US President Donald Trump and Democrat rival Joe Biden faced off one last time at the presidential debate ahead of the November 3 elections that will either send Trump back to the Oval office or replace him with Biden.Around 88 million people watched the first debate. 100 million are believed to have watched this presidential debate.The debate held at the Belmont University, a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee saw its share of fireworks and controversies.
Fight against CoronavirusDonald Trump is asked about the road ahead on the crisis. He says, "It's a worldwide pandemic. The mortality rate is down. We are fighting it hard. There was a spike in Florida and Texas, and that's gone. The vaccine will be announced in weeks. Military will be distributing the vaccine. I got the virus. I got better very fast. I was congratulated by world leaders with regard to what we have done. It will go away. It is going away"Joe Biden: 220,000 Americans dead. Anyone is responsible for that many deaths shouldn't be US President. We have 1000 deaths a day and 70,000 new cases. Europe is starting from a very lower rate, we are starting from top. The president has no comprehensive plan. We will set up national standards. We will give them financial resources. The New England Journal called Trump's handling tragic
The Coronavirus FaceoffBiden: This is the same fellow who said it will emd by Easter. We are headed for dark winterTrump: We are opening up our country. We didn't understand the disease in the beginning. Biden was months behind me. He ran the H1N1, that was a disaster. It was a far less lethal, but millions died.Biden: He shut down after 4 countries did. Trump said in January that we have to thanks him for his response. He did virtually nothing. Nobody besides him thought it wasn't going to end soon.Trump: He has basement mentality. I learned a lot. 99% of people recovered. We have to open school. You are not going to have a nation if it remains closed. I take full responsibility. It's not my fault that it came here, it's China's fault.Biden: When it hit, the President said it is going to go away. Even today, he thinks he has things under control. We are set to lose 200,000 more people by end of the year.
Trump: Cure can't be worse than the problemBiden: I will shut the virus, not the country. I am not for shutting down everything. More social distancing. Do not open bars. When you open, give the people facilities to open. If you open schools, increase the funding, have more classes, more teachers.Trump: His Democrat goovernors have shut down so tight, but people are dying. I want to open the schools. The transmission rate to teachers is low. Cure can't be worse than the problem.Biden: We need resources to reopen. You need to test rapidly. You need to be able to trace.Trump: New York is a ghost town. Businesses are dying. You can't have plexi-glass, it is not affordable.Biden: President sees states as Red and Blue states -- they are American states.Trump: I get along well with Dr Fauci. He did say that this is not going to be a problem. He said there was no need for a mask, now he wants to. He is allowed to make mistakes.Biden: Think about what the President was told in January, and what he didn't do. He knew how dangerous it was. He didn's want America to panic, but Americans did.
Next Subject: Election InterferenceBiden: Any country interfering will pay a price for meddling with American sovereignty. I don''t know why Trump hasn't spoken to Putin about it. Foreign firms are intervening in our affairs.Trump: Joe got $3.5 million from Russia. Some day you will have to explain why you got the money. Nobody else has been tougher on Russia other than me. I sold tank busters to Ukraine. They were so bad. They took over a big part of Ukraine during your term. All the emails on the kind of money you were raking in. You should explain why you received it.Biden: I have not taken a penny from any foreign source. This president takes money from China, does business with China. I have released all of my tax returns. You have not returned a single one. What are you hiding? China and Russia is paying you.Trump: I will release the audit soon. I pre-paid my tax, tens and millions of dollars. I don't make money from China or Ukraine or Russia, you do. You are the big man. Lot of people there in IRS who treat me very badly. (Trump refuses to set a deadline on when he will release it)Biden: Just show us. Stop playing round. He said 'I know how to game the system'.Trump: There was a phoney witch-hunt. FBI agents spent 48 million dollars and found no collusion. If I spend 1 million dollars on you, I will find more.
Next: Handling of ChinaBiden: I will make China pay by international rules. When I met Xi, we are setting up air identification zones in South China Sea. Trump embraces thugs of North Korea, China and Russia. We need to have the rest of our friends on our side.Trump: China is paying billions and billions. China devalued their currency. Our farmers got that money. They were killing our steel industry.Biden: This is all malarkey. Family is hurting badly. Middle-class families are in trouble.Trump: Typical politician. That's why I got elected as president.
