Final presidential debate summary
That’s it from us tonight. Thanks for following along with our coverage of the final presidential debate.
Here are the key takeaways of the night:
- Trump and Biden sparred over the coronavirus pandemic, with the president defending his response to a pandemic that has already claimed 223,000 American lives. Trump said of the pandemic, “I take full responsibility. It’s not my fault that it came here. It’s China’s fault.” Biden argued Trump had “no clear plan” to bring the virus under control.
- Biden criticized Trump as “one of the most racist presidents we’ve had in modern history”. Asked how he would respond to Americans who are concerned about his record on race, Trump said, “I am the least racist person in this room.” Biden responded, “He pours fuel on every single racist fire. ... This guy has a dog whistle about as big as a foghorn.”
-
Trump reiterated that he wanted the supreme court to dismantle Obamacare. Echoing his comments to 60 Minutes, the president said Obamacare was “no good”, adding, “What we’d like to do is terminate it.” Biden said he would support Obamacare as president and would build upon it with a public option, describing his plan as “Bidencare”.
- Trump tried to jump on Biden for endorsing a transition away from fossil fuels, arguing the Democrat would be bad for the economy. Biden emphasized the need to expand renewable energy sources, and he later told reporters that his comments about moving away from fossil fuels were aimed at government subsidies for fossil fuels.
- Moderator Kristen Welker of NBC News was praised for her orderly management of tonight’s debate. Unlike the first debate, which devolved into chaos as Trump repeatedly interrupted Biden and moderator Chris Wallace, Welker successfully kept the debate on task, allowing for more substantive answers from the nominees.
- Overall, the debate seems unlikely to sway many voters, which is a victory for Biden. Snap polls taken after the debate showed viewers favored Biden’s performance by about 10-15 points, results that closely mirror recent national polls. Given his poor polling numbers, Trump needed to shake up the race somehow with tonight’s debate, and it does not seem like he has done that.
It is past midnight on the east coast, which means we are now 11 days from the presidential election. The Guardian’s US politics live blog will be back in the morning, so tune back in then for more updates and analysis from our team.
Updated
Chris Wallace, who moderated a chaotic first debate during which Donald Trump repeatedly talked over him and Joe Biden, said he was “jealous” that tonight’s moderator Kristen Welker was able to maintain order.
Speaking on Fox News immediately after tonight’s debate concluded, Wallace said, “I would’ve liked to have been able to moderate that debate and get a real exchange of views instead of hundreds of interruptions.”
Oh, Chris Wallace. #Debates2020 pic.twitter.com/GNFlIDWa3a
— Martine St-Victor (@MartineMontreal) October 23, 2020
CNN’s snap poll of debate watchers showed similar results to the DataProgress survey, with 53% of viewers saying Biden won and 39% saying Trump won.
Results of the CNN instant poll of debate watchers: 53% say Biden won, 39% say Trump won. pic.twitter.com/AK4Fc99tez
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) October 23, 2020
Those results mirror recent national polls, which is bad news for Trump, given the president needed a major moment in tonight’s debate to shake up the race. He doesn’t seem to have landed one.
Symone Sanders, a senior adviser in the Biden campaign, said that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and their spouses, will be campaigning hard over the next few days until 3 November.
“We cannot let up,” she said, speaking to Brian Williams on MSNBC. “This race is a lot closer than it looks ... That is why we have to fight to the very end.”
After 2016, when most polls showed Hillary Clinton leading but Donald Trump snagged a win, the Biden campaign has been cautious – continuing to push out their message as election day rolls closer.
– Maanvi Singh
Updated
Speaking to reporters on the tarmac before leaving Nashville, Biden tried to clean up his comments about phasing out fossil fuels during tonight’s debate.
The Democratic nominee said his climate policies would not cause jobs to be cut because many more jobs would be created by expanding renewable energy sources.
Biden added, “We’re not getting rid of fossil fuels. We’re getting rid of the subsidies for fossil fuels, but we’re not getting rid of fossil fuels for a long time.”
When Biden mentioned transitioning away from fossil fuels tonight, Trump jumped on the comment, saying his opponent would be bad for the US economy.
Pollster Frank Luntz’s focus group of undecided seemed to like Donald Trump’s relatively restrained performance tonight.
While the group described Biden as “vague”, “unspecific” and “elusive”; they described Trump as “poised” and “surprisingly presidential”.
Luntz said, “Similarly as before, they say Joe Biden is a more decent person, but they side more with Trump’s policies and how they affect their daily lives.”
My focus group’s words to describe Trump tonight:
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) October 23, 2020
• “Controlled”
• “Reserved”
• “Poised”
• “Con artist”
• “Surprisingly presidential”
Words to describe Biden tonight:
• “Vague”
• “Unspecific”
• “Elusive”
• “Defensive”
• “Grandfatherly”
👉🏻 https://t.co/LOOQDLAjoT pic.twitter.com/qa54f6F94S
That contrasts a bit with the snap poll Joan just wrote about, where the majority of voters said Biden won the night.
Trump needed to show restraint after an aggressive, chaotic performance at the first debate when he repeatedly interrupted Biden and the moderator.
– Maanvi Singh
Updated
A snap poll taken by DataProgress showed American voters who watched the debate believed Biden won the night.
According to the poll, 52% of voters said Biden won, while 41% said Trump had the better performance. An additional 7% were undecided.
