In the final debate, Trump highlights the connection of Biden’s son with Ukraine and the democrat criticizes the president’s response to the coronavirus | 2020 U.S. elections

Trump has at times tried to use the name of Biden’s son Hunter, whom he accuses of using his father’s influence when he was vice president for business in Ukraine, but the matter has not been further explored.

Biden, for his part, again criticized the president’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and his alleged proximity to Russian President Vladimir Putin, once again calling Trump a racist.

Speaking about the coronavirus pandemic, the first topic of the night, Trump said that the death rate in the United States is lower than that of many countries, “one of the lowest in the world”, in relation to the number of cases, Although the country is the one that registers the most deaths from Covid-19 in the world.

Also citing his own experience with the disease, the president said that it has improved rapidly because the country offers good treatment and that a vaccine “will arrive” in weeks, although he cannot specify a date.

“It will happen and, as I said, we are turning the corner, we are turning the corner. It is going away,” said Trump, speaking of the pandemic in the United States.

Biden cited more than 222,000 deaths in the country and said that anyone responsible for this should not remain in the presidency. He also said the expectation is that there are another 200,000 Americans dead and the president does not have a plan yet. “This is the same guy who said it would all end on Easter,” he said. “He doesn’t have a clear plan.”

The Democrat also defended the mandatory use of masks and the expansion of the tests, if elected.

The two disagreed on the reopening of the economy, with Trump again accusing Biden of wanting to “shut down the country,” while the opponent reaffirmed that he intends to follow safety standards and keep stores, schools and other establishments open when and how it is safe for people.

They also addressed allegations that Iran and Russia are trying to interfere in the US presidential elections, made by US Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe.

Biden said that if elected, any country that tries to interfere with the sovereignty of the United States “will pay a price.” According to him, Trump never said anything to Russian President Vladimir Putin about it, and his “great friend” Rudy Giuliani (the president’s lawyer) was used as a Russian “pawn” and nothing happened.

At this point, Trump has accused Biden of receiving “$ 3.5 million through the mayor of Moscow”, without going into details, and has made hints about his son, Hunter Biden, whom he accuses of having shady deals in Ukraine. .

The president also denied that he was submissive in his relationship with Putin. “There was no one tougher on Russia than Donald Trump,” he said.

“I have never taken a penny from any foreign source in my life,” Biden replied. “We hear that this president paid 50 times the tax in China, has a secret bank account in China, does business in China, and is he actually talking about me accepting money? I never took a penny from any country, “he accused.

Trump responded by stating that he had an account in China between 2013 and 2015, even before running for the presidency, because he considered doing business in the country but then gave up, and that this is not against the law and many people do. “I don’t make money with China, I don’t make money with Ukraine, you do it,” he said.

Addressing the audience, Biden replied: “The guy who was in trouble in Ukraine was this guy, who was trying to bribe the Ukrainian government to say something negative about me.” According to the former vice president, nothing was found because neither he nor his son did anything wrong.

In discussing racism, Trump said that “since Abraham Lincoln, no president has done more for blacks than I have” and then went on to say that he was the least racist person in the whole milieu. In addition, he accused Biden of acting against African-Americans by voting in favor of the 1994 Crime Act.

Biden, however, recalled several situations in which the president made racist references, from the launch of his first candidacy, when he accused Mexico of sending traffickers and rapists to the United States until the moments in which he offended militants of the Black Lives Import movement .

“Throw fuel at every racist fire,” Biden charged, calling Trump “one of the most racist presidents we have ever had in modern history.”

The information that 545 children separated from their families at the borders of the United States have not yet been reunited because their parents have not been located has unleashed one of the most heated moments of the debate.

Biden called the situation “criminal,” while Trump tried to mitigate the seriousness of the situation by saying that his administration is trying to locate the parents, but that many children entered the country brought by “coyotes and cartels.”

According to him, the children are “well cared for” and in “very clean facilities”. The president also accused the Obama administration, of which Biden was a deputy, of having built the cells to which illegal immigrants are sent. “Who built the cages?” He repeated several times, in addition to asking why the opponent did nothing when he was in power.

In a rare disagreement with his former president, Biden replied that he was a deputy, not a head of state, and that Obama “took too long” to act on the immigration issue. He also said that if elected, he would immediately resolve the issue of youth supported by the DACA program, which Trump has tried to end since he took office.

“And the thing is that I made it very clear that within 100 days I will send the United States Congress a path to citizenship for more than 11 million undocumented immigrants,” he promised.

Like what he told a voter last week, Biden re-emphasized the importance of investing in renewable energy, including as a source of new jobs. He also attacked Trump, who has commented in the past that wind power would cause cancer.

The president responded by saying that he knows more about wind than his opponent and that it is “expensive and kills birds.” Trump once again accused Biden of being in favor of banning fracking, and the Democrat, visibly irritated at once again denying the claim, challenged him to show a video in which he appears saying this. “Post the video on your website,” he challenged.

Early voting record

Thursday’s hour-and-a-half meeting was held in Nashville, Tennessee, and was the only opportunity for a direct confrontation after the president contracted Covid-19. The mediation was conducted by NBC News reporter Kristen Welker.

The chaotic atmosphere of the first debate was avoided with the candidates having their microphone cut off while the opponent responded and forced to allow time when they obstructed any response during the open discussion.

• Analysis: The record for early votes is no guarantee of Joe Biden’s victory in the US.

Less than two weeks before the elections, the candidates reached the final debate with a record number of votes already cast in advance by voters: more than 45 million, according to the US press.

The two candidates participated in a first debate on September 29, and should have had another on October 15, canceled due to the president’s illness. Organizers even proposed a remote event, but the Republican refused.

On the same day the meeting was scheduled, Trump and Biden participated in voter interviews at the same time on two American television stations.

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