Donald Trump and Joe Biden clash over Covid-19 and racism in final presidential debate
Video report by ITV News Washington Correspondent Robert Moore
Donald Trump and Joe Biden locked horns over the pandemic and race relations in the final presidential debate before the US Election draws to a close in less than a fortnight.
The two candidates traded barbs over the president's handling of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 225,000 Americans.
In a varied and relatively more civil debate, the pair also criticised the other amid growing voices of discontent from the African American community - with Trump once again comparing himself to Abraham Lincoln.
The previous showdown was memorable for 127 interruptions from Trump, who was also criticised for failing to condemn white supremacists, but on this occasion the nature of the debate was calmer.
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The night opened with a clash over the president’s handling of the pandemic, which polling suggests is the campaign’s defining issue for voters, with Biden declaring: “Anyone responsible for that many deaths should not remain president of the United States of America.” Trump defended his management of the nation’s most deadly health crisis in a century, dismissing Biden’s warning that the nation had a “dark winter ahead” due to spikes in infections. And he promised that a vaccine would be ready in weeks. “It will go away,” said Trump, staying with his optimistic assessment of the pandemic. “We’re rounding the turn. We’re rounding the corner. It’s going away.”
Trump insisted he had done a good job with a worldwide pandemic and said the country needs to “learn to live with it.”
Biden shot back: “People are learning to die with it.”
Biden and Trump clashed on race relations, as the former vice president called the current president “one of the most racist presidents we’ve had in modern history.” Biden said Trump “pours fuel on every racist fire” and noted that at his last debate the president wouldn’t condemn white supremacy and told an extremist group to “stand down and stand by.”
Trump portrayed himself as a champion of Black people. Repeating his standard line that no president has done more for Black Americans than anyone other than Abraham Lincoln, Trump accused Biden and former President Barack Obama of ignoring issues of racial justice.
Trump told Biden: “You’ve done nothing but the crime bill which put tens of thousands of Black men in jail.” Biden said he’s been trying to change drug sentencing laws that disproportionately harmed African Americans and that the public knows his record. Trump, touting criminal justice reform and opportunity zone bills he signed, said: “I am the least racist person in this room.”
On national security, Biden says any country that interferes in American elections will pay a price if he’s elected, saying: “They are interfering with American sovereignty.” US officials have reported that Russian hackers have targeted the networks of dozens of state and local governments in the United States in recent days, stealing data from at least two servers.
Officials are also accusing Iran of being behind a flurry of emails sent to Democratic voters in multiple battleground states that appeared to be aimed at intimidating them into voting for President Trump.
Trump says that nobody has been tougher on Russia through sanctions and pushing for increased military spending by NATO. The two candidates took questions in their final debate on how they would deter foreign interference in American elections.
Trump criticises Biden for giving a 'political answer' and says he won because isn't a politician
Biden and Trump argued over their tax returns. Responding to unfounded allegations from Trump that he’s received funds from Russian sources, Biden noted that he’s released 22 years of taxes, which he said show: “I have not taken a penny from any foreign source ever in my life.” Pointing his finger at Trump, Biden asked: “What are you hiding?” He told Trump to “release your tax returns or stop talking about corruption.” Trump responded that he would like to release his returns “as soon as we can” but reiterated his excuse that he’s under audit, a claim he’s made since he first ran for president in 2016.
The president is not actually barred from releasing the documents while they’re under audit. Trump also responded to the news that he paid just $750 in taxes in 2017, claiming that he was told he “prepaid tens of millions of dollars,” and that the $750 he paid was a “filing fee.” But Biden again called on Trump to release proof. “Show us,” Biden said. “Stop playing around.”
'You guys did nothing... I ran because of you, I ran because of Barack Obama, because you did a poor job'