Preliminary results from the @DataProgress snap debate poll: A majority of voters who watched the debate say Biden won (52% Biden, 41% Trump, 7% undecided) and moderates in particular think Biden won by a 2:1 margin
— Charlotte Swasey (@charlotteeffect) October 23, 2020
The results are quite similar to recent national polls of the presidential race. The FiveThirtyEight average of national polls currently has Biden at 52.1% and Trump at 42.2%.
It’s important to remember that Trump came into the night at a significant disadvantage and needed to somehow shake up the race with the final debate. It’s not clear Trump managed that.
Updated
During the climate change segment of the debate, there was a lot of back and forth about fracking – with Trump accusing Biden of flip-flopping on his opposition to fracking to appeal to voters in swing state Pennsylvania.
Biden, adamant, insisted he wasn’t going to ban fracking – much to the dismay of progressives who are calling for more ambitious climate action. His plan is to ban new gas and oil permits — including fracking — on federal lands.
But it’s unclear why Biden has held back on banning fracking. Even in Pennsylvania, 52% oppose fracking, per a CBS News poll of registered voters.
Here’s more on how fracking has disrupted and contaminated communities in Pennsylvania, from my colleague Nina Lakhani:
– Maanvi Singh
Updated
Speaking to reporters on the tarmac before leaving Nashville, Joe Biden said he felt “good” about his debate performance, and he applauded the moderating of Kristen Welker.
“I thought the moderator did a good job of making it run smoothly, and so it was [a] much, much more rational debate than the first one,” Biden said.
Biden on the tarmac in TN just now on how he feels tonight's debate went: "Well that’s for the public to judge. I felt good about it. And I thought the moderator did a good job of making it run smoothly and so it was much, much more rational debate than the first one."
— Johnny Verhovek (@JTHVerhovek) October 23, 2020
No surprise here: the Trump campaign applauded the president’s performance tonight, shortly after the final debate concluded.
“President Trump completely unmasked Joe Biden as a Washington politician who is all talk and no action,” campaign manager Bill Stepien said in a statement.
“This was the businessman versus the career politician, the outsider versus the Washington insider, the reformer against the swamp,” Stepien said.
It is a bit odd that Trump’s campaign is still heralding him as a political “outsider” when he has now been president for four years.
Stepien concluded, “President Trump won this debate in a blowout and it’s little wonder why Biden doesn’t want to do any more.”
The Commission on Presidential Debates set the debate schedule, which mirrors the debate schedules of previous presidential election seasons, and it was Trump who first pulled out of the second debate because he objected to its virtual format.
Fact check: Some people didn’t get to keep their insurance under Obamacare
“Not one single person with private insurance would lose their insurance under my plan, nor did they under ‘Obamacare,’” Biden said. “They did not lose their insurance unless they chose they wanted to go to something else.”
That’s not quite right. When Obama’s Affordable Care Act was first enacted, several million people whose individual plans that did not meet minimum standards that the healthcare law set did see those policies canceled.
Broadly, insurance companies ended up discontinuing plans that millions of Americans bought directly (rather than through their employer).
Many of those people were able to buy subsidized insurance through federal and state marketplaces. Many ended up with better coverage and lower rates - but they technically lost the specific plan they had before.
– Maanvi Singh
WSJ fact-checks opinion writers' claims about Hunter Biden
The Wall Street Journal has published a piece fact-checking its own opinion writers’ claims about Hunter Biden’s business activities.
The Journal reports:
An ex-business partner of Hunter Biden, in a news conference organized by the Trump campaign, alleged that former Vice-president Joe Biden was part of discussions around his son’s efforts to form an investment venture with a Chinese oil company.
The Biden campaign denied Joe Biden had any involvement in the venture nor stood to gain by it.
In a statement to reporters Thursday, Anthony Bobulinski said that in 2017 Hunter Biden consulted his father about a planned venture with Chinese oil company CEFC China Energy Co to invest in the US and elsewhere. Mr Bobulinski was also a partner.
The venture – set up in 2017 after Mr Biden left the vice presidency and before his presidential campaign – never received proposed funds from the Chinese company or completed any deals, according to people familiar with the matter. Corporate records reviewed by the Wall Street Journal show no role for Joe Biden.
The piece will run in the Journal’s print edition tomorrow, along with an opinion piece that will include claims debunked by this report.
Trump has been touting an anticipated report from the Journal that he said would be very damaging for Biden. It’s unclear if this is the report the president was referring to.
Updated
Trump’s allies tried to capitalize on Biden’s acknowledgement that he supports transitioning away from fossil fuels in favor of renewable energy sources:
Hey Texas and Pennsylvania, @JoeBiden just admitted he would transition from the oil industry, effectively killing an estimated 11 million jobs. #Debates2020
— Rick Perry (@GovernorPerry) October 23, 2020
But a Politico writer based in the swing state of Michigan argued Biden’s comments would not move many undecided voters:
Biden's comment about transitioning from oil isn't the game-changer some of you believe it is. We've been transitioning from oil for 50 years. Voters see that in their everyday lives w/ industries utilizing new green tech. Biden didn't say anything tonight he hasn't said before.
— Tim Alberta (@TimAlberta) October 23, 2020
Analysis: Trump v Biden on climate change
In the final minutes of the debate, when the candidates were finally asked what they would do to address the climate crisis, Trump offered an alternate reality. In his world, fossil fuels are clean and renewable power is problematic, his administration has cleaned up the air and water despite rolling back protections, and we can fix climate change just by planting trees.
