Trump and Biden hold dueling town halls

By Meg Wagner, Veronica Rocha, Fernando Alfonso III, Kyle Blaine, Jessica Estepa, Melissa Macaya and Melissa Mahtani, CNN

Updated 1220 GMT (2020 HKT) October 16, 2020
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10:11 p.m. ET, October 15, 2020

Trump and Biden held competing town halls tonight. Here are the key moments from each.

President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden participated in competing presidential town halls tonight where they discussed a range of topics, including the coronavirus pandemic, nomination of a Supreme Court justice, the economy and Roe v. Wade.

If you missed both town halls, here are some key moments from each below:

Biden's town hall:

  • Education initiatives: Biden highlighted his plans to increase funding for low-income schools, help first-time homebuyers make their downpayment and increase small business funding when asked why Black people should support him.
  • Coronavirus vaccine: Biden made it clear that he would not hesitate to receive a coronavirus vaccine once the scientific community signs on to its safety and effectiveness. “If the body of scientists say (it’s ready) and it’s been tested, it’s gone through the three phases – yes, I would take and I would encourage people to take it,” he told a questioner who brought up a comment by his running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, who expressed concern that Trump would push forward a vaccine for political purposes.
  • The Supreme Court: Biden said he is "not a fan" of court-packing, but whether he ultimately seeks to push for more seats on the Supreme Court depends on how Senate Republicans handle the confirmation process of Trump's nominee Amy Coney Barrett. Biden faulted her for not directly answering many questions and not laying out “much of a judicial philosophy" during her confirmation hearings held in the Senate this week. “My reading online what the judge said was she didn’t answer very many questions at all,” Biden said. “And I don’t even think she’s laid out much of a judicial philosophy in terms of the basis in which she thinks.”
  • Tax cuts: Biden said that his pledge to eliminate the tax cuts that Trump enacted in his first term were aimed only at tax cuts for the wealthy, not the middle class. Republicans have tried to hammer Biden as someone who wants to raise taxes on the middle class because of his pledge to end the tax cuts signed into law by Trump.
  • Fracking: Biden doubled down on his opposition to a ban on the practice. He conceded that the emission of methane was a concern, along with small earthquakes caused by drilling, but argued that could be dealt with by being “managed very, very well.”
  • Transgender policies: Biden said he will reverse the Trump administration executive orders that a questioner described as “dangerous and discriminatory.”

Trump's town hall:

  • Coronavirus test: Trump said he feels "good" after testing positive for Covid-19 only weeks ago and couldn't recall whether he was tested on the day of the first presidential debate. "I don't know, I don't even remember. I test all the time. I can tell you this. After the debate, like, I guess, a day or so, I think it was Thursday evening, maybe even late Thursday evening, uh, I tested positive. That's when I first found out," the President said.
  • Face masks and the pandemic: Trump didn’t appear to indicate that his recent bout of coronavirus changed his opinion on masks in a contentious exchange in which he repeatedly invoked misinformation and claimed there were “many different stories” from public health officials. Infectious disease experts have provided substantial evidence that wearing a mask is one of the most important mitigation strategies.
  • Taxes and the IRS: Trump said he is under audit and has been "treated very badly by the IRS." Trump's comments were made in response to questions about his taxes and why he has yet to release his tax records to the public while running for office. "I'm treated very badly by the IRS. They treat me very, very badly. You have people in there from previous administrations. They treat me very badly. But we're under audit. It's very routine in many ways. But we're under audit," the President said.
  • Roe v. Wade: Trump said he doesn’t expect Barrett to rule a certain way on several hot-button issues, including any potential case over the results of the 2020 general election or a case revisiting of Roe v. Wade. The landmark case affirms the legality of a woman's right to have an abortion under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
  • Denouncing White supremacists: Trump said he denounced White supremacy tonight after he didn't do so during the first presidential debate. "I denounced White supremacy. I denounced White supremacy for years but you always start off with the question, you didn't ask Joe Biden whether or not he denounces Antifa," Trump said. "I denounced White supremacy. I denounce Antifa and I denounce these people on the left that are burning down our cities, that are run by Democrats."
  • Transfer of power: After hesitating to make the commitment for weeks, Trump said he would accept a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election, but he continued to sow doubt on the election results and made baseless claims about Obama administration officials spying on his 2016 campaign. 

