Angry opening: Trump, Biden lash, interrupt each other

08:03 September 30

Trump, Biden integrity for election

Wallace asked Trump and Biden about their integrity for the US presidential election with Trump questioning the validity of mail ballots and Biden saying Trump does not want the ballots counted.

Biden agreed not to declare victory before the ballots are counted and to accept voters’ verdicts.

Trump continued to spread falsehoods about mail voting. He said falsely that his campaign's poll watchers were improperly turned away at a Philadelphia early voting site Tuesday the poll watchers had not yet been accredited to observe. He suggested widespread Democratic fraud because a handful of ballots were improperly thrown in the trash last week but didn’t mention it occurred in a Republican-controlled elections office and was quickly reported to authorities.

Biden urged viewers not to worry about Trump’s scare tactics.

08:00 September 30

Biden takes on Trump on 'fallen soldiers' topic

Biden criticized Trump regarding his description on fallen American whom he called "suckers" and "losers". Biden noted that his late son, Beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015, served in Iraq and received the Bronze Star. In response, Trump dismissed the memory of Biden's son and said, "I don’t know Beau; I know Hunter."

07:52 September 30

Trump's response on climate change

Wallace questions Trump on his response on the climate and Biden about his proposal over energy and environment. President Donald Trump says he does see human beings as contributing somewhat to climate change but doesn’t support strict regulations in part because of negative ramifications for business.

When asked at Tuesday's debate about humans being partially to blame for environmental deterioration, Trump said, “to an extent, yes.”

But when asked why he took steps like withdrawing the US from the landmark Paris climate pact, Trump reiterated his argument that such agreements were “driving energy prices through the sky.”

Nearly 200 nations signed the climate deal in which each country provides its own goals to curb emissions of heat-trapping gases that lead to climate change.

Biden said he would champion job-creating programs that embrace green technologies and would rejoin the Paris accord, which is “all falling apart” without US involvement.

07:50 September 30

Trump and Biden's political records

Moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump and Biden about the reasons for which the voters should pick them on the basis of their records

07:42 September 30

White supremacist violence

President Donald Trump declined to clearly condemn white supremacist groups and their role in violence in some American cities this summer during the debate, instead of branding it solely a "left-wing" problem.

"Almost everything I see is from the left-wing, not from the right," Trump said.

He was responding to a question from moderator Chris Wallace, who asked the president if he would condemn white supremacist and militia groups that have shown up at some protests. Wallace specifically mentioned Kenosha, Wisconsin, where a white teenager was charged with shooting two protesters during demonstrations over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in August. Trump has repeatedly blamed "Antifa" which stands for anti-fascists, and other groups affiliated with the political left.

"I'm willing to do anything, I want to see peace," Trump said. "What do you want me to call them? Give me a name."

"Proud Boys," Democrat Joe Biden chimed in, referencing a right-wing group that's organized protests in Portland, Oregon, and is designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

"Proud Boys, stand back and stand by," Trump said. "But I'll tell you what, I'll tell you what, somebody's got to do something about antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem."

07:40 September 30

Law and order topic heated the debate

Wallace asks Trump about his report on law and order.

07:29 September 30

Biden slams Trump on race

The fourth major topic which took the centre stage was race. Wallace asks the two leaders about this topic and why should people trust them. President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden are making their pitches to win over Black voters in the coming election, with Biden mockingly questioning: “This man, this man is a saviour of African Americans? This man has done virtually nothing.”

Biden says that 1 in 1,000 African Americans has died because of the coronavirus, and if Trump doesn’t do something quickly, it will be 1 in 500.

Trump turned the discussion from COVID-19 to a crime bill passed in 1994 that Biden helped write and get passed that, among other things, increased the penalties for certain drug offenses.

Trump says “I’m letting people out of jail now,” and asserted that Biden had treated the Black community “about as bad as anybody in this country.”

07:10 September 30

Trump paid millions of dollars for tax

Joe Biden criticises Trump over economy plans. As Donald Trump backs for an open economy Democratic candidate calls him 'rich fellow'. In this discussion, Trump was asked about his income tax to which he said that he paid millions of dollars for tax.

