NASHVILLE: Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden renewed his attacks on President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic at Thursday's (Oct 22) final debate, seeking to bolster his lead in opinion polls with 12 days to go to the Nov 3 election.
The televised debate, which takes place at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennesee, represented one of the Republican Trump's last remaining opportunities to reshape a campaign dominated by a pandemic that has killed more than 221,000 people in the United States and devastated the economy.
"Anyone who's responsible for that many deaths should not remain president of the United States of America," Biden said.
Trump, who was far more restrained than at the first debate in September when he aggressively talked over Biden, defended his approach to the outbreak and claimed the worst of the pandemic was in the past.
"We're rounding the corner," said Trump, who has played down the virus for months. "It's going away."
Opinion polls show most Americans disapprove of the president's response to the virus.
Several US states, including the election swing state of Ohio, reported record single-day increases in COVID-19 infections on Thursday, evidence the pandemic is accelerating anew.
Though Trump trails former vice-president Biden significantly in national polls, the contest is much tighter in some battleground states where the election will likely be decided.
READ: Trump and Biden to headline duelling town halls, as early voters swamp polls
Trump is currently trailing Biden by eight percentage points, the latest Reuters/Ipsos national poll showed.
A record 45 million Americans have already cast their votes, eclipsing the total early voting in the 2016 election, ahead of the debate.
The first segment of the debate was far more civil than the candidates' first clash in September, when Trump's constant interruptions and exchanges of personal insults derailed the evening.
As a result, each candidate's microphone on Thursday was switched off while his opponent made a two-minute introductory statement on a topic. Even after the microphones were turned back on during discussion periods, however, the candidates largely allowed each other to speak.
Biden faulted Trump for avoiding responsibility for the pandemic.
"I take full responsibility," Trump said. "It's not my fault that it came here, it's China's fault."
Trump claimed on Thursday that a vaccine was close to ready, saying approval would be announced within "weeks" before acknowledging that it was not a guarantee.
Most experts, including administration officials, have said a vaccine is unlikely to be widely available until mid-2021.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiamh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vbmV3cy93b3JsZC91cy1lbGVjdGlvbi10cnVtcC1iaWRlbi1maW5hbC1wcmVzaWRlbnRpYWwtZGViYXRlLWxpdmUtMTMzNDcxNzjSAQA?oc=5
2020-10-23 01:09:21Z
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