Biden presented a climate plan and a sober assessment of where we stand, and calling climate change an existential threat that we will pass a point of no return for within eight years.
Trump argued Biden’s plan would cost $100 trillion, was written by “AOC plus three,” and would tear down buildings just to rebuild them again with smaller windows, or no windows at all--none of which is true. He insisted he wants the US to have the cleanest air and water, despite his administration slashing dozens of rules meant to protect public health and the environment and consistently making decisions in favor of the fossil fuels industry.
Trump praised natural gas as “very clean,” and complained that wind power kills birds and solar power isn’t ready yet. “We’re going to have the greatest economy in the world but if you want to kill the economy, get rid of your oil industry,” he said, while accusing Biden of wanting to ban fracking – a way of extracting oil and gas that has vastly increased US production.
Trump said Biden flip-flopped when he realized he would need to win Pennsylvania – a swing state with extensive fracking. And Biden dared Trump to publish his evidence that he did. Biden plans to try to slash US climate pollution to essentially zero by 2050, but he has often steered clear of statements about the end of fossil fuels – until tonight.
“I would transition from the oil industry, yes…because the oil industry pollutes,” Biden said. Biden said he would not ban fracking but over time would work to capture emissions from fracked gas – a technology that is not currently available at scale. Biden also said he would hold countries like China to their climate promises, while Trump argued the Paris international climate agreement would’ve tanked business.
Asked about people who live near polluting facilities like refineries and chemical plants – who are far more likely to be people of color – Trump dodged the question and said that racial minorities have seen economic gains under his administration and that “everybody has very inexpensive gasoline.
According to a pool report, the debate venue was very quiet as Trump and Biden sparred – with one notable exception.
Wall Street Journal reporter Rebecca Ballhaus writes, “The audience was nearly completely silent during the debate, save for one giggle when Potus quipped: ‘I know more about wind than you do. It’s extremely expensive. Kills all the birds.’”
Here’s that moment again in case you missed it:
In exchange on energy policy, Pres. Trump says, "I know more about wind than you do. It's extremely expensive. Kills all the birds. It's very intermittent. It's got a lot of problems." https://t.co/VXBv1PU9iL #Debates2020 pic.twitter.com/84eMXSiNvq
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) October 23, 2020
Updated
The early verdicts are in from the pundits on social media, and it seems like the winner is … Kristen Welker.
winner of the debate is obviously kristen welker
— b-boy boooo-eebaisse (@jbouie) October 23, 2020
trump cleared the bar for himself, that is, he didn’t rant and rave again.
biden had a very solid performance.
no game changers here in either direction means, i think, that this is a good result for biden.
The winner of tonight’s debate is none other than @kwelkernbc. This debate felt normal. #Debates2020
— Omar Jimenez (@OmarJimenez) October 23, 2020
Although some viewers also had views on the candidates:
Fox's @brithume: "I thought Trump gave his best debate performance perhaps ever — but I think the vice president, the former vice president fought him to at least a draw."
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) October 23, 2020
"I don't know this debate will change the state of the race. I think probably not."
When the worst possible thing Biden's opponents can say about a his performance is "he looked at his watch," maybe your guy lost.
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) October 23, 2020
Biden was again imperfect from a fact check perspective. He made at least a few false, misleading, or lacking-in-context claims.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) October 23, 2020
Trump was, as usual, a serial liar.
Trump spoke for about three and a half more minutes than Biden, but the two nominees got relatively equal speaking time during the final presidential debate, according to CNN.
Joe Biden had 37:53 of speaking time at tonight’s debate.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 23, 2020
Donald Trump had 41:16 of speaking time.
Per @adamplevy @stark_talk
The final question of the night, posed to both nominees, was what message they would offer on Inauguration Day to Americans who did not vote for them.
Trump emphasized the need to rebuild the US economy, which has suffered greatly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have to make our country totally successfully as it was prior to the plague coming in from China,” Trump said.
Asked what he'll say during his inaugural speech to people who didn't vote for him, Biden says, "I am an American president. I represent all of you whether you vote for me or against me. I will give you hope. We will choose science over fiction, hope over fear." pic.twitter.com/x7myWRpdcQ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 23, 2020
Biden responded by once again assuring the nation that he would be the president of both Democrats and Republicans.
“I’m an American president. I represent all of you, whether you voted for me or against me, and I’m going to make sure that you’re represented,” Biden said.
Reiterating a line that he has said many times on the campaign trail, Biden told Americans, “I’m going to give you hope. We’re going to move. We’re going to choose science over fiction; we’re going to choose hope over fear. We’re going to choose to move forward because we have enormous opportunities, enormous opportunities to make things better.”
With that, the final presidential debate came to a close. All that’s left now is for Americans to vote – and again, more than 48 million Americans already have.
Updated
Fact check: Unemployment for Black Americans was not quite “best” under Trump
It is true that the unemployment rate for Black Americans reached a record low during the Trump administration, hitting 5.4%. However, unemployment levels began to drop during the Obama administration, dropping from 16.8% in March 2010, to 7.8% by January 2017.
Since the pandemic, which has disproportionately affected Black Americans, struck – Black unemployment rates have climbed back up to 12% in September, and the racial gap in unemployment rates has widened. In September, the rate for the overall population was 7.9% and it was 7% of white Americans.