10:15 p.m. ET, October 15, 2020

Biden was asked what it would say to him about where America is today if he lost. Here's what he said.

From CNN's Kate Sullivan

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden looks up as he participates in a town hall with moderator ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Thursday.
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden looks up as he participates in a town hall with moderator ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Thursday. Carolyn Kaster/AP

Former Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that if he loses the election, he hopes it doesn’t mean America is as divided “as it appears the President wants us to be.” 

ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked Biden what it would say to him about where America is today if he loses in November. 

“Well it could say that I’m lousy candidate and I didn't do a good job,” Biden responded. “But I think, I hope that it doesn't say that we are as racially, ethnically and religiously at odds with one another as it appears the President wants us to be.” 

Biden argued that while Trump has worked to divide the country, he would be a president for all Americans if elected in November.

The former vice president previously told a voter at the town hall that he would hopefully go back to being a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and working with the Biden School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Delaware, “focusing on the same issues relating to what constitutes decency and honor in this country.” He said those issues are the reason he got involved in politics. 

Biden quoted his father, who he said had an expression, “Everyone’s entitled to be treated with dignity."

"And so, whether I am a defeated candidate for president beck teaching or I am elected president, it is a major element of everything that I am about. Because it reflects who we are as a nation," Biden said.

10:24 p.m. ET, October 15, 2020

Fact check: Trump falsely says he's done more for Black people than any president other than Lincoln

From CNN's Tara Subramaniam

Citing his efforts on criminal justice reform, President Trump said he has “done more for the African American community than any president with the exception of Abraham Lincoln,” noting that “a lot of people agree.” 

Facts First: This is false.

President Lyndon B. Johnson, for example, signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, monumental bills whose impact dwarfed the impact of any legislation Trump has signed. 

It’s also worth mentioning that Black people themselves do not, on the whole, agree with Trump's self-assessment. Trump has had a consistently abysmal approval rating with Black citizens — just 4% in one recent Quinnipiac University poll, for example, versus 93% disapproval. 

10:01 p.m. ET, October 15, 2020

Biden says he will demand Trump test negative for Covid-19 before next debate

From CNN's Sarah Mucha

Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden arrive for an ABC News town hall event at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Thursday.
Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden arrive for an ABC News town hall event at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Thursday. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said Thursday that he will demand President Trump take a Covid-19 test, and for that test to return negative, before he will participate in a debate. 

"Will you demand that President Trump take a test that day and that it be negative before you debate?" moderator George Stephanopoulos asked. "Yeah," Biden replied, "By the way, before I came up here, I took another test, I've been taking it every day, the deep test, you know, the one, they go in both. Because I wanted to be able to — if I had not passed that test, I didn't want to come here and not expose anybody."  

He added, "I'm less concerned about me, but the people, the guys with the cameras, the people working in the, you know, the secret service guys you drive up with, all those people." 

Trump and Biden are set to debate next Thursday. The second presidential debate originally scheduled for today was canceled after Trump objected to the virtual format announced by the Commission on Presidential Debates put forward after his positive coronavirus diagnosis.

9:49 p.m. ET, October 15, 2020

Fact check: Trump falsely claims "thousands of ballots" were found in dumpsters  

From CNN's Paul Murphy

President Donald Trump speaks during an NBC News Town Hall, at Perez Art Museum Miami on Thursday.
President Donald Trump speaks during an NBC News Town Hall, at Perez Art Museum Miami on Thursday. Evan Vucci/AP

President Trump expanded on a false claim that he’s made previously, saying that “thousands of ballots” had been found in dumpsters. 

“Thousands of them are dumped in dumpsters and when you see ballots with the name Trump — military ballots, from our great military, and they’re dumped in garbage cans,” the President said in the NBC town hall.  

He went on to claim that the “thousands of ballots” were found with “my name on it.”

Facts First: This is false. There have been two incidents where ballots were found in a dumpster or trash can: 99 ballots heading to voters in New Jersey and nine ballots “incorrectly discarded” by a temporary worker in Pennsylvania.  

In New Jersey, the Justice Department charged a mail worker with two felonies for tossing 1,875 pieces of mail that included 99 ballots in two dumpsters. The ballots, which were being sent to voters, were immediately delivered after the US Postal Service learned about them being tossed in the trash. 

