Trump on the defensive as voters tackle race and healthcare issues

DONALD TRUMP was told his “make America great again” slogan was “tone deaf ” during a confrontational question-and-answer session with voters.

At several points on the ABC News broadcast, the president faced impassioned critiques of his policies and record. He took on a more even tone than his combative press conferences and campaign speeches, nodding and listening as supporters and critics spoke.

The president faced hardball questions directly from voters at the event, unlike those in which he addressed supporters or held round-tables with invited guests.

In one exchange, Carl Day, an African-american pastor, challenged Mr Trump over his 2016 campaign slogan. He said: “You’ve coined the phrase ‘make America great again’. When has

America been great for African-americans in the ghetto of America? Are you aware of how tone deaf that comes off to the African-american community?”

Mr Trump defended his record on race relations, saying he had overseen economic growth that pushed unemployment among African-americans to record lows before the pandemic struck.

In a lengthy exchange, Mr Day later told him: “You’ve yet to address and acknowledge that there’s a race problem in America”. Mr Trump replied: “Well, I hope there’s not a race problem. I can tell you, there’s none with me.”

Mr Trump was then confronted by a woman over medical insurance. While explaining her situation – she had a long-term illness – Mr Trump interjected “no” when she mentioned the removal of pre-existing conditions.

“Please stop and let me finish my question, sir”, the woman said. Mr Trump said he would replace Obamacare, the healthcare legislation of his predecessor, with a plan that would still keep protections in place.

Elsewhere, Mr Trump caused confusion by accusing Joe Biden, his Democratic opponent, of not delivering on his promise to issue a mandate encouraging all Americans to wear a face mask.

The president said: “They said at the Democrat convention they’re going to do a national mandate. They never did it because they’ve checked out and they didn’t do it.”

He blamed Mr Biden directly, saying: “He didn’t do it. I mean, he never did it”. Critics pointed out Mr Biden was not the president and could only implement such a policy in office.

‘Well, I hope there’s not a race problem. I can tell you, there’s none with me’