– Maanvi Singh
Updated
Final presidential debate concludes
The final presidential debate has now concluded, but the blog will have more reactions and analysis to come, so stay tuned.
Fact check: The trade deficit with China did not significantly change under Trump
Trump “caused the deficit with China to go up, not down,” Biden said. The deficit in value of American exports to China vs China’s exports to the US was $347bn in 2016 (under Obama’s administration) and $345bn in 2019 (under Trump).
– Maanvi Singh
Updated
Biden acknowledged he is in favor of transitioning from fossil fuels in favor of renewable energy sources, which Trump jumped on to argue the Democrat would be bad for the economy.
“He takes everything out of context,” Biden said. “We have to move towards net-zero emissions.”
With just a few minutes to go in the debate, the discussion shifted to climate change.
Biden emphasized the need to expand sources of renewable energy, attacking Trump for his past comments about wind energy causing cancer.
“I know more about wind than you do,” Trump replied. “It’s very expensive. It kills the birds.”
The president insisted Biden would ban fracking, even though the Democrat has repeatedly said (and said again tonight) that he would not do so.
Updated
Biden: Trump is 'one of the most racist presidents we’ve had in modern history'
Trump was pressed on why Americans should support him if they are concerned about his comments on racial issues such as Black Lives Matter.
“I am the least racist person in this room,” Trump insisted.
.@JoeBiden responds:
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 23, 2020
"This guy is a dog whistle about as big as a foghorn." #Debates2020 pic.twitter.com/8EVd0V1UuW
Biden responded by saying Trump was “one of the most racist presidents we’ve had in modern history”.
“He pours fuel on every single racist fire,” Biden said, noting Trump started his 2016 campaign by attacking Mexicans as “rapists”.
“This guy is a dog whistle about as big as a foghorn,” Biden said.
Updated
Fact check: The race to the bottom on immigration policy
Donald Trump said the Obama administration built “cages”. It’s true that the Obama administration built facilities to detain immigrants. It’s also true that the Obama administration oversaw a record number of deportations.
However, unlike the Trump administration, there was no “zero tolerance” policy under Obama as there was under Trump, wherein children were routinely separated from their parents. Whereas the Trump administration has cracked down on all migrants, the Obama administration on those with criminal records.
Here’s CQ Roll Call immigration reporter Tanvi Misra’s take:
To be clear! Obama did family detention! Comprehensive Immigration Reform failed over and over! Border walls were built before! However, this administration has gone to unprecedented lengths to reduce immigration, legal or not. And make immigrants, new and old, suffer! https://t.co/6bkFF8uVx7
— tanvi (@Tanvim) October 23, 2020
Updated
Biden made a character-based pitch for his candidacy, saying he was “anxious” to see the results of the presidential election.
“The character of the country is on the ballot. Our character is on the ballot,” Biden said.
Trump responded by resurrecting his attacks against Biden’s son, Hunter, saying, “Don’t give me this stuff about how you’re this innocent baby. Joe, they’re calling you a corrupt politician.”
The president referred to the “laptop from hell”, an apparent reference to a New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s emails that is reportedly being investigated as potentially part of a foreign influence operation, which Biden noted.
“You mean the laptop is another Russia, Russia, Russia hoax?” Trump said.
Biden said that it was.
Updated
The debate turned to race in America, amid a national reckoning over racism in the country.
“The fact of the matter is, there is institutional racism in America,” Biden said.
Trump, who has avoided using the phrase “institutional racism”, responded by once again arguing that he has done more for African Americans than any president since Abraham Lincoln.
Updated
Trump said the only undocumented immigrants who appear for their court dates are those with the “lowest IQ”.
“Only the really – I hate to say this, but those with the lowest IQ. They might come back,” Trump said.
"Only the reaaaaaallllllly-- I hate to say this, but those with the lowest IQ. They might come back." -- Trump pic.twitter.com/RWfbAt68ff
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 23, 2020
Updated
Fact check: Biden is, in fact, from Scranton
Trump said Biden wasn’t “really” from Scranton, Pennsylvania. Biden moved from Scranton when he was 10 years old. He is still from Scranton.
Fun fact, figure Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon is also from Scranton.
– Maanvi Singh
Updated
We’re not quite at first debate levels yet, but the relatively calm composure Trump had at the start of tonight’s debate is beginning to sour, with his interruptions and volume increasing. It hasn’t gone unnoticed:
Trump was relatively mellow the first 10-15 minutes. Now he's back to snapping at the moderator, demanding the last word and offering more a more combative, conspiratorial tone.
— Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) October 23, 2020
Trump, mocking Biden for bringing up the pandemic's impact on Americans sitting around the kitchen table, calls himself "not a typical politician."
— Will Steakin (@wsteaks) October 23, 2020
Trump lost his temper and mocked struggling families.
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) October 23, 2020
New tone!
Biden criticizes Trump after he bemoans 'bailouts' for Democratic states
Biden criticized Trump after the president said he opposed the coronavirus relief bill passed by the Democratic-controlled House earlier this year because it was a “bailout” for Democratic-led states.
Biden after Trump attacks blue states: "I'm running as a proud Democrat, but I'm going to be an American president. I don't see red states and blue states. What I see is America, the United States." pic.twitter.com/CQLnFtq2N7
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 23, 2020
“It was really a big bailout for badly run Democrat cities and states,” Trump said.
