The debate began with an introduction from NBC News White House reporter Kristen Welker. This time around, the commission had the ability to turn each candidate’s microphone on and off when it was their appropriate time to speak. Once again, there were no opening statements or handshakes between President Trump and former Vice President Biden. The topics discussed during this debate (in chronological order) were COVID-19, national security, healthcare, immigration, race, climate change, and their inaugural addresses.

COVID-19 Pandemic

The first topic of the debate was the coronavirus. As cases spike to a dangerous high with more than “40,000 Americans” in the hospital, the country and its people are very concerned for what’s to come. Since the last presidential debate on September 29 of 2020, “16,000” people in our country alone have died from the virus. The question to both candidates was how would they lead and handle this crisis as our country enters a “new stage” of COVID-19.

Trump: The President said that “2.2 million” people were expected to die from the virus, but due to the closing of the country, his administration has helped slow and combat that number. Trump also mentioned that the rate of mortality due to COVID-19 is down “85%.” The recent spikes in Florida, Arizona, and Texas have all gone down. He said the current surges of COVID-19 in other areas of our country will also go down. He claimed that he (and his administration) have a vaccine “ready” and it’s “coming.” There is a “good chance” that the announcement will come “within weeks” and the vaccine will be distributed by the military under operation “Warp Speed.” Having had the coronavirus, President Trump said firmly that the coronavirus is “going away.”

Biden: Former Vice President Biden feels that anyone who is responsible for the “200,000+” deaths due the virus should not remain in power. Biden claimed that the country has “1,000” deaths each day, along with “70,000” new cases per day. He thinks that the president does not have a fully comprehensible plan to help save American lives. The country is expected to have “200,000” more deaths by the end of the year. In order to prevent that, he proposed that if he was elected, he would highly encourage all Americans to wear their masks, heavily invest in testing, and he would come up with national guidelines for businesses and schools to reopen safely. He said that unlike the president, he will “end this.”

National Security

It was confirmed the night before this debate by “top intelligence officials” that both Iran and Russia are working on ways to influence the election. Both Iran and Russia have gotten ahold of US voter registration info. Iran has gone as far as sending “intimidating” messages to voters in Florida. The question to each of the candidates was what would they do in their power to end the threat of foreign involvement in US elections.

Biden: Biden said that he has been “very clear” that any country that interferes with American elections will “pay a price.” He says that it is very clear that Russia, China, and Iran are involved in the 2020 elections. The former VP claimed that Trump has not brought up Russian interference in our elections to President Vladimir Putin. Biden feels that the president is unwilling to take on Putin, but he does not understand why.

Trump: The president initially brought up the fact that Biden and his family had received “$3.5 million” from Russia through President Putin. He also talked about the VP’s relationship with the mayor of Moscow and his wife. The President claimed that unlike Biden, he has never “received” any money from Russia. He says that according to DNI John Ratcliffe, both Iran and Russia want Biden to win, because no other President has ever been as “tough” on Russia as he has. Among other things, he has gotten NATO countries to put up more money to guard “against” Russia. Trump feels that Biden owes an explanation to the American people as to why he was allegedly “raking” in so much money from Russia.

Healthcare

On the day of this debate, there was a “key” vote on the new Supreme Court Justice, Amy Coney Barret. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is in the process of going to the Supreme Court. The president and his administration want to end it and replace it with what they believe to be a better healthcare plan. If the act is overturned, “20 million” people are at risk of losing their health insurance. VP Biden wants to expand on Obamacare. The question to Trump was what will they do if all of these people’s health insurance is stripped from them. The question to Biden is what he will do if the Supreme Court does not pass his plan.

Trump: Trump started off by saying that he got rid of what he describes as the “worst part of Obamacare,” which is the individual mandate. He says that the issue of Obamacare is in court because it’s “no good.” He says that he and his administration’s plan is to terminate it, because he feels that without the mandate, there is no Obamacare. In his new plan, he will keep pre-existing condition coverage and protect those people. He also mentioned that under Biden’s plan, the “180 million” people with private healthcare will have that privilege taken away because Biden will “terminate” all of those policies. He also claims that Biden wants to socialize medicine.

Biden: Biden’s plan is to build on Obamacare. He wants it to have a public option and then convert it to Bidencare. This option would be geared toward those who qualify for Medicaid and don’t have “wherewithal” in their state: they will automatically be enrolled in Bidencare. He and his administration want to reduce drug prices and premiums. He made it clear in response to the president’s comments that he supports and does not want to take away private healthcare. He made claims that unlike him and his administration, the president does not have a plan to protect people with pre-existing conditions. His plan will be affordable, because he feels it’s what the American people deserve.