This isn’t the first time the President has lied about ballots being found in the trash. He’s repeatedly lied about ballots being found in a trash can in Pennsylvania.  

According to federal and local authorities, an election worker improperly threw out nine military ballots in Luzerne County. The Justice Department initially said all nine ballots were marked for Trump, then deleted its initial statement and issued a new one saying seven were Trump votes. Local officials said they would try to reach the affected voters and fix the ballots.  

9:48 p.m. ET, October 15, 2020

Fact check: Biden falsely claims Trump did nothing on unemployment after congressional aid expired

From CNN's Tami Luhby

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden participates in a town hall with moderator ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Thursday.
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden participates in a town hall with moderator ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Thursday. Carolyn Kaster/AP

Former Vice President Joe Biden slammed President Trump for not helping the jobless after the $600 weekly supplement for unemployment benefits – which Congress passed as part of its $2 trillion relief package — lapsed in late July.  

“And then what happened was, when the first round of money for unemployment, enhanced unemployment went by, he didn't do anything. He didn't do anything,” Biden said.  

Facts first: This is false. The day after congressional talks to extend the federal boost to unemployment benefits collapsed, Trump signed an executive measure to use $44 billion in federal disaster aid to provide $300 a week to the jobless.   

The effort provides out-of-work Americans in 49 states and the District of Columbia with these funds for up to six weeks. The money has already been fully distributed in many states.   

South Dakota declined to participate in the Lost Wages Assistance program. 

9:38 p.m. ET, October 15, 2020

Biden promises to reverse Trump's transgender policies

From CNN's Gregory Krieg

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden answers a question from a guest.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden answers a question from a guest. Source: ABC

Joe Biden on Thursday said he will reverse the Trump administration executive orders that a questioner described as “dangerous and discriminatory.”

Unfurling an old yarn, Biden told the story of seeing two men, “well-dressed,” kissing one another while he was with his father many years ago.

“My dad turned to me,” Biden recalled. “He said, ‘Joey, it’s simple. They love each other.’”

Biden then returned to the present day and declared, “There should be zero discrimination.”

“There is no reason to suggest that there should be any right denied to your daughter,” Biden said, “that your other daughter has a right to be and do. None. Zero.”

The former vice president also noted that his late son Beau Biden, who served as Delaware’s attorney general, backed the state's first transgender rights law.

“I’m proud of that,” Biden said.

9:37 p.m. ET, October 15, 2020

CNN's Dana Bash: Trump's "non-answer" to being tested before first debate "was an answer"

From CNN's Leinz Vales

CNN's Dana Bash said Thursday that President Trump refusal to say if he was tested on the day for the first presidential debate is "not something you forget."

"If the President took a test the night of the debate, he would have said 'I took a test the night of the debate,'" Bash said. "His non-answer was an answer."

At Trump's town hall with NBC, he said he did not recall taking a coronavirus test before the first presidential debate with former Vice President Joe Biden. 

"I don't know, I don't even remember. I test all the time. I can tell you this. After the debate, like, I guess, a day or so, I think it was Thursday evening, maybe even late Thursday evening, uh, I tested positive. That's when I first found out," the President said.

Bash cited former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's statement about the severity of his coronavirus diagnosis and hospitalization and his call for Americans to take the pandemic seriously.

"The leaders of this country, meaning the President, even though he didn't say it, have to stop being so cavalier about this," Bash said. "And not getting a test and putting in danger the people who are in that room, including his opponent for the presidency is as cavalier and careless as it can be."

9:29 p.m. ET, October 15, 2020

Fact check: Biden's claim on children and vaccines

From CNN's Tami Luhby

Answering a question about vaccines, former vice president Joe Biden talked about the coronavirus’ impact on children. 

“Children are getting the virus, not with as serious consequences, but we haven’t, there's been no studies done yet on vaccines for children,” he said. 

 Facts first: Biden is correct about research in the US, though a leading drugmaker just this week revealed plans to include children in its vaccine research. Pfizer plans to start testing its experimental coronavirus vaccine in children as young as 12, the researcher helping lead the trial told CNN on Tuesday. It will be the first coronavirus vaccine trial to include children in the United States.