CLEVELAND: US President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden battled fiercely in a chaotic first presidential debate marked by personal insults and repeated interruptions.
Trump bulldozed his way through the 90-minute debate claiming that Democrats were trying to steal the presidential election with mail-in ballots and declining to condemn white supremacist groups.
Moderator Chris Wallace was unable to establish control of the debate with Trump repeatedly ignoring calls to let Biden speak. The two talked over each other and lobbed insults in a political brawl that made it hard for either to make a point.
At one point, an exasperated Biden said after Trump’s repeated interruptions: “Will you shut up, man? This is so unpresidential.” Wallace tried in vain to control Trump, who ignored his time limits and talked over Biden.
“I think that the country would be better served if we allowed both people to speak with fewer interruptions. I’m appealing to you, sir, to do that,” Wallace said.
The debate represented one of the few remaining chances for Trump to change the trajectory of a race that most opinion polls show him losing. Trump neglected to make an affirmative case for why he is the candidate best suited to tackle fundamental election issues.
Trump has more debates with Biden scheduled for October, while Vice President Mike Pence and Biden’s vice presidential running mate, Kamala Harris, have a debate next week.
Trump was asked if he was willing to also condemn white supremacists and tell them to stand down. He initially said he would be willing to do anything for peace but then said most of the violence was from the left-wing.
Trump also repeated his unfounded complaints that mail-in ballots would lead to widespread election fraud and declined to commit to accepting the results of the election or commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election.
Biden urged Americans to make a plan to vote and assured voters that Trump would be gone if Biden won. He said he would not declare victory until the outcome was validated.
Biden was critical of Trump’s record on the coronavirus pandemic, accusing him of failing to protect Americans because he was more concerned about the economy.
Hours before the debate, Biden released his 2019 tax returns and his campaign called on Trump, who has come under fire for not releasing his returns, to do the same.
Biden took the step two days after a report said Trump paid just $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017 and none in 10 of the previous 15 years following years of reporting losses from business enterprises.
The two also sparred over Trump’s effort to swiftly fill a US Supreme Court seat after the death of liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg this month. Biden said the seat should be filled after the election when it was clear who the president would be. He said a more conservative Supreme Court would endanger the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare.
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