Biden responded, “I’m running as a proud Democrat, but I’m going to be an American president. I don’t see red states and blue states. What I see is America, the United States.”
In the first mention of anything close to climate change in this debate, Trump accused Biden of flip-flopping on fracking, saying he used to support banning it.
Biden has said repeatedly on the campaign trail that he would not ban fracking – a method of extracting oil and gas that has fueled the US natural gas boom.
Both Trump and Biden have spoken frequently about fracking – an industry important to swing states such as Pennsylvania. Despite calling for zeroing out climate emissions by 2050, Biden has not set a timeline for phasing out gas, a major contributor to the crisis.
Updated
Fact check: Trump unleashes slew of lies on healthcare
- Trump said Biden would get rid of private insurance. In fact, Biden’s healthcare plan, unlike Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare for All”, does not eliminate private plans. Under Biden’s plan, there would be a “public option” but people who have private insurance can keep it.
- Trump did not terminate the individual mandate of the Affordable Care. Act, which requires every American to get healthcare. Under the Trump administration, the penalty for not having healthcare is zero dollars – but the requirement still exists. The administration is trying to dismantle the landmark Obama-era healthcare law in court by saying the individual mandate, which still exists, is unconstitutional.
- And finally, Trump once again made empty promises that he will protect patients with pre-existing health conditions from being denied insurance coverage. Such protections are currently the law of the land thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) signed by Barack Obama. The Trump administration is currently seeking to dismantle the ACA through a supreme court case that the justices will hear shortly after the election. Trump recently signed an executive order on pre-existing conditions, but it is unclear what that would do. Legal experts have said they’re hard-pressed to think of what authority the president could draw upon to unilaterally force insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions.
– Maanvi Singh
Updated
After Trump accused Biden of supporting “socialized medicine”, the Democratic nominee said the president was “confused” about who he was running against.
"He's a very confused guy. He thinks he's running against somebody else. He's running against Joe Biden." -- Biden after Trump starts bashing Bernie Sanders pic.twitter.com/1xE7LTMyDJ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 23, 2020
“He’s a very confused guy. He thinks he’s running against somebody else,” Biden said. “He’s running against Joe Biden. I beat all those other people because I disagreed with them.”
That line could prove effective with American voters, although it may rankle former Democratic presidential candidates like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who have endorsed Biden and campaigned for him.
Updated
Trump predicted Republicans would win the House on 3 November, a prediction that is not shared by any election expert.
"I think we're going to win the House." Reality check: Dems on track to expand their House majority by 5-15 seats, per @CookPolitical outlook.
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) October 23, 2020
Democrats flipped the House in 2018 and are poised to build upon their majority next month.
Updated
Biden said he would institute Obamacare plus a public option, referring to his plan as “Bidencare”.
The Democratic nominee also emphasized that he supports private insurance, distancing himself from some of his former primary rivals.
“Healthcare is not a privilege, it’s a right,” Biden said. “Everyone should have the right to have affordable healthcare.”
Updated
Fact check: China did not pay for US tariffs
“China is paying” for the tariff money Trump gave farmers, he said. “Taxpayer money,” Biden interjected. “It’s called China,” Trump insisted.
Biden was correct. China is not paying for tariffs – Americans are. In May 2019, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Princeton and Columbia universities estimated that tariffs from Trump’s trade dispute with China were costing $831 per US household.
Here is an explainer from Reuters on how tariffs work.
– Maanvi Singh
Updated
Trump on Obamacare: 'What we’d like to do is terminate it'
Echoing his comments to 60 Minutes, Trump said he hoped the supreme court would dismantle the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
“Obamacare is no good,” Trump said. “What we’d like to do is terminate it.”
The Trump administration is supporting a lawsuit currently before the supreme court that could lead to the dismantling of the ACA.
Updated
Biden criticized Trump for having “legitimized” North Korea by meeting with Kim Jong Un, accusing the president of buddying up to a “thug”.
Trump responded by mocking Barack Obama, saying Kim didn’t want to meet with the former president because he didn’t like him.
Updated
Biden tried to pivot away from Trump’s attacks on his son, Hunter, by refocusing on kitchen-table issues.
“There’s a reason why he’s bringing up all this malarkey. There’s a reason for it. He doesn’t want to talk about the substantive issues,” Biden said.
Looking into the camera, the Democratic nominee added, “It’s not about his family and my family. It’s about your family, and your family is hurting badly.”
Biden defended his son Hunter’s business activities in Ukraine and China before pivoting to an attack on Trump, who has tried to paint the younger Biden as corrupt.
“The guy who got in trouble in Ukraine was this guy – trying to bribe the Ukrainian government to say something negative about me,” Biden said.
Trump was impeached by the House late last year over his communications with the Ukrainian president about Biden.
Updated
Fact check: Biden + Russia
Biden “got $3.5m from Russia and it came through Putin”, Trump said. It seems Trump has mischaracterized his own dubious accusations. During the first presidential debate, Trump said Hunter Biden got $3.5m from the wife of Moscow’s ex-mayor.
The allegation seems to stem from a report – Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns by the Republican-led senate committee on homeland security. It does not name a source for the allegation or say whether it was illegal.
– Maanvi Singh
Updated
CNN moderator Kristen Welker is getting glowing reviews for her handling of the debate so far:
I’m beaming watching Kristen Welker. Such an amazing moment for her and for all who know of her hard work and dedication to journalism. Go girl!
