WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd October, 2020) US President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden opened their final debate sparring over the Trump administration's handling of the pandemic and alleged meddling by China, Iran and Russia.
Trump opened the debate defending his record against the pandemic, saying that his administration would announce a vaccine within weeks. Trump also said that Americans are learning to live with COVID-19 and the US needs to open schools. Trump again blamed China for US woes due to the virus.
Biden in response said Trump still has no comprehensive plan to fight COVID-19. The former vice president called Trump's approach "tragic."
Trump reiterated that he wants to open schools and the country while Biden said "we want a safe opening."
On the topic of foreign interference, Biden said Iran and Russia will pay a heavy price for meddling in the US election if he is elected president.
"It's been overwhelmingly clear this election... that Russia has been involved, China has been involved to some degree, and now we learn that Iran is involved," Biden said on Thursday night. "They will pay a price if I'm elected."
Trump accused Biden of being paid by "Russians." Biden responded by saying he never took "a penny" from any foreign source.
The Hunter Biden scandal was also raised. Biden said nothing was unethical about Hunter's business dealings in Ukraine. He said his son never made any money on China.
When the topic moved to North Korea, Trump said there was a possibility of nuclear war and that millions of people would have been dead if not for him. Biden said he would negotiate with Kim Jong Un if North Korea reduced its nuclear capabilities.
Their second televised showdown got under way in Nashville, Tennessee on Thursday shortly after 9:00 p.m. EST (1:00 a.m. GMT Friday), moderated by NBC news correspondent Kristen Welker. The debate rules have changed, as the moderator will be allowed to cut-off microphones given the candidates interrupted each other repeatedly in the previous debate.
Biden is ahead by an average of 8 percent nationally in the most recent eleven surveys posted on poll aggregator Realclearpolitics.com (RCP). Meanwhile, Trump is behind in polling in 8 of the top 12 battleground states, but nearly all within a typical margin of error, and most have tightened in the past week. Over 47 million early votes have been cast as of Thursday, outpacing 2016 by nearly a factor of eight, with 70% received by mail ahead of the November 3 election.
