2020 race: Two very different Town Halls for Donald Trump, Joe Biden

Donald Trump and Joe Biden have faced sharply different prime-time Town Hall events, with the president making an impassioned plea for re-election on a promise to re-create “the strongest economy in the world” next year.

By contrast Mr Biden lashed the president for his unpopular response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying: “He missed enormous opportunities and kept saying things that weren’t true.”

The two presidential contenders had contrasting experiences as they held duelling events at the same time televised on different networks.

On NBC, Mr Trump received an hour-long series of tough questions from Melbourne-born NBC journalist Savannah Guthrie, while on ABC, Mr Biden enjoyed a more relaxed, 90 minute fireside-chat style questioning from George Stephanopolous.

The bizarre prime-time head-to-head occurred because of the collapse of the planned second presidential debate after Mr Trump refused to accept that it would be conducted virtually.

As a result, voters had to switch between the two networks to catch glimpses of each candidate, forcing many to choose between the high energy, combative Trump interview and the low key discussion with Mr Biden.

Not surprisingly, Mr Trump was the more compelling interview as he both defended and promoted his record on the coronavirus, racial justice, the economy, immigration and the Supreme Court.

On the coronavirus, the president admitted for the first time that his lungs had been “perhaps infected” by COVID-19. But he claimed the virus was now “rounding the corner” in the US and that cities like New York were a “ghost town” because they were not opening up and that “the cure cannot be worse than the problem.”

Under strident questioning, Mr Trump denounced white supremacists but asked why the media was not pressing Mr Biden to make a similar denouncement of far left groups like Antifa.

“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,” Mr Trump said.

When asked to make his case for a second term in office, the president said: ““Because I’ve done a great job. We had the strongest economy in the world. We closed it up. We’re coming around the corner. The vaccines are coming out soon, and our economy is strong … next year is going to be better than ever before.”

Meanwhile Mr Biden said his pledge to eliminate Mr Trump’s tax cuts would only apply to wealthy Americans and corporations, not the middle class.

“When I said the Trump tax cuts, about $1.3 trillion of the $2 trillion in his tax cuts went to the top one tenth of 1 per cent,” Mr Biden said. “That’s what I’m talking about eliminating. Not all the tax cuts that are out there.”

**Meanwhile a person who travelled on Joe Biden’s plane to Ohio and Florida this week has tested positive for the coronavirus, his campaign has announced.

Democrat Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has also cancelled campaign travel until early next week after her communications director and a crew member on her plane tested positive for coronavirus.
**
The Biden campaign said that the person who tested positive on Mr Biden’s plane worked for the aircraft’s charter company but was not near the 77-year-old presidential candidate at any point before, during or after the flights.

“The Vice President did not even have passing contact: this individual was over 50 feet from VP Biden at all times,’ adding that the person sat in the last row of the plane, far from where Mr Biden sat.

“Given these facts, we have been advised by the Vice President’s doctor and the campaign’s medical advisers that there is no need for the Vice President to quarantine,” the Biden campaign said in a statement.

Ms Harris has cancelled all campaign travel until Monday (AEDT) “out of an abundance of caution’ after her communications director Liz Allen and a crew member on her plane tested positive, Mr Biden’s campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said.

“Senator Harris was not in close contact, as defined by the CDC, with either of these individuals during the two days prior to their positive tests; as such, there is no requirement for quarantine,” Ms O’Malley Dillon said.

She said neither infected person had any contact with Ms Harris or Mr Biden “or any other staffers since testing positive or in the 48 hours prior to their positive test results.”

The 55-year-old Californian Senator, who spent this week in Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Barrett, was due to campaign in North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania in the days ahead.

Ms Harris said she was experiencing no symptoms of coronavirus but was being tested and “will be transparent with you about any test results that I do receive.”

“In the meantime, remember: wear a mask, practice social distancing, and wash your hands regularly. It is possible to stop the spread,” she added.

It is the first outbreak of coronavirus to hit the senior levels of the Biden-Harris campaign. By contract, the Trump campaign, which is far less cautious about social distancing and facemarks, has been hit with a raft of infections up to and including the president.

Those in Trump’s inner circle who have tested positive in recent weeks include his wife and son, Melania and Barron Trump, campaign manager Bill Stepien, Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and close advisers Hope Hicks, Kellyanne Conway, Stephen Miller and Chris Christie.

A final debate is scheduled between Mr Trump and Mr Biden in Nashville next Friday (AEDT) and is expected to be conducted in person.

Mr Biden extended his lead over Mr Trump in the polls after the first presidential debate in Cleveland last month in which the president was seen by many as overly-aggressive.

Mr Trump defended his conduct on Friday, saying “some people said I was rude, but you have to be rude. The guy’s a liar.”

Mr Biden said he believes the president will be even more aggressive towards him in the final weeks of the campaign.

“We’ve got 19 days left and you know he’s going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at me,” Mr Biden said. “And it’s going to be an overwhelming torrent of lies and distortions.”

It comes as more than 15 million Americans have already cast their ballots for the November 3 election, a far larger number than usual.

Mr Biden currently leads Mr Trump in polls by 9.2 points nationally.

(Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia)