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During the last presidential debate in Nashville on Thursday night (US time), Donald Trump and Joe Biden came up with quite different visions for fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
The evening in Nashville began relatively calm, with rivals presenting their visions of a pandemic that killed more than 220,000 people. Americans and millions more were infected, including the president.
„Reuters“ / „Scanpix“ nuotr./Joe Bidenas
During the debate, Trump continued to downplay the severity of the public health crisis, defending his response to the coronavirus and predicting that the vaccine would be developed fairly soon, although his own public health experts said it was more likely to be widely available in the United States. . in summer.
“It just came to our notice then. The end is already around the corner. We cannot keep this country closed. It is a huge country with a huge economy,” Trump said, offering a rosy assessment of the trajectory of the pandemic, even as cases began to rise again in the United States and public health experts warned that the country was on the brink of a second wave.
Meanwhile, Biden began by recalling the death rates from the coronavirus and the severe damage caused by the pandemic, and warning that the nation “must prepare for a dark winter.”
“220,000 dead. If you don’t hear anything I’m saying tonight, at least hear that.” Anyone responsible for such a high number of deaths should no longer be president of the United States, “Biden said.
When asked whether to support a greater shutdown of the country, he would recommend it, Biden said, without ruling out that possibility. Trump, for his part, said there should be no increase in damage to the economy from the virus from which most people are recovering.
When the president said that “we are learning to live with the virus”, J. Bienas said: “Let’s go. We die with it.”
VIDEO: In the political debate, the American candidates set fire to a veritable sauna: yelling at each other, squandering insults and demanding to “shut up.”
The 90-minute debate this time was much more civilized than the first one last month, which was more reminiscent of chaos, with Trump incessantly slandering his opponent and resentful of the moderator.
On Thursday, Trump largely followed the rules, allowing Biden to speak without interruption, and even praised the moderator, NBC News correspondent Kristen Welker, whom he consistently criticized last week.
“I have great respect for how he’s handled it so far,” Trump said, referring to the moderation of the debate.
Biden was also much more restrained. When Trump made a false claim about his opponent, Biden looked up at the sky as if trying to calm down and not react. But that didn’t always save him.
The rivals fought more seriously over mutual bribery charges.
Trump is still trying to hurt Biden with vague allegations that his son Hunter Biden was involved in bribery in China and Ukraine when Biden was vice president to former President Barack Obama.
Trump, 74, has tried to raise the issue several times during the debate, saying he was “unmasking” suspicions. The president told Biden, 77, “I think you owe the American people an explanation.”
Biden immediately rebuffed the attack, saying that his family had never violated the law, but that there were more and more serious questions about Trump himself, including his bank account in China and his refusal to disclose his tax returns.
“They really know that you are not paying taxes or paying very little,” he said, referring to reports of leaked tax data showing that Trump had paid a maximum of $ 750 (633 euros) in federal income taxes in recent years.
The Democratic candidate defended his son and categorically denied the accusations to return the conversation to the political arena.
“There is a reason he keeps raising this issue,” Biden said, speaking directly to the camera. – You don’t want to talk about fundamental problems. This is not mine or his family. This is your family. “
Mocking Biden’s direct appeals to the American people, Trump called it a political cliche and claimed he would never use such tactics.
“I am not a typical politician. That is why he was elected,” he said.
He compared himself to A. Lincoln
Both candidates were asked to speak about racism in the United States. Biden made clear that institutional racism existed in the states and that combating racial inequality would be a priority for his administration.
„Reuters“ / „Scanpix“ nuotr./Election 2020 Debate
Trump, despite the call, attacked his opponent and then reiterated that he had done more for blacks than any president since Abraham Lincoln.
Laughing at Trump’s praise and comparing himself to Lincoln, Biden retorted that Trump was “one of the most racist presidents in modern history, fueling all racist scandals.”
Trump recalled the Violent Crimes Law Enforcement and Control Act of 1994, co-sponsored by Biden, which, according to Black Lives Matter, led to the mass incarceration of African Americans.
SEE ALSO: Understanding Racism in America: How Did the War on Drugs Lead to the Disproportionate Incarceration of Minorities?
They also disagreed on migration.
Participants in the debate were upset when Trump was asked about his policy of separating children from illegal immigrants at the southern border.
Trump noted that migrant children had also been detained under the Obama administration.
“Who built the cages, Joe?” He asked, referring to the place where migrant children who came to the United States without adults during Obama’s reign were kept.
Biden said the Trump administration went even further in separating families, a practice that is “criminal.”
Foreign policy
Biden has promised that, if elected, China would be forced to “comply with international rules” on trade, the treatment of foreign companies and operations in the South China Sea.
Biden has accused Trump of treating “assassins” like North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a way that infuriates US allies.
VIDEO: Trump after failed talks with Kim Jong Unu: “Sometimes you have to go”
Trump assured that his treatment of Kim Jong Un avoided war: “Maintaining good relations with leaders of other countries is a good thing.”
“We had good relations with Hitler before he attacked the rest of Europe,” Biden said.
“Lessons learned from the debate”
It is unclear if the debate at Belmont University in the country music capital could affect the outcome of the election.
“It is clear that both candidates have learned important lessons from the first debate, which was rated very poorly,” said Aaron Kallas of the University of Michigan, an expert on presidential debates.
“But just 12 days before the election, and with tens of millions of Americans voting early, it may be too late to have a major impact on the next election,” he said.
An estimated 45 million. Americans contributed to an unprecedented wave of early voting. Furthermore, polls show that almost all voters are already firmly determined.
J. Biden is consistently in the lead in terms of popularity; A national poll by the University of Quinipedia shows that 51 percent support the Democratic candidate and 41 percent support the Republican president. American.
This time, the electoral commission turned off the candidate’s microphone, whose 2 min. the answer to the question ended so that he could not interrupt his competitor. The microphones were then left on for discussion. The candidates discussed six topics of debate: the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, American families, the electoral race in the United States, climate change, national security and leadership.
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