U.S. President Donald Trump and former vice president Joe Biden faced off on Thursday evening in the second and last hosted at the Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee. NBC news journalist Kristen Welker served as the debate moderator, and her topics were varied. Notably, the debate was much more polite than the first one, and showed the best policy contrast between Biden and Trump so far.
Biden and Trump rehashed their dispute over the COVID-19 pandemic. Biden squarely blamed Trump for the death toll of over 220,000 due to his lack of responsibility and desire to take the coronavirus seriously. Biden vowed to listen to the scientists, distribute protective equipment and encourage mask use, and shut down the virus decisively. Trump argued Biden was soft on the China travel ban early on and projected that millions of lives would have been lost had he not taken action. He also accused Biden of wanting to shut down the country's economy in an effort to defeat the virus, which Biden strongly denied.
On healthcare, Trump attacked Biden's plan as socialism, and Biden replied that he won against socialized medicine in the primary. Biden then touted how his public option would boost the Affordable Care Act (A.C.A.), reduce premiums and drug prices, and lead to more choice and better health coverage. Trump kept criticizing Obamacare but again failed to offer a coherent, detailed replacement policy. He promised to protect people with preexisting medical conditions but was unable to describe how the law would work if the Supreme Court strikes down the A.C.A. Biden probably took his best points on healthcare.
Biden also drew a contrast on the economy. He asserted the need to help out struggling small businesses and minimum wage workers through targeted funds and a $15 minimum wage, which Trump rejected. Biden also stressed the Democratic HEROES Act passed in May and noted Republican Senators are blocking an economic relief bill. But Trump floundered on the question of how he would advocate relief, as he remains in a tricky position within the GOP. Instead he blasted the bill as flawed for bailing out blue states and cities, and Biden notched an easy win by promising unity and being the President for all Americans.
Trump elevated his attacks on the Green New Deal and Biden's climate plan to another level, tying Senator Bernie Sanders and the progressive Squad to Biden and claiming his plan would result in high energy costs, tiny windows, and dangerous wind power. In response, Biden highlighted how his climate plan would retrofit millions of homes and businesses with renewable energy and create thousands of good-paying green energy jobs while reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Biden also noted the issue of climate as an existential crisis and vowed to listen to scientists to cut emissions and transition to net zero carbon via public investment in renewables.
The final debate showed a stark contrast between the health, economic, and climate visions of Biden and Trump. At this point in the campaign season, the debate likely will not change many people's minds, but it did inform voters.
