The second and final US presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden began at midday AEDT. You can watch it back here:
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Go to latestWatch: The final US presidential debate
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US Presidential Debate as it happened: Donald Trump and Joe Biden clash over North Korea, healthcare and coronavirus
Summary
- With just 11 days left until election day, US President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden faced off in Nashville, Tennessee, for the final presidential debate.
- The debate was divided into six 15-minute segments: fighting COVID-19; American families; race in America; climate change; national security; and leadership.
- It was moderated by NBC News White House correspondent Kristen Welker. Welker was the first black woman to serve as the moderator of a presidential debate since Carole Simpson in 1992.
- The election will be held on November 3 but early postal voting has already begun in some states. Voter turnout is expected to reach record levels year, with some experts predicting that the number of people voting either in person or by mail could exceed 145 million.
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And now, the race to the White House
By Marissa Calligeros and Mary Ward
That's it for today's blog - thank you for joining us. All eyes now turn to the final sprint to the White House ahead of election day on November 3.
Here is a look back at the candidates' key arguments.
Fighting COVID-19
Trump drew on his personal experience with the virus, blamed China for its entry to the US and said he expected a vaccine would be announced "within weeks" before admitting it would actually likely be next year.
Biden said he wanted to support safe reopening and believed Trump was responsible for the US death toll – now greater than 220,000.
Mixed reactions to a more subdued debate
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Many are hedging their bets about who won this debate, with that view summed up by US journalist and author Dan Rather:
Kristen Welker: The real winner?
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There are mixed reactions to Trump and Biden's debate performances on social media, but many have declared a clear winner: debate moderator Kristen Welker.
On Fox News, Chris Wallace - moderator of the first debate - said: "Well, first of all, I’m jealous. I would have liked to have been able to moderate that debate and to get a real exchange of views instead of hundreds of interruptions."
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'Let's go win this, folks': Trump and Biden react on Twitter
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Both candidates have stepped off the debate stage and turned to Twitter.
Trump has used the platform to suggest Biden lied about his plans to end fracking. Despite what Biden says in the video clip posted by Trump, the Democratic nominee has repeatedly pledged not to abolish fracking.
Biden took a more positive tone in two tweets.
Summary: Key moments of the debate
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Today's debate proved far more coherent and substantive than last month's chaotic clash, our North America correspondent Matthew Knott writes.
Knott looks back at the key moments of the debate, here:
While Trump was less aggressive than the previous debate, he hit Biden hard over his son Hunter's business dealings in an effort to paint him as corrupt, reprising his attacks on Hillary Clinton four years ago.
On the pandemic that has claimed over 220,000 American lives, Trump said America needed to prioritise rapidly re-opening the economy.
Credit to Welker after a relatively smooth debate
By Farrah Tomazin
The first debate was a chaotic mess. The second debate was cancelled after Trump contracted coronavirus. But this final debate went relatively smoothly, thanks in part to the solid work of moderator Kristen Welker.
Helped along by a mute button (and perhaps Trump’s general reluctance to appear as aggressive as he did in the first debate) Welker was able to keep proceedings on track; she asked thoughtful questions (particularly in relation to the plight of black and brown communities); and she pushed both candidates on sensitive topics (such as Trump’s child separation policy; or Biden’s contentious crime bill).
Welker, Republicans and Democrats will no doubt be breathing a sigh of relief after today’s proceedings.
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Looking back: Key quotes on the topic of COVID
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Here's a look back at some key quotes from Trump and Biden about the coronavirus pandemic as they launched their final bid to convince undecided American voters.
Debate moderator Kristen Welker asked how each candidate would lead the country out of the pandemic crisis.
Trump
"We're fighting it and we're fighting it hard … we’re rounding the corner. It’s going away ... I caught it. I learned a lot … We have to recover. We can't close up our nation ...
"I don't know if we're going to have a dark winter, and at all. We're opening up our country. We've learned and studied and understand the disease."
Biden
"If you hear nothing else I say tonight, hear this ... Anyone who's responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of United States of America ...
"This is the same fellow told you this is going to end by Easter last time. This is the same fellow who told you that, don't worry, we're going to end this by the summer. We're about to go into a dark winter, a dark winter, and he has no clear plan.
"He says, we're, you know, we're learning to live with it. People are learning to die with it."
Reuters
Two debates down, 47 millions votes, and two weeks to go
By Farrah Tomazin
There’s still two weeks until election day, but according to the US Elections Project, about 47 million Americans have already voted.
But while many folks have already made up their minds, there’s still a small but crucial proportion of the electorate that could swing either way.
Whoever wins will have an extraordinary task: to rebuild a battered economy still reeling from the global pandemic.
Analysis: The last question
By Farrah Tomazin
The last question by debate moderator Kristen Welker was a good one, as the answers were emblematic of the different styles of Trump and Biden.
She asked both candidates: What would you say during your inaugural address for people who did not vote for you?
Trump largely looked to the past, talking up what life was like before coronavirus ravaged the US: tax cuts, a booming economy, "the best numbers".
He then attacked Biden and played to the politics of fear, warning viewers that "if he gets in, you will have a depression, the likes of which you've never seen … It'll be a very very sad thing for this country".
Biden, on the other hand, turned to the future, saying that the nation could move forward with "hope", "respect and dignity" and "making sure that everyone has an even chance".
Two very different answers reflecting two very different candidates.
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Fact check: Trump and Russia
By Chris Zappone
The topic of election interference and Russia dominated parts of today's debate. So let's take a look at the issue more closely.
Trump and supporters strenuously dismiss Russian interference in the 2016 Election as a "hoax", and the Mueller investigation, as well as probes in the House and Senate as a "witch-hunt". Trump and his supporters suggest it was a Democratic-led "coup" attempt. This echoes Russian propaganda themes.
Nevertheless, real arrests, real indictments, real convictions, made by real judges and juries tell another story. Here is a list of those stemming from the 2016 election.
- Paul Manafort, Trump's campaign chair, sentenced to seven and a half years for hiding millions of dollars and lying to get loans.
- Konstantin Kilimnik, who the US believes has ties to Russian intelligence, has been charged with obstruction of justice.
- 13 Russian nationals linked to the Internet Research Agency, the fabled St Petersburg troll farm.
- 12 Russian military officers charged with hacking Democrats' emails.
- Trump aide Roger Stone was convicted of lying to Congress. Trump commuted his sentence of 2 years of a supervised release plus a $20,000 fine.
- Ex-national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about talking with a Russian diplomat before Trump's inauguration.
- Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to investigators and awaits sentencing - although the Justice Department has moved to halt the case.
- Ex-Trump campaign aide Rick Gates was given 45 days in jail, three years in probation after pleading guilty to helping Paul Manafort hide US$75 million after years of Ukraine lobbying work.
- Ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen sentenced to 2 and half years in prison, after pleading guilty to tax evasion, campaign finance fraud and lying to Congress.
- Ex-Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos served 12 days in prison for lying to investigators.
- Alex van der Zwaan, Dutch attorney pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, served 30 days.
- Richard Pinedo, a California man sentenced to six months in prison for selling dummy bank accounts used by Russian hackers.
- Michael Flynn's ex-business partner Bijan Kian was found guilty of conspiring to hide lobbying for Turkey and acting as an illegal foreign agent
- Political consultant Sam Patten sentenced to three years of probation, paid $US5000 ($7113) fine and ordered to do 500 hours of community service for selling tickets to Trump's inauguration on behalf of a Ukrainian oligarch.
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