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United States President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden met for the second and final time on a debate stage Thursday after a previously scheduled public debate was canceled after the Republican incumbent became one. of the millions of Americans who contracted the coronavirus.
For Trump, the showdown at Belmont University in Tennessee was perhaps the last chance to change the dynamics of a career dominated, much to his chagrin, by his response to the pandemic and its economic consequences.
For Biden, it was 90 minutes to solidify an apparent advantage less than two weeks before the election.
These are some of the conclusions:
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* 2020 US elections live: Trump and Biden face off in final presidential debate in Tennessee
* Mute buttons and plexiglass: inside the final 2020 presidential debate between Trump and Biden
* The performance of Donald Trump’s first presidential debate leads to muted microphones
Covid-19 remains a drag on Trump
Trump’s difficulty in articulating a defense of his handling of the coronavirus remains a drag on his campaign at a critical time. The opening theme of the debate was completely predictable: Trump has received variations of the same question in interviews and has rarely provided a clear answer.
When asked to describe his plan for the future, Trump claimed instead that his previous handling was flawless and predicted an optimistic reversal of the pandemic that has killed more than 220,000 Americans.
“We’re turning the corner, we’re turning the corner,” Trump asserted, even as cases spike across the country again. “It goes”.
Biden, who has tried to process Trump’s handling of the virus in his closing address to voters, came prepared. “Whoever is responsible for so many deaths should not remain president of the United States of America,” he said.
Biden added, “He says we’re, you know, we’re learning to live with it. People are learning to die from it. “
Patrick Semansky / AP
Three weeks after drawing bipartisan criticism for his frequent interruptions and harassment of his Democratic rival, Trump adopted a more moderate tone in the early part of the debate.
Trump toned it down
Three weeks after drawing bipartisan criticism for his frequent interruptions and harassment of his Democratic rival, Trump adopted a more moderate tone in the early part of the debate.
Trump asked moderator Kristen Welker for the opportunity to follow up on Biden’s responses: “Can I?” – instead of just jumping, and he thanked Welker repeatedly for starting.
Outside the door, this debate seemed different from the first outing, when Trump’s incessant interruptions and breaches of time limits derailed the 90-minute contest from the start.
Sure, there were still excavations.
“We can’t lock ourselves in a basement like Joe does,” Trump said, repeating his spring and summer attacks on Biden who is staying at his residence rather than campaigning in person amid the pandemic.
Biden smiled, laughed, and shook his head at Trump. He mocked Trump for once by suggesting that the bleach helped kill the coronavirus.
The two men had a lengthy exchange of views on their personal finances and family business problems.
But overall, voters at home got something they didn’t get on Sept. 29: a debate.
It marked an acknowledgment by Trump that his bombastic side was a drag on older voters and suburban women who have turned from the Republican Party to the Democrats.
Trump moves from interruption to personal attack
Aiming to alter the career trajectory, Trump reverted to a tactic he believes propelled him to the Oval Office four years ago: relentless personal attacks on his opponent.
Trump repeatedly made unsubstantiated accusations against Biden and his son Hunter in an attempt to deem his rival and his family corrupt.
“I don’t make money with China, you do. I don’t make money with Ukraine, you do, ”Trump said.
Trump did not offer strong evidence for his claims and has a history of making claims that do not stand up to scrutiny.
A more important question may be whether the voters are shaken, especially those undecided voters whom both candidates are trying to win over.
Morry Gash / AP
Trump set out to tarnish Biden’s preferred image as an elected official who cares for the little boy.
What is the real impact?
More than 46 million Americans had cast their votes when the debate began. Both campaigns recognize that Biden has a clear advantage for the national popular vote.
But Trump still has a path to a second term, through battle states, by winning a majority in the Electoral College.
So the debate still has the potential to shape the race, even with a relatively small group of voters saying they are undecided.
Trump set out to tarnish Biden’s preferred image as an elected official who cares for the little boy. The president criticized the Democratic candidate as a career politician to enrich his family.
It’s not necessarily about persuading people to vote for Trump, who has international business entanglements and a questionable income tax record that he has never fully disclosed to voters. Instead, Trump’s game is about making fence keepers, especially on battlefields like Florida or Pennsylvania or Arizona, disgruntled enough with his decisions to stay home.
Biden, by contrast, seemed determined to steer the conversation toward Trump and his handling of the pandemic and its economic fallout. And he tried at various points to speak directly to the camera, presenting his alternative plans. Those are the tactics of a challenger who has an advantage: reinforce an argument to fire the incumbent and convince the undecided undecided that you are the best option.