Immigration

“4,000 kids” have been separated from their families under the President’s administration, and Trump has reversed his Zero Tolerance policy. Unfortunately, around “500” of these children can not be reunited with their families, because the US cannot locate their parents. The question to the President was what he would do to reunite all of these families.

During President Obama’s administration, Biden and Obama were unable to reform the immigration policy. It was one of their promises during their campaign and ironically, they had “record deportations” and detentions. The question to the former Vice President was why should voters trust him now to handle the immigration issue.

Trump: The President said that many of the children brought over are being used by cartels and “bad people” to get into our country. He claimed that we have the “strongest” border ever. The president wants to let people in, but he wants them to come into our country legally. He claimed that he did not build the cages that kids from across the border are photographed in. He said that it was Obama and Biden’s doing, and that they were built in 2014. He said that he and his team are working very hard on bringing these families back together.

Biden The former VP responded to Trump by saying that these children were not brought over by coyotes, but by their parents. He claimed that the families were stripped from each other at the border to make the American Dream unappealing, and to hopefully dissuade these “aliens” from coming into the US. Biden went on to say that he admits that he and President Obama made a mistake and it took too long to make reforms to the immigration policies. He said that within “100 days,” he will be sending a “pathway” to the US Congress to help “11 million” undocumented people get citizenship. He will “immediately” certify the DACA children. He feels that we “owe” these people (“20,000”) who are first responders in our country.

Race

Many black and brown Americans have to face the challenges of giving their children the “talk.” The “talk” is a discussion that these parents have to have with their children no matter how wealthy or poor they are. They have to teach their children how to protect themselves just because of their skin color. They tell them to not wear a hoodie while crossing the street, or to keep both hands on the wheel when you get pulled over. Unlike white children who don’t really have to worry about these things, these kids have to worry about losing their lives at the hands of those sworn to protect us. The question to the president and vice president was if they could understand the worries of minority parents.

Biden: VP Biden said he does understand why these parents fear for their kids. He brought up that his daughter Ashley Biden is a social worker and has written a lot on the topic. He also said that the primary reason as to why he moved to Wilmington, Delaware, was because of the large African American population (“90%”). He wanted to learn more about their situation and what he could do to help. He strongly believes that there is “institutional” racism in this country, and that we as a country have not lived up to our promise that “all men and women are created equal.” His plan is to provide “better healthcare, more economic opportunities, better education and access to schooling, along with more money” to support the start of new businesses.

Trump: The president also said that he understands why parents are scared. He claimed that for how long Biden had been in the government, he never did anything for the African Americans, except in 1994 when he passed a crime bill that “harmed” the black community. Trump said that nobody but him, with the “possible exception” of Abraham Lincoln, has done more for the black community. He says that people don’t talk about the great ideas and programs that are in motion to support and benefit African Americans and Hispanics. Programs such as opportunity zones along with prison reform, and “criminal justice reform.” He also mentioned that he helped preserve historically black colleges and universities.

Climate Change

Each of the candidates have very different views on climate change. The President feels that new laws and regulations have negatively impacted jobs across the country in the energy sector. However, former VP Biden feels that acknowledging and addressing the climate change crisis will generate new jobs. The question to them was how would they fight climate change while equally supporting the opportunity for new jobs.

Trump: The President started off by saying that the country already has many different programs such as the Trillion Trees Project. He said that he loves the environment, but what he truly strives for is the “cleanest” air and water. He claims that under his administration, the country has the lowest carbon emissions in “35 years.” He said that he took us out of the Paris Accord, because the US was being treated “unfairly,” and it was going to cost us trillions. He says that by doing that, he saved many businesses and “tens of millions” of jobs.

Biden: Biden said that global warming along with the rapid change of climate, is an “existential threat” to human life as we know it. He claimed that the top scientists of the world say that the world is running out of time. Within “eight to 10” years, we will pass the “point of no return.” He said that if Trump remained in power for the next four years, the world and its people will be in “real trouble.” He said that his climate plan is supported by labor and many environmental organizations. He also claimed that according to Wall Street, his plan will generate “$1 trillion more” than the President’s plan.

Inaugural Address 

The final section was about leadership. The question to each of the candidates was what would they say in their address on inauguration day to those who do not vote for you.

Trump: He says that we need to make the US “successful.” Despite this crisis, we are rebuilding and at “record numbers.” He said that his administration had the best African American unemployment rate. He wants to cut taxes and claims that Biden wants to raise them. He says that if Biden wins, people will lose their “401(k)s” and the country will have a depression. 

Biden: He started by saying that he represents all Americans whether you vote for or against him. He wants to give people hope and he wants everyone to be represented. He wants to choose “science over fiction” when it comes to dealing with any crisis. He knows that the country has so much potential to better. He wants to grow the economy, “deal” with the systemic racism, help our planet, and create new jobs. He wants everyone to be treated equally with “respect” and “dignity.”