In one of his final prime-time television events before Election Day, President Trump, who is trailing in national and battleground polls, offered little new to voters who may still be undecided, speaking positively about a far-right conspiracy theory movement and staking out positions on the coronavirus that are at odds with both the scientific consensus and public opinion.
Simultaneously, on another network, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. presented a very different vision of the country, promoting a federal response to the pandemic led by health experts and denouncing systemic discrimination.
For the first time, Mr. Biden also promised to take a stand on whether Democrats should push to expand the Supreme Court if he wins. He said he would make his position known before Election Day, adding that he wanted to see how Republicans’ push to quickly confirm a replacement to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg played out.
Mr. Trump arrived at his town hall, which took place in Miami and aired on NBC, with a simple pitch: People should vote for him “because we’ve done a great job.” Mr. Biden’s goal for the evening was to both push back on that argument and allow Mr. Trump to keep the focus on himself — something the president appeared happy to do.
With 19 days until Election Day and cases of the virus rising again in much of the country, Mr. Trump said, falsely, “We’re coming around the corner.”
He added, “Vaccines are coming soon and our economy is strong.” In reality, it is not clear when a coronavirus vaccine will be widely available to the public and no medical experts have agreed with him that the country, which on Wednesday saw at least 1,009 new coronavirus deaths and 59,713 new cases reported, is rounding the corner.
Mr. Biden, appearing on ABC, attacked Mr. Trump for his handling of the pandemic, saying, “He missed enormous opportunities and kept saying things that weren’t true.” Mr. Biden called for a national standard” to combat the outbreak, which has killed over 215,000 people in the United States.
Throughout his hourlong event, Mr. Trump evaded answers on everything from his stance on mask-wearing to whether he believed in the false QAnon conspiracy theory. On policy questions, he refused to answer whether he supported overturning Roe v. Wade, or to give any specifics about when he planned to unveil a “very major immigration bill” he has promised for months.
When the NBC moderator, Savannah Guthrie, pressed him, noting that most anti-abortion Republicans would like to see Roe v. Wade overturned and abortion banned, he punted.
“I’m telling you I don’t want to do anything to influence anything right now,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Biden also evaded a question, dodging when George Stephanopoulos, the evening’s host, pressed him on court-packing.
“No matter what answer I gave you, if I say it, that’s the headline,” Mr. Biden said. He added, in a reference to Senate Republicans, “It won’t be about what’s going on now, the improper way they’re proceeding” with filling the seat so close to the election.
One subject was notably absent from both conversations. While Mr. Trump and other Republicans have sought to attack Mr. Biden over his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings, with the president’s allies providing news outlets with unsubstantiated material about the Bidens, Mr. Trump notably did not bring up the younger Mr. Biden.
Instead, he focused on trying to paint his own accomplishments in the best light, after further stoking the country’s political rifts. “We’ve given you the greatest tax cut in the history of our country,” he said. “We created new levels of jobs that nobody thought was possible. And next year is going to be better than ever before.”
Joseph R. Biden Jr. vowed to change laws that discriminate against people who are transgender, reversing the Trump administration’s rollback of transgender rights.
Responding at Thursday’s town hall to a question from a woman who said one of her daughters was transgender, the former vice president provided a somewhat jumbled answer that touched on several issues related to L.G.B.T.Q. rights.
He recalled, for instance, seeing two men hug and kiss when he was younger and turning to his father, who told him, “Joey, it’s simple; they love each other.” He also noted that “too many transgender women of color are being murdered.”
“There should be zero discrimination,” he said at another point.
At the end of his response, Mr. Biden insensitively described a…
Read More: Highlights and Key Moments From Trump and Biden Town Halls