The second Presidential debate took place last Thursday Oct. 22 in Nashville, Tenn. This was the second, and final, Presidential debate before the election on Tuesday Nov. 3. President Donald Trump and ex-Vice President Joe Biden clashed over several hot topics including the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy, healthcare, climate change, immigration, and criminal justice.
Unsurprisingly, the coronavirus pandemic took centre stage yet again. Trump leaned heavily on claims of exceptional testing and of key early intervention in restricting travel from China. He also claimed that the virus is on the downturn: “We’re rounding the corner. We’re rounding the turn. It’s going away,” he said. This is in contrast to evidence suggesting a daily rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S.
Biden also fell under scrutiny regarding the pandemic with Trump pushing him for a more concrete plan on how he would handle the pandemic should he win the election.
Immigration was also heavily touched on. The candidates battled over the treatment of immigrant children and the issue of family separation at the border. Trump made note of how this policy began under the Obama-Biden administration but failed to acknowledge that the peak of this taking place was in 2018 while Trump was in office.
Trump and Biden also clashed over climate change and how they plan to combat environmental issues over the next term if they are elected.