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Trump, who is lagging in polls ahead of the Nov.3 election, is under pressure from the coronavirus that has killed more than 217,000 Americans and caused profound economic damage.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump delivered a combative defense Thursday of his response to Covid-19, while election challenger Joe Biden, offering a glaring contrast of style at a rival city hall, accused him of doing “nothing” to put end the pandemic.
The dueling appearances, scheduled at the same time on rival television networks, showed Biden giving simple, empathetic and often profound responses to voters in the audience, while Trump delivered a fierce, sometimes agitated defense of his presidency.
Trump, who lags behind in polls before the Nov.3 election, was especially under pressure from the coronavirus that has killed more than 217,000 Americans and caused profound economic damage.
“We are just around the corner,” Trump insisted with his usual optimism, even as swaths of the United States see a marked increase in cases.
But pressured by the host of NBC’s Miami city hall, he was quickly frustrated, especially when asked about his previous tepid denunciations of right-wing extremist groups in the country.
In particular, he refused to denounce QAnon, a conspiracy theory movement that claims Trump is waging a secret war against a global liberal cult of Satan-worshiping pedophiles.
“I don’t know anything about QAnon,” Trump said, then went on to praise the group’s shadow position of being “very anti-pedophile.”
The president entered calmer waters by answering a series of more comfortable questions from audience members, one of which drew applause by telling Trump, “You have a big smile.”
‘Grudges don’t work’
By contrast, Biden’s appearance on rival network ABC reflected his consistent and generally low-key campaign, promising bipartisan healing in divided Washington and targeting constant fire against Trump’s record of coronavirus.
“We’re in a situation where we have more than 210,000 people dead and what is he doing? Nothing. He’s not wearing masks yet,” Biden said of Trump at the event in Philadelphia.
His prominent remarks at a time of deep political conflict in the country were when he promised to improve the atmosphere, saying “grudges don’t work.”
“We have to change the nature of the way we treat ourselves,” Biden said.
“If I am elected president, first, and not a joke … I’m going to pick up the phone, call them and say: ‘Let’s get together.’
Biden repeatedly returned to the issue of unity, saying that he would be president of all Americans, including those who voted against him.
“We have to heal this nation,” he said. “If I am elected president, you will not hear me stir the race, you will not hear me divide, I will try to unify.”
In a gesture to the audience, Biden stayed on stage for about 30 minutes after town hall ended so he could answer more questions.
No debate
Both candidates were originally scheduled to meet on Thursday for what would have been their second of three presidential debates.
The first was a brutal affair in which Trump repeatedly spoke out about Biden and the Democrat told him to “shut up.”
The follow-up was scrapped after organizers switched to a virtual format, citing Trump’s coronavirus infection, and the president refused to accept the deal.
Trump, who says he is Covid-19 free and returned to the election campaign on Monday, has rallies reserved in battlefield states every night this week.
He predicted to supporters in North Carolina early Thursday that Biden would be given an easier time at ABC.
“They set me up tonight,” he said.
NBC’s decision to accept an appearance from Trump at the same time as Biden’s city council likely meant that few Americans would get to see and contrast the two men.
With only 19 days left until the election, Trump is now running out of time to get over Biden.
Even a close Trump ally, Sen. Lindsey Graham, said Thursday that Biden could be on his way to victory.
“Everyone has a good chance of winning the White House,” he told his Democratic colleagues at a hearing on Trump’s conservative Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.
Trump and Biden hold their final debate on October 22, with Biden saying that out of “decency” he hopes both men will undergo coronavirus tests beforehand.
Harris on hold
Despite Trump’s insistence that the pandemic is in the rearview mirror, it continues to disrupt the election.
Following Trump’s temporary wait to recover, Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris put her own ride on hold after her communications director and a flight crew member tested positive.
Harris did not need to self-quarantine, the campaign said, but “as a precaution” he would suspend the campaign in person until Oct. 19.
Biden has reported multiple negative coronavirus tests since Trump’s Covid-19 diagnosis on October 1, the latest on Thursday.
The campaign said another person who tested positive had flown on Biden’s plane this week, but had been so far away that the candidate was not in danger and doctors said there is “no need” for him to quarantine him.
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