October 16, 2020: With the US Presidential election day approaching, the Republican presidential candidate Mr Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Mr Joe Biden held televised Town Hall debates separately. The debates were organised after the second presidential debate was called off by the Commission on Presidential Debates. Second presidential debate was called off after US President Donald Trump and several other White House staff tested positive for COVID-19.
In his town hall debate held in Miami and televised nationally, Mr Donald Trump faced a slew of questions on handling coronavirus pandemic, effectiveness of masks, state of economy, white supremacists etc. Mr Trump reiterated that ‘We had the greatest economy in the history of our country,” when questioned about the economy of the US. Furthermore, without divulging the additional details he claimed he would replace Obamacare. When asked about the far-right conspiracy theory group QAnon, he said “I just don’t know about QAnon.” He also refused to answer whether he supported overturning Roe v. Wade.
Democrtic presidential candidate Mr Joe Biden’s town hall debate was organised in Philadelphia and also televised nationally. Mr Biden attacked the Trump administration’s policies in handling the pandemic. He highlighted his educational initiatives and plans to increase funding for low-income schools. Mr Biden also pledged to eliminate the tax cuts that the Trump administration has enacted stating that the Trump administration’s tax cuts only benefited the rich. Responding to a question regarding the coronavirus vaccine, he said that he would not hesitate to receive a coronavirus vaccine once the scientific community has assured it’s safety and effectiveness. Furthermore, Mr Biden vowed to change laws that discriminate against transgender people. “There should be zero discrimination,” he said. Addressing the question on fracking and the environment, Mr Biden confirmed that he did not want to ban fracking. Although he conceded that emission of methane and earthquakes caused by drilling were a concern.