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) October 23, 2020
Welker overall doing an excellent job thus far.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) October 23, 2020
Kristen Walker is so far wiping the floor with every other, bigger-named moderator of presidential debates this year.
— Tim Ball (@tball) October 23, 2020
.@kwelkernbc doing a stellar job as expected
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) October 23, 2020
Biden called on Trump to release his tax returns, noting the president has been promising to release them since his 2016 campaign.
“Show us. Just show us. Stop playing around,” Biden said.
Trump curiously claimed he had “prepaid millions and millions of dollars in taxes”.
According to the financial documents obtained by the New York Times, Trump paid $750 in federal income tax in 2016.
Updated
Fact check: Fauci
Trump accused Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, of political bias. In fact, Fauci is not registered with a political party and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Republican George W Bush.
– Maanvi Singh
Donald Trump has just been targeting New York over its coronavirus response, calling it a “ghost town” and condemning the “expensive” use of plexiglass in restaurants. As someone who lives in New York I’d be happy to provide a personal fact check, but here’s how some more interesting New Yorkers have been responding:
Trump: “New York City is a hell scape.” New York City: pic.twitter.com/OS2KE64pfS
— Kristen Meinzer (@kristenmeinzer) October 23, 2020
Hi, New York here, not a ghost town. We're thriving. We're doing great. And we're delighted Trump has moved out of town.
— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) October 23, 2020
NEW YORK CITY IS NOT A DAMN GHOSTTOWN
— Antoni Porowski (@antoni) October 23, 2020
Also, some context:
Trump just said California and New York are terrible on covid.
— Mikel Jollett (@Mikel_Jollett) October 23, 2020
California and New York have among the lowest positivity rates in the country.
The worst *12* states on covid are all RED STATES. pic.twitter.com/qC3spnSMAH
Trump seemed agitated as he remarked on Biden breaking fundraising records in August and September.
The Democratic nominee raised $364.5 million in September, smashing the previous single-month fundraising record, which Biden had set himself a month earlier.
“I can blow away your records like you couldn’t believe,” the president said. Trump then attacked Biden over ties to Wall Street.
Biden responded by simply saying, “Average contribution: $43.”
More fact checks on coronavirus:
- Trump said he was kidding about studying bleach as a coronavirus cure. He did not appear to be kidding when he made the suggestion to his top public health experts during a White House coronavirus briefing.
- Trump said Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker and a Democrat from California, was “dancing” in Chinatown. She visited Chinatown as a gesture to discourage xenophobia, which Trump has peddled by using racist terms to describe the coronavirus.
- Trump said “Democratic” states with strict lockdown measures are the worst affected. It’s true that New York and Washington state, both of which have Democratic governors, were initially hotspots. But over time, deaths in those states, and in other blue states trended down. Also, these states are not “closed” as Trump said - businesses have reopened with precautions most everywhere. Meanwhile, deaths in red states have been trending up.
– Maanvi Singh
Updated
Moderator Kristen Welker pressed Trump on his comments earlier this week attacking Dr Anthony Fauci as a “disaster” and other health experts as “idiots”.
Trump downplayed his differences with Fauci before criticizing him for reversing his guidance on using masks.
Trump added, “I think he’s a Democrat, but that’s OK.”
Two fact-checks: Fauci changed his advice on face masks because additional evidence revealed they could help limit the spread of coronavirus from those who are asymptomatic or have not yet developed symptoms.
And Fauci is not a Democrat. The highly respected infectious disease expert is not registered with either party, according to his voter registration.
Updated
So far this debate has been markedly less chaotic than the first one, thanks to a new mic-muting rule and a moderator who seems to have a better grip on things than Chris Wallace. Most significantly Trump has also not been interrupting all the time. Here’s how viewers have been responding to the shift:
This debate is so much easier to watch than the last one so far. I don’t have a headache yet
— Mike Murphy 🎃 (@mcwm) October 23, 2020
The moderator is much better than those past debates. #Debates2020
— deray (@deray) October 23, 2020
This "turning off the mic" rule seems to have gotten these two to behave better. #debate
— Jennifer Bukowsky (@esqonfire) October 23, 2020
Trump’s definitely doing a lot better in this debate than last time, but that’s a pretty low bar to be honest. #Debates2020
— Tom Coates (@tomcoates) October 23, 2020
Trump criticized Biden’s proposals on the coronavirus response, saying, “All he talks about is shutdowns. No, we’re not going to shut down.”
Biden responded, “I’m going to shut down the virus, not the country.”
Trump said of the coronavirus pandemic, “I take full responsibility. It’s not my fault that it came here. It’s China’s fault.”
The president has consistently tried to blame Beijing for the pandemic, as his administration’s response has been widely criticized.
Trump said Biden criticized his decision to shut down access to China due to the coronavirus pandemic as “xenophobic”.
“He is xenophobic, but not because he shut down access from China,” Biden replied.
"He is xenophobic, but not because he shut down access from China." -- Biden pic.twitter.com/bICluVTYYg
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 23, 2020
Updated
Fact check: Trump’s coronavirus response
Trump just blurted out a whole slew of false and inaccurate characterizations of the coronavirus pandemic.
