The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Trump, Biden clash in distant, dueling townhalls
President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden held dueling town halls Thursday that offered a jarring contrast of their opposing political styles and approaches to major issues like the coronavirus pandemic.
The separate town halls took place on what would have been the night of the second scheduled presidential debate, from which Trump withdrew after the Commission on Presidential Debates announced plans to hold it remotely as a health precaution related to the president’s recent coronavirus infection.
What Trump said
In a rapid- fire 60 minutes on NBC broadcast from Miami, Trump doubted the effectiveness of wearing of masks to prevent viral spread, refused to denounce the baseless QA non conspiracy theory, repeatedly declined to say whether he was tested for the coronavirus before the last debate and battled with moderator Savannah Guthrie, who pressed him with details.
He said his FBI director, Christopher Wray, was not “doing a very good job” because he did not embrace Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud.
He denounced white supremacy after being asked why he would not do so in the first presidential debate. And he predicted a “red wave” on Nov. 3, even though many of his campaign officials are skeptical.
In one of the most notable exchanges, he said he did not know about QA non, a looseknit online community that was recently banned from Facebook after sharing false stories, including ones about Democrats abusing children. Supporters of the group regularly appear with signs and apparel at Trump’s rallies.
“They are very strongly against pedophilia, and I agree with that,” he said about the group before attempting to pivot the conversation to talk about left- wing radicals like self- described anti- fascist protesters.
The president said under questioning by Guthrie that his lungs were “infected” during his bout with the coronavirus and that he had a “little bit of a temperature.”
Trump did not answer her repeated questions about whether he was tested on the day of the first debate, as required, and would not say when his last negative test was. “I don’t know. I test all the time.” He said he “probably” took a test on the day of the debate.
He also refused to apologize for recently retweeting a false conspiracy theory that holds that the Obama administration faked the death of al- Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and may have orchestrated the murder of U. S. Special Forces personnel. He said itwas a “retweet,” suggesting he was not responsible for its accuracy.
“You’re the president,” Guthrie replied. “You’re not like someone’s crazy uncle who can retweet whatever.” Trump responded by calling the media “so fake and so corrupt” and said he needed to rely on social media to “get the word out.”
As his town hall progressed, Trump engaged with voter questions and charmed one questioner who complimented his smile. He defended his recently released tax returns, calling the $ 750 he reportedly paid one year a “statutory” number.
“I am treated badly by the IRS, very very badly,” he said.