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With the new rules on muting the microphone in the second presidential debate, the two candidates were generally able to present more substantive arguments on a variety of issues than the insults that the first debate degenerated into. Here are some of the key things each man said about the main issues raised in the debate.
Coronavirus
Triumph: We are fighting it and we are fighting it hard … We are turning the corner. It goes. I caught it. I learned a lot. We have to recover. We cannot shut down our nation. We are learning to live with it. We have no choice. We have a vaccine that is coming, it is ready, it will be announced in a few weeks.
Biden: If you hear no more, I say tonight, listen to this. Whoever is responsible for so many deaths should not remain president of the United States of America. This is the same guy who told you this will end on Easter last time. This is the same guy who told you not to worry, we are going to finish this for the summer. We are about to enter a dark winter, a dark winter, and you have no clear plan.
Environment
Triumph: If you look at what he wants to do, if you look at his plan, his environmental plan, do you know who developed it? AOC plus three. We are independent of energy. I know more about the wind than you do. It is extremely expensive, it kills all birds, it is very intermittent. Basically what he is saying is that he is going to destroy the oil industry. Will you remember that, Texas? Will you remember that, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma? Ohio?
Biden: It would pass from the oil industry, because the oil industry pollutes significantly. We can capture factory emissions and capture gas emissions, we can do it. And we can do it by investing money. Take everything out of context. But the point is, look, we have to move towards net zero emissions.
Race and criminal justice
Triumph: No one has done more for the black community than Donald Trump, with the exception of Abraham Lincoln, the possible exception, but with the exception of Abraham Lincoln, no one has done what I did. The criminal justice reform bill, prison reform, opportunity zones, I dealt with black colleges and universities.
Biden: I never had to tell my daughter that if she stops, make sure she puts, for a traffic stop, both hands on the top of the steering wheel and doesn’t reach into the glove compartment, because someone might shoot her. But a black father, no matter how rich or poor they are, has to teach his son: When walking down the street, don’t wear a hoodie when you cross the street. Making sure that, in fact, if you are stopped, just ‘Yes sir’, ‘no sir’, with your hands on the top of the wheel. The fact is, there is institutional racism in the United States.
Health care
Triumph: He wants socialized medicine. Bernie Sanders wants it. Democrats want it. No matter how well you handle the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), it is of no use. What we would like to do is finish it.
Biden: What I’m going to do is pass Obamacare with a public option. It will become Bidencare. If you qualify for Medicaid and do not have the means in your state to obtain Medicaid, you are automatically enrolled, which gives insurance companies competition. Second, we will make sure to reduce drug prices and premiums by making sure there is competition that doesn’t exist now, by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices with insurance companies. He never came up with a plan.
Two very different final arguments
Triumph: I’m cutting taxes and he wants to raise everyone’s taxes and he wants to put new regulations on everything. It will kill him. If you go in, you will have a depression like you have never seen before. Your 401 (k) will go to hell and it will be a very, very sad day for this country.
Biden: me [will] I represent all of you, whether you vote for me or against me. And I’ll make sure you’re represented. I’m going to give you hope. What is on the ballot here is the character of this country. Decency, honor, respect, treating people with dignity, making sure everyone has an equal opportunity. And I’ll make sure you understand. You haven’t been getting it in the last four years.
