With only two weeks left for Election Day, Donald Trump and Joe Biden met on the debate stage for one last time where they laid out stark different visions of America. Kristen Welker from NBC was the moderator of the debate which took place in Nashville on Thursday night. Anika Khan reports.
More than 40 million Americans have already cast their ballot and the debate was the final chance for the candidates to turn the poll in their favor. Here are the highlights to take away from the last and final US Presidential debate:
- The two presidential candidates offered different visions to contain the coronavirus pandemic. Trump yet again failed to assess the severity of the public health crisis and said, “It will go away”. He made false claims on an imminent vaccine which his health experts agreed will not be available before summer 2021.
- Joe Biden addressed the dire emergency amidst the ongoing pandemic that took the lives of over 220,000 American lives and warned the nation to prepare for a dark winter. He said, “220,000 deaths. If you hear nothing else I say tonight, hear this. Anyone who is responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of the United States.”
- The debate was conducted in a more civil affair than the first presidential debate which took place last month. The new rule for muting the mike helped to control the situation after all. Biden spoke without interruptions from Trump, unlike last time where he brawled and sparred with the moderator.
- Joe Biden slammed Trump for being xenophobic in the final debate. Family business and accounts of personal finances were dragged in the debate once again. Trump repeatedly slammed Hunter Biden whereas Biden strictly persisted in keeping the discussion on the policies.
- Both the candidates spoke about racism in America. Biden agreed that institutional racism exists and he will take all the necessary measures to combat racial inequality under his administration. On the other hand, Trump ignored the prompt and claimed that he had done a lot for African Americans.
Trump struggled to outline his vision for the second debate as well. On the other hand Biden managed to lead the poll so far.
