US Presidential Debate 2020 Highlights: Trump calls himself 'least racist person', claims to have done more for Black Americans than any other president

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Trump attacks Biden over Obamacare

Trump and Biden each sought to position himself as the defender of American’s health care, keenly aware that it ranked among the top issues for voters even before the coronavirus pandemic struck the nation.

But Trump’s efforts to repeal and undermine the Obama-era Affordable Care Act proved to be a liability, as Biden hammered his efforts to strip coverage from tens of millions of Americans and his lack of a plan to cover those with preexisting conditions.

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Trump takes credit for cleanest air and water US has seen in ages

Trump and Biden faced off on global climate change in the first extensive discussion of the issue in a presidential debate in 20 years.

Biden sounded the alarm for the world to address a warming climate, as Trump took credit for pulling the US out of a major international accord to do just that. Trump asserted he was trying to save American jobs, while taking credit for some of the cleanest air and water the nation has seen in generations — some of it a holdover of regulations passed by his predecessor.

Biden, tapping into an issue of particular importance to his base, called for massive investment to create new environmentally friendly industries. “Our health and our jobs are at stake,” he said.

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Biden says Trump 'pours fuel' on racist fires

Joe Biden and Donald Trump are clashing on race relations, as the former vice president calls the current president “one of the most racist presidents we’ve had in modern history.”

Biden said Trump “pours fuel on every racist fire” and noted that at his last debate the president wouldn’t condemn white supremacy and told an extremist group to “stand down and stand by.”

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Trump and Biden spar over fracking as debate winds down

Toward the end of the debate, Trump accused Biden of changing his tune on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, an issue that is important to many voters in Pennsylvania.

Biden stated unequivocally that he does not want to ban fracking. "I have never said I opposed fracking," sad Biden. The Democrat said he would rule out banning fracking.

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Trump accuses Biden of doing 'nothing' during his tenure

As Biden talked about his policy plan on race and criminal justice reform, Trump accused the former vice president of doing "nothing" during his tenure in the White House.

"Why didn't you do that four years ago, even less than that? You were the vice president. You keep talking about all these things you're going to do. But you were there just a short time ago and you guys did nothing," Trump added.

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'Joe, I ran because of you': Trump 

President Donald Trump slammed former Vice President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama for doing a "poor job" during their two terms in the White House.

"Joe, I ran because of you. I ran because of Barack Obama. Because you did a poor job. If I thought you did a good job, I would have never run," Trump said.

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I am the least racist person in this room: Trump 

Trump responded to a question about his harsh rhetoric about Black Lives Matter by continuing to disparage the movement while claiming to be the “the least racist person in this room.” Pressed on what he would say to Americans concerned about his rhetoric, the president said, “I don’t, I mean, I don’t know what to say.”

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Trump defends separating migrant kids from families

President Donald Trump defended his administration’s separation of immigrant children who remain away from their families following detentions along the US-Mexico border.

Trump said that children are often brought across the border not by families but “by coyotes and lots of bad people.”

The American Civil Liberties Union told a judge this week that there were still 545 children separated from their parents from 2018.

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Biden calls North Korea's Kim Jong-un a 'thug'

In the national security portion of the presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, the former vice president said that the president legitimised North Korea by meeting with Kim Jong-un.

He accused the president of cozying up to a "thug" while Trump touted the "good relationship" between the US and the communist state.

Biden responded: “We had a good relationship with Hitler before he, in fact, invaded the rest of Europe. Come on.”

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Trump says Obama administration left him 'mess'

President Donald Trump said the Obama administration left him a "mess" to deal with in terms of tempering relations between the United States and North Korea.

Trump said during the final presidential debate that he had warded off a war that could have threatened millions of lives, saying President Barack Obama had told him he viewed potential danger from Kim Jong Un as among the country's greatest national security threats.

Democratic nominee Joe Biden said Trump had “legitimized” a “thug” by meeting with and forging a relationship with Kim.

Trump countered that Kim “didn’t like Obama” and insisted, “Having a good relationship with other countries is a good thing.”

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Trump, Biden discuss taxes in final debate

"I prepay millions and millions of dollars in taxes," Trump reiterates. "I paid in advances, it's called prepaying..." 

"Show us. Stop playing around. Show us. What we do know, is that you're not paying taxes, or your payment is so low. Come on!," says Joe Biden

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Trump, Biden spar over pandemic relatively politely

In a contrast to the first debate, the two presidential contenders went more than 15 minutes before interrupting each other at Friday's debate. Helped by a rule that switched off the microphone for the candidate who was not talking, the two traded sharp barbs and critiques, but at least kept their voices lowered.

