The president also appeared to acknowledge that he was in debt and left open the possibility that part of it is owed to a foreign bank. He insisted that he owed no money to Russia or any “sinister people” and suggested that having a debt of 400 million dollars was a “very small percentage” compared to his total assets.
Biden, who appeared nearly 1,200 miles away, denounced the White House’s handling of the virus and stated that he was to blame for closing a pandemic response office established by the Obama administration in which he served. Though vague at times, he acknowledged that it was a mistake to support a 1994 crime bill that led to further incarceration of blacks and suggested that it will eventually provide clarity on his position on expanding the Supreme Court if Trump’s nominee to bank is sitting before election day.
Trump, less than two weeks after being diagnosed with COVID-19, avoided responding directly if he was tested on the day of the Sept. 29 debate, saying only “possibly I did, possibly I didn’t.” The rules of the debate required each candidate, using the honor system, to have tested negative before the Cleveland event, but Trump spoke in circles when asked when he last tested negative.
It was his positive test two days later that created the bizarre spectacle on Thursday, which deprived most viewers of a simultaneous glance at the candidates just 19 days before Election Day. The timing seemed appropriate for a career like no other, as another campaign ritual changed by the pandemic that has rewritten the norms of society.
Presidential rivals answered questions in different cities on different networks: Trump on NBC from Miami, Biden on ABC from Philadelphia. Trump backed out of plans for the presidential showdown originally scheduled for the night after organizers of the debate said it would take place practically after his COVID-19 diagnosis.
City councils offered a different format for the two candidates to present themselves to voters, after the couple held a chaotic and combative first debate late last month. The difference in the men’s tone was immediate and surprising.
Trump was Trump. He was loud and argumentative, fighting with the host, Savannah Guthrie, complaining about questioning, and finally saying for the first time that he would honor the results of a fair election, but only after casting an extraordinary amount of doubt about the likelihood of justice. .
He again tried to downplay the revelations from a New York Times investigation that he owes more than $ 400 million in debt and suggested that reports are wrong that he paid little or no federal income tax in most years during the last two decades. He insisted that Americans should not be alarmed by their debt and repeatedly insisted that it is “under-leveraged.”
Meanwhile, Biden took a very different and softer approach to questions from the audience. The former vice president, who struggled growing up with a stutter, stuttered a bit early in the show and at one point squeezed his eyes together and slowed down his response to clearly enunciate his words. Sometimes his responses followed monotonously.
Dressed in a blue suit and holding a white cloth mask in one hand, the Democratic candidate also brought a small note card to the stage and referred to it while vowing to reverse tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. He said doing so would save, as he consulted his notes, “let me see … $ 92 billion.”
Biden promised to say before Election Day whether he will support expanding the number of justices on the Supreme Court if Democrats win the presidency, the Senate and the House after November.
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