Key takeaways from final Trump-Biden presidential debate: Covid-19, Lincoln and ‘thug’ Kim
- Three weeks after drawing criticism for his frequent interruptions of his rival, Trump adopted a more subdued tone for much of the debate
- Biden, who has sought to prosecute Trump’s handling of the pandemic, said ‘people are learning to die with it’
For Trump, the match-up at Tennessee’s Belmont University was perhaps the final opportunity to change the dynamics of a race dominated, much to his chagrin, by his response to the pandemic and its economic fallout. For Biden, it was 90 minutes to solidify an apparent lead less than two weeks before the election.
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Final US presidential debate for Trump and Biden covers Covid-19, China and ‘thug’ Kim
Here are key takeaways:
Covid-19 still a drag for Trump
Asked to outline his plan for the future, Trump instead asserted his prior handling was without fault and predicted a rosy reversal to the pandemic that has killed more than 220,000 Americans.
“We’re rounding the turn, we’re rounding the corner,” Trump claimed, even as cases spike again across the country. “It’s going away.”
Biden, who has sought to prosecute Trump’s handling of the virus in his closing pitch to voters, came prepared. “Anyone who’s responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of the United States of America,” he said.
Biden added: “He says we’re, you know, we’re learning to live with it. People are learning to die with it.”