Trump insisted he had done a good job with a worldwide pandemic and said the country needs to “learn to live with it.”

Biden shot back: “People are learning to die with it.”

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Biden takes swipe at Trump over recently revealed Chinese bank account

After President Donald Trump unleashed a series of unsubstantiated claims about Joe Biden’s personal finances, the former vice president hit back, citing a recent New York Times story that revealed the president keeps a previously undisclosed bank account in China.

"I have not taken a penny from any foreign source ever in my life," Biden said. "We learned that this President paid 50 times the tax in China (that he has in the US), has a secret bank account with China, does business in China, and, in fact is talking about me taking money? I have not taken a single penny from any country whatsoever, ever," said Biden.

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Nations that meddle in elections will pay: Biden

Former Vice President Joe Biden says any country that interferes in American elections will pay a price if he's elected, saying, “They are interfering with American sovereignty.”

US officials have reported that Russian hackers have targeted the networks of dozens of state and local governments in the United States in recent days, stealing data from at least two servers. Officials are also accusing Iran of being behind a flurry of emails sent to Democratic voters in multiple battleground states that appeared to be aimed at intimidating them into voting for President Donald Trump.

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Trump on further lockdowns over coronavirus

"We can’t close our nation," Trump said, adding, "We can’t lock ourselves up in a basement like Joe does."

His argument, even as Biden insisted he favored adhering to benchmarks that would govern when states open or apply new restrictions, was that Democratic governors have placed their states in undue lockdowns.

Instead, Trump said the focus should be on protecting vulnerable populations; it’s the same goal of a controversial plan called the Great Barrington Declaration that his administration has endorsed but which other health experts have said is dangerous.

“We have to open up,” Trump said. “We have to protect our elderly.”

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Trump claims 2.2 million people were 'expected to die'

In response to the first question of the night on coronavirus, President Donald Trump claimed 2.2 million people were "expected to die."

Trump is likely citing a report posted in March by scholars from the Imperial College in London that predicted that a total of 2.2 million Americans could die from COVID-19 if no preventative measures were installed on any level of society.

In other words, that would be the loss of lives if no action were taken at all to mitigate it.

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Anyone who's responsible for that many deaths should not remain president: Biden

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden opened the final general election debate on Friday by arguing President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States should guarantee he is voted out of office in November.

"I would make sure that we set up national standards as to how to open up schools and open up businesses so they can be safe and give them the wherewithal, the financial resources to be able to do that," Biden said.

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No interruption from Trump during Biden's opening statement

Former Vice President Joseph R Biden Jr opened by saying the president’s handling of the coronavirus disqualified him from serving a second term. Trump did not interrupt him during his two-minute opening statement, as his microphone was muted.

"220,000 Americans dead," Biden said. "Anybody who is responsible for that many deaths should not remain president of United States of America."

We are about to go through a dark winter, he added, "and he has no clear plan and there’s no prospect that there’s going to be a vaccine available for the majority of the American people before the middle of next year."

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Trump pressed on vaccine distribution

"I think it will be by the end of the year. I think it has a good chance. There are two companies within a matter of weeks and I think it will be distributed very quickly," Trump said.

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'We have a vaccine that's ready,' claims Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump began the final debate on Friday morning answering questions on the handling of coronavirus infection in America. He claimed that a COVID-19 vaccine was ready to be rolled out.

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90-min debate to be moderated by NBC News scribe

Trump will face his rival at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee and the candidates are expected to attract millions of viewership during their 90-minute verbal encounter.

The presidential debate is being moderated by Kristen Welker, an NBC News White House correspondent.

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Final debate in Nashville with small audience, mute buttons

While millions of people will be watching on television, only around 200 will be allowed inside the massive college arena in Nashville where President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, meet Thursday night for the final presidential debate of the 2020 election.

One of them will control a mute button.

A representative of the Commission on Presidential Debates — not the moderator — will ensure each candidate has two full minutes uninterrupted to deliver opening answers on six major topics, according to debate commission chair Frank Fahrenkopf.

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Trump, Biden to meet in final face-off

President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden are poised to face off Friday morning in their second and final debate of the 2020 campaign, sharing a stage in Nashville.

The topics to be covered are COVID-19, American families, race in America, climate change, national security and leadership.