden's son Hunter drew a large salary from a Ukrainian firm.
Mr Biden responded that the accusation had been investigated repeatedly and did not link him to any wrongdoing.
He also noted that the presi d e nt was i mpeached f o r attempting to pressure the president of Ukraine to find potentially damaging information on his family.
President Trump said former president Barack Obama's government left him a "mess" to deal with in terms of tempering relations between the United States and North
Korea. Mr Trump said he had warded off a war that could have threatened millions of lives, adding Mr Obama told him he viewed potential danger f r om Kim Jong Un as among the country's greatest national security threats.
Mr Biden said Mr Trump had "legitimised" a "thug" by meeting and forging a relationship with Mr Kim, while the president countered by saying that Mr Kim "didn't like Obama" and added that "having a good relationship with other countries is a good thing". Mr Biden responded by saying the United States "had a good relationship with Hitler" prior to the invasions that led the country into the Second World War.