Next: North Korea relationsTrump: Obama told us that the biggest problem was North Korea and warned me ambout a nuclear war. I have a good relationship with Kim. Instead of millions of people dying, we don't have a war today.Biden: We made it clear that China has to rein in North Korea. North Korea is a problem, and we are going to make sure it is addressed. Trump's good buddy is a thug. Their missiles now are capable of reachin the U.S soilTrump: Kim won't meet them. He won't meet Obama and Biden.Biden: Of course, we insisted on de-nuclearisation.Trump: Obama left us a mess.
Next: HealthcareTrump: No matter how you ran Obamacare, it wasn't going to run. Pre-existing conditions will stay. I want to terminate Obamacare. But we will come up with new healthcare reforms. They (democrats) want to terminate 180 million plans. Biden wants to socialise medicine.Biden: We will roll out Bidencare. We will reduce premiums, regulate drug industry. Trump can't protect pre-existing conditions. Fact is, Trump has already cost the people with his Covid handling. 10 million people have lost their insurance. Affordable healthcare is a right not an option. Health insurance for people must be affordable.Trump: He did't do it when he was in power. You are going to have socialised medicine.Biden: People need affordable healthcare. Period. Period. Period. Trump hasn't done a thing on healthcare.Trump: He is talking about destroying Americans' social security.Biden: Social security will be bankrupt by 2023. This guy tried to cut medicare.
NEXT: Immigration ReformTrump: Children are brought here (across the border) by cartel and are used to get them to enter the country.. We ahve 400 miles of border wall. They built cages. They were built in 2014.Biden: 500-odd children came with parents. Cayotes didn't bring them, their parents did. They were separated from their parents. We became a laughing stock. It's criminal.Biden: Within 100 days, we will put 11 million undocumented people to the path of citizenship. We owe themTrump: He had eight years to do what he is saying he will do. He did nothing except build cages to keep children in.Biden: The cages were meant to catch and release, not staying there. Their parents were given a chance to make their case.Trump: He has no understanding of the issue. Catch and release is flawed. Less that 1% of the people come back. They don't come back. Only those with the lowest IQ come backBiden: You just don't know the law. 525 kids have lost their parents
NEXT: Race in AmericaBiden: There is institutional racism in America. We have been moving the needle further to inclusion. This president roots for exclusion.Trump: He was in government for 47 years, but did nothing. He called them 'super predators' in 1994. With the exception of Abe Lincoln nobody has done more for African Americans than Trump. Obama never gave long term funding for African Americans and hispanics. I saved colleges and universitiesBiden: I never said what he accused me of saying. In 2000, Trump said problem with crime bill is that there are not enough people in jail. He commuted 20 people's sentences., we commuted 100 people. There should be no minimum mandatory. Nobody should be going to jail for drug problem.Trump: Why didn't you do it 4 years ago. You guys did nothing. I ran because of ObamaBiden: I am anxious to have this race. Our character is in the ballot.Trump: You are a corrupt politician.Biden: 50 former intel officials believe that accusations against me are garbage.
NEXT: Black Lives Matter protestTrump: When I heard of BLM protests, they were calling police 'pigs'. I have criminal reforms and police reform. I am the least racist person min this room.Biden: People with drug probelm shpuldn't be going to jail, but treatment. It was a mistake to pass those laws back then.Trump: You had 4 years to get it done. Why didn't you?Biden: Over 38,000 people were released from jail.Trump: You put thousands of African American men behind barsBiden: We had a Republican Congress.
NEXT: Climate change action planTrump: We have different programmes. We have lowest number in emmissions. We have had the best numbers in 35 years. Look at Russia, China, India... the air is filthy. They were taking away our businesses. Paris accord was unfair to us. We did an incredible job.Biden: Global warming is an existential threat. 4 more years of Trump will put us in a position of trouble. We will create new jobs. We will set 50000 charging stations alomng highways. We will focus on alternative forms of energu. Wall street firms indicate that my proposal will create 18.6 million more jobs, 7 million more than his.Trump: His environment plan is a disaster. Biden has the craziest plan ever. They want to spend 100 trillion dollars. They want to knock down buildings and rebuild them with small windows.Biden: Where does Trump come up with numbers? Fastest growing industry in America is solar and wind energy.Trump: We are energy independent for the first time. Wind is expensive, kills birds. Solar isn't powerful yet to run our big factrories.Biden: Trump is lying. We need other industries to transition to zero emissions by 2029.
NEXT: Inauguration Day message to AmericansTrump: We are rebuilding America. Before the plague, we had the best African American, hispanic employment rates. Success will bring us together. I want to cut taxed. Biden wants to hike them.Biden: I am an American president. We are going to chose science over fiction. We can grow the economy, address systemic racism, create new jobs and roll in clean energy. What at stake is dignity, and I will get it for you.
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