Let’s run through them:
- “2.2m would have died,” Trump said, if not for him. Early models of how the pandemic would pan out projected a wide range of possible death rates. But it’s clear that the Trump administration’s faltering response to the pandemic cost lives. Between 130,000 and 210,000 deaths from Covid-19 would have been prevented if the administration coordinated a faster response guided by science, according to a report from a team of disaster preparedness and public health experts.
- Trump said a vaccine is “weeks away”. Public health experts, including the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said one won’t be ready for general use until at least the Spring. When asked if his timeline was realistic, Trump said the military would distribute it. His administration had signaled in the past that it would be distributed through local health departments.
- Trump said, “I’m immune–no one’s been able to tell how long.” While scientists aren’t sure how long immunity lasts, they don’t generally think the immunity lasts more than 6 months.
- “It’s going away” Trump said. He’s been saying that since the beginning. Coronavirus cases in the US are rising, driven by spikes in the midwest, as epidemiologists warn of a new wave of infections in the autumn and winter. More than 221,000 Americans have died of Covid-19 and while deaths nationally have trended downward, the county is losing on 700 to 100 lives a day in recent days.
– Maanvi Singh
Biden attacks Trump over coronavirus: 'He has no clear plan'
Biden expressed severe skepticism about Trump’s timeline for the release of a coronavirus vaccine.
“This is the same fellow who told you it was going to end by Easter,” Biden said. “He has no clear plan.”
The Democratic nominee predicted the country was about to enter a “dark winter”, as the number of new coronavirus cases rises in dozens of US states.
Updated
Moderator Kristen Welker followed up on Trump’s claim that the coronavirus vaccine was coming in a matter of weeks.
Asked if that was a guarantee, Trump said, “No, it’s not a guarantee, but I think it will be by the end of the year.”
Welker noted experts have said it will take months before a vaccine is widely available and masks will continue to be necessary well into 2021.
“I think my timeline is going to be more accurate,” Trump said.
The first topic of the night is fighting coronavirus, and Trump used his opening answer to claim the coronavirus vaccine is “ready” and “going to be announced within weeks.”
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said a vaccine will likely not be widely available to the American public until mid to late 2021.
The president also claimed he was “immune” from coronavirus because he contracted the virus earlier this month, but it is very unclear how long coronavirus antibodies last, and there have been documented cases of reinfection.
Trump took his position on the debate stage without wearing a mask. Biden wore a mask as he stepped up to his podium.
Trump enters without a mask. Biden enters with one. And the final 2020 presidential debate is under way. pic.twitter.com/tHBFTrvQMv
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 23, 2020
Moderator Kristen Welker opened the debate by noting that the candidate’s mics would be muted as their opponents delivered their opening two-minute responses to questions.
The Commission on Presidential Debates introduced that rule after Trump repeatedly interrupted Biden and moderator Chris Wallace during the first debate, creating a chaotic spectacle.
Final presidential debate gets underway
The final presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden is now underway, so stay tuned to the blog for updates and analysis.
Hi everyone, it’s Maanvi Singh.
I’ll be providing live fact-checks and analysis throughout the night.
– MS
Updated
First lady Melania Trump has entered the debate hall wearing a face mask, which is a requirement for attending tonight’s event.
Melania Trump is in attendance for the presidential debate pic.twitter.com/OTpfcTdLee
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 23, 2020
The first lady attended the first presidential debate, and at that event, she removed her face mask shortly after taking her seat.
An employee of the Cleveland Clinic, which hosted the first debate, offered members of the Trump family face masks, but they declined to take them.
Two days after the first debate, the president announced he and the first lady had tested positive for coronavirus.
Kristen Welker of NBC News will be moderating tonight’s debate, and the president has been attacking her in the days leading up to the event, describing the journalist as “a very biased person”.
It’s worth noting one of Trump’s own advisers, Jason Miller, has praised Welker and predicted she will do an “excellent job” moderating the debate.
“Look, I think I have a very high opinion of Kristen Welker. I think she’s going to do an excellent job as the moderator for the third debate,” Miller said in early October. “I think she’s a journalist who’s very fair in her approach. And I think that she’ll be a very good choice for this third debate.”
This is, of course, only the second presidential debate. The 15 October debate was canceled because Trump refused to agree to a virtual format after concerns were raised about the president’s coronavirus diagnosis.
Updated
Joe Biden has arrived at the debate venue as well, with just 15 minutes to go until the start of the event.
The Democratic nominee sent this one-word tweet before the debate got underway.
Ready. pic.twitter.com/RYbnSpEsKB
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 23, 2020
Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris, also sent him a note of encouragement before he took the debate stage.
You got this, @JoeBiden. pic.twitter.com/RXoM5CEAkg
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 23, 2020
Trump has arrived at Belmont University, where tonight’s presidential debate will take place in Nashville, Tennessee.
Presidential Motorcade rolls into Belmont University pic.twitter.com/yJJIgQbxtL
— Natasha Korecki (@natashakorecki) October 23, 2020
We are about 20 minutes away from the start of the debate, so stay tuned for more updates and analysis from the blog.
Trump and Biden debate as coronavirus death toll climbs
Tonight’s debate comes as the country is experiencing a rise in the number of new coronavirus cases and deaths.
According to the Covid Tracking Project, 1,038 Americans have died of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, marking the highest single-day death toll in about a month.