Trump said since 2016 that he would eventually release them. But when asked by moderator Chris Wallace when he said only: You'll get to see it.

Democratic nominee Joe Biden quickly used that as a point of attack, saying Trump does take advantage of the tax code and pays less tax than a schoolteacher.

Trump shrugged off the attack, saying that all business leaders do the same unless they are stupid.

07:06 September 30

Trump attacks Biden on wearing mask

Trump taunted Biden about his use of masks and his decision to hold more virtual campaign rallies, saying that 'nobody will show up' if he decided to hold in-person rallies.

Trump defended his decision to have large rallies despite warnings from health officials over the coronavirus pandemic. "People want to hear what I have to say," he said.

06:54 September 30

Moderator begins debate on coronavirus

Moderator Chris Wallace has begun arguments over the government's response against the coronavirus pandemic that has killed over 2 lac people in the US. US President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden traded attacks over the US response to the coronavirus during the first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio.

Trump and Biden both sought to set out their plan for how the pandemic should have been tackled.

At one point during the debate, the Democratic candidate urged Trump to 'get out of your bunker' and seek a bipartisan approach to stopping the coronavirus.

Trump responded by highlighting China's role in the spread of COVID-19.

06:51 September 30

Biden calls Trump a liar

The first presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden has gotten off to a contentious start, breaking down after just a few moments with Trump interrupting Biden on several occasions and Biden calling the president a clown and a liar.

As the discussion about the Supreme Court quickly turned to COVID-19, Trump claimed without evidence that 2 million people would have died if Biden were president.

Moderator Chris Wallace pleaded with Trump, stating that COVID-19 would be discussed later in the day. He then asked Trump about whether he had a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, and the president said, “First of all, I guess I’m debating you, not him, but that’s OK. I’m not surprised.”

Biden laughed at Trump’s jabs. But he also appeared to get upset at times, too.

“Here’s the deal, the fact is that everything he’s saying so far is simply a lie,” Biden said. “I’m not here to call out his lies. Everybody knows he’s a liar.”

Wallace asked Trump to let Biden finish. “Folks do you have any idea what this clown is doing?” Biden said.

06:49 September 30

Obamacare heats presidential debate

Moderator has asked Donald Trump to tell his plans replacing Obamacare.  

06:37 September 30

Moderator begins comment over first supreme court issue

Washington: Chris Wallace, moderator of the presidential debate has begun arguments over Supreme Court nominee. A fast-track push by Republicans to fill the Supreme Court seat held by the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg is roiling an already deeply divided Washington and will likewise be a flashpoint during the debate. Both Democrats and Republicans believe the confirmation battle might energize their voters and shape a court that could decide major issues such as health care, abortion access and possibly even the outcome of the November election.
 

06:11 September 30

Angry opening: Trump, Biden lash, interrupt each other

Washington: In an election year like no other, the first debate between US President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, could be a pivotal moment in a race that has remained stubbornly unchanged in the face of historic tumult.

The president's handling of the coronavirus will likely dominate much of the discussion. The pandemic's force will be tangible as the candidates' podiums will be spaced far apart and the traditional opening handshake scrapped.

The tumult of 2020 is difficult to overstate: COVID-19 has rewritten the rules of everyday life; schools and businesses are shuttered and racial justice protests have swept the nation after a series of high-profile killings of Black people by police.

Despite the upheaval, the presidential race has remained largely unchanged since Biden seized control of the Democratic field in March. The nation has soured on Trump's handling of the pandemic, and while his base of support has remained largely unchanged, he has seen defections among older and female voters, particularly in the suburbs, and his path to 270 Electoral College votes, while still viable, has shrunk.

While both sides anticipate a vicious debate between two men who do not like each other, the Biden campaign has downplayed the night’s importance, believing that the pandemic and the battered economy will outweigh any debate stage gaffe or zinger. Conversely, the Trump campaign has played up the magnitude of the duel, believing it will be a moment for the president to damage Biden and recast the race.

Polls suggest fewer undecided voters remain than at this point in the 2016 campaign. And several high-profile debates in past elections that were thought to be game-changing moments at the time ultimately had a little lasting effect.