After US President Donald Trump on October 8 refused to take part in a virtual debate with Joe Biden, both Trump and Biden held individual town hall events on Thursday, the day the debate was slated to take place. Both Biden and Trump answered questions on various topics including the coronavirus, taxes, crime and LGBTQ rights.
Biden, while talking about foreign policy said Trump’s ‘America first’ policy translated to ‘America alone’. "We find ourselves in a position where we’re more isolated in the world than we ever have been," Biden said.
Referring to Trump brokering agreements with the UAE, Bahrain and Israel, Biden said, “I do compliment the president on the deal with Israel recently.”
Trump, when asked by NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie about QAnon, he claimed not to know anything about the group and praised the cult for being against paedophilia. At Biden’s Townhall, which was moderated by former White House communications director George Stephanopoulos, Biden said the 1994 crime bill, which he helped write had some positive aspects, such as the federal assault weapons ban, but it had many negative consequences as well. Biden also spoke on LGBTQ rights and said there should be ‘zero discrimination’ against transgenders.
Stephanopoulos, however, steered clear of any questions relating to Hunter Biden and his involvement in the Ukrainian energy company Burisma. When Guthrie asked Trump whether there will be a peaceful transition of power, he said, “yes I will,” but he also went on to say, that he feels the election could be rigged as a result of mail-in ballots— “When you see thousands of ballots in the garbage with my name on it, I have a problem,” he said, indicating that there are several and duplicate mail-in ballots being sent out to voters.
When asked about imposing a travel ban on China, Trump said he imposed a travel ban early on, but Joe Biden called him a xenophobic and racist for it. But in reality, Trump hadn’t imposed a travel ban against China, only restricted travel from the country and Biden refused of accusing him of racism.
Trump, when asked by Guthrie about him owing money to foreign entities, said, “When you look at vast properties like I have ... the amount of money, $400 million, is a peanut, it’s extremely underleveraged. Not a big deal.” He, however, did not explicitly agree whether or not he owed the money. Biden’s Town Hall ended with Stephanopoulos asking him whether he would demand that President Trump test negative for the coronavirus before they met for a debate, and Biden said, “It’s just decency. I’m less concerned about me than the guys with the cameras.”
