Interruptions and personal insults … Trump and Biden clash over Corona in their latest debate

Democratic candidate Joe Biden renewed his criticism of President Donald Trump’s handling of the Corona virus pandemic in his last debate on Thursday before the November 3 US elections, as Trump leveled accusations against Biden and his family.

Republican Trump adopted a more conservative tone than he did in the first debate in September, which was quickly derailed by constant boycotts and personal insults from both men.

The showdown, broadcast on television in Nashville, Tennessee, was one of the last chances for Republican Trump to reshape a campaign dominated by a pandemic that has killed more than 221,000 people in the United States. Polls show Trump lagging behind Biden, despite intense competition in some crucial states.

“Anyone responsible for so many deaths should no longer be the president of the United States of America,” Biden said. Trump defended his response to the outbreak, claiming that the worst stages of the pandemic are over.

“We are very close (to the end of the pandemic) … it will pass,” said Trump, who played down the virus for months. And many American states, including Ohio, where voters did not make up their minds about voting, reported a record daily increase in injuries in Corona on Thursday, evidence of the epidemic’s outbreak accelerating again.

After the debate initially focused on the pandemic, it turned into a showdown over whether any of the candidates had inappropriate external relationships. Trump repeated his accusations that Biden and his son Hunter participated in unethical practices in China and Ukraine. No evidence has been verified to support these allegations, which Biden described as false and lacking in credibility.

A source familiar with the matter said the committee overseeing the debate removed the glass barriers separating the two candidates on Thursday after Trump presented evidence that his COVID-19 test results were negative. The committee also silenced the speakers of both candidates to allow them to speak for two minutes on each new topic before restarting them, in an attempt to avoid the chaos of the first debate.

The committee checked the temperatures of the nearly 200 attendees before entering the venue and asked everyone to wear the mask at all times.