Our daily update is published. States reported 1.1 million tests, 73k cases, and 41k people currently hospitalized with COVID-19. The death toll was 1,038, the highest since late September. pic.twitter.com/dzu0VTUoLn
— The COVID Tracking Project (@COVID19Tracking) October 22, 2020
Dozens of states are also reporting increases in new cases. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced earlier today that the state has seen 2,425 new cases since yesterday, representing the highest single-day case count ever recorded in the state.
Today we are reporting 2,425 new cases since yesterday. This is the highest number we have ever reported on a single day. Of the 10 highest days of new cases reported, eight have occurred in just the past nine days. Nine have occurred in the month of October alone. pic.twitter.com/NYlQHWsjZw
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) October 22, 2020
Fighting coronavirus was one of the six topics laid out by moderator Kristen Welker of NBC News for tonight’s debate, so the rise in new cases and deaths will almost certainly be discussed tonight.
That may frustrate the president, given he has frequently lashed out against reporters when they mention the country’s disproportionately high coronavirus death toll.
According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, 222,965 Americans have died of coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.
Biden will likely press Trump on his 60 Minutes interview, in which the president said he wants the supreme court to “end” Obamacare.
Trump preemptively released his 60 Minutes interview on Twitter today, after he cut the interview short earlier this week due to apparent frustration with Leslie Stahl’s questions.
In the interview, Trump said of the Obamacare case before the supreme court, “I hope that they end it. It’ll be so good if they end it.” He explained that it would be good if the law was dismantled because “we will come up with a plan”.
And there it is.
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) October 22, 2020
12 days before the election, Donald Trump admits he wants to get rid of your health care. pic.twitter.com/wBqRF6NZEh
Trump has been promising to release his own healthcare plan since he ran for office in 2016, and he has yet to do so. The Republican-controlled Senate also failed to repeal Obamacare in 2017.
Democrats have warned that Amy Coney Barrett’s likely confirmation to the supreme court could jeopardize Obamacare, including popular provisions like protections for those with preexisting conditions.
Biden will likely use Trump’s comments to 60 Minutes to argue the president’s reelection would threaten Americans’ healthcare coverage.
Updated
Trump’s strategy for the final debate appears to be to attack Biden’s son, Hunter, over his business dealings.
The president has invited Tony Bobulinski, one of Hunter Biden’s former business associates, as a guest to tonight’s debate.
Bobulinski delivered a statement to the press and answered a couple questions before the debate, claiming the Democratic nominee had been involved in his son’s business activities.
“I’ve heard Joe Biden say that he’s never discussed this with Hunter. That is false,” Bobulinski said, per a White House pool report. “I have firsthand knowledge about this because I directly dealt with the Biden family, including Joe Biden.”
Bobulinski said he would be turning over three phones to the FBI as evidence in the matter and would be speaking to the Senate homeland security committee tomorrow.
The Biden campaign responds to Tony Bobulinksi, who is Trump’s invited guest tonight. Statement from @AndrewBatesNC pic.twitter.com/adPs2NSvLt
— Tyler Pager (@tylerpager) October 22, 2020
The Biden campaign pushed back against Bobulinski’s claims, saying Biden has never been involved in business deals with his family. The campaign also criticized Trump for refusing to release his tax returns and for maintaining a bank account in China.
“Joe Biden has never even considered being involved in business with his family, nor in any overseas business whatsoever,” spokesperson Andrew Bates said. “He has never held stock in any such business arrangements nor has any family member or any other person ever held stock for him.”
It’s also worth noting that the FBI is reportedly investigating a New Post story about Hunter Biden’s emails as potentially part of a foreign influence operation, which Biden will likely bring up on the debate stage tonight if Trump attacks his rival’s son.
Trump and Biden will have 90 minutes to make their closing arguments to the nation, amid a pandemic that has killed more than 220,000 Americans and infected millions more, including the president. Due to the pandemic, more than 40 million Americans have already cast their ballots, shattering records and leaving Trump an increasingly narrow window to reset the debate.
Despite the cascading public health and economic crises, Biden has maintained a steady lead over the incumbent, according to public opinion polls, while Trump has struggled to outline his vision for a second term and grapple with voters’ disapproval of his response to the pandemic.
Trump’s challenge will be to demonstrate that he can keep his cool after a chaotic and widely criticized first presidential debate in Cleveland last month, during which he repeatedly interrupted Biden. Trump’s angry performance was poorly reviewed, and Biden only strengthened his polling lead following the clash.
This time, each candidate will have his microphone muted while his rival delivers a two-minute response to each of the six pre-determined debate topics, which include: fighting Covid-19, American families, race in America, climate change, national security and leadership.
Trump and Biden to face off in final presidential debate
Greetings, live blog readers, and welcome to the final presidential debate of 2020.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden are set to face off at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, in a little over an hour.
The debate comes just 12 days before the 3 November election, and it likely represents the president’s last chance to change his dismal polling numbers.
The FiveThirtyEight average of recent national polls shows Biden has a 9.9-point advantage among likely voters, and polls of battleground states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin similarly show the Democratic nominee pulling ahead of the president.
Trump is running out of time to reinvigorate his campaign, particularly because tens of millions of Americans have already cast their ballots.
According to the US Elections Project, 47,796,990 Americans have already voted by mail or early in person, representing about 35% of the total 2016 turnout.
If Trump cannot turn in a strong performance tonight, his fate could be sealed.
The debate will get underway in about an hour, so stay tuned.
Updated
