Trump, Biden Row over COVID, Climate, Racism

In their final live TV debate, US President Donald Trump and his White House challenger Joe Biden clashed over Covid and race when trading corruption charges.

Mr Biden would not rule out further lockdowns in the pandemic, although Mr Trump insisted that it was time to reopen the US, the BBC reports.

Mr Trump cited false allegations that Mr Biden directly profited from the business activities of his son. Mr Trump's opaque taxes were imposed by the Democrat.

With 11 days to go before the election, Mr Biden has a solid national lead.

But in the handful of states that may vote either way and eventually determine the result, the margin is slimmer.

More than 47 million people have already cast their ballots in a record-breaking voting surge driven by the pandemic.

What was the overall tone?

The primetime duel in Nashville , Tennessee on Thursday night, was a less acrimonious and more substantive affair than the previous showdown on 29 September by the pair, which turned into threats and name-calling.

Following that political brawl, this time during the opening statements of the candidates on each subject, debate organizers muted microphones to reduce disturbance.

But the 90-minute debate, moderated by Kristen Welker of NBC, saw plenty of personal attacks between the rivals, whose mutual animosity was evident.

They gave the nation strongly different opinions on everything from shutting down the country to fighting coronavirus, to shutting down the fossil fuel industry to confronting climate change, in their closing statement to voters.

What did they say about coronavirus?

The distinction between the two candidates was nowhere more evident than in their approach to the pandemic.

Mr. Biden, a Democrat, did not rule it out when asked about his support for further lockdowns if the scientists suggested it.

But Mr. Trump, a Republican, said it was unfair to do more harm to the economy because of an infection that most people are recovering from.

"This is a massive country with a massive economy," said the president. "People are losing their jobs, they're committing suicide. There's depression, alcohol, drugs at a level nobody's ever seen before."

Mr Trump, 74, declared that the virus is "going away" and that a vaccine would be ready by the end of the year, while Mr Biden warned the nation was heading towards "a dark winter".

The president said: "We're learning to live with it." Mr Biden, 77, countered: "Come on. We're dying with it."

Mr Biden laid blame for the 220,000-plus American deaths from the pandemic at Mr Trump's door.

"Anyone who's responsible for that many deaths should not remain president of the United States of America," he said.

What did they say about race?

During a back on forth on race relations, Mr Trump said: "I am the least racist person in this room."

He brought up the 1994 crime bill that Mr Biden helped draft and which Black Lives Matter blames for the mass incarceration of African Americans.

But Mr Biden said Mr Trump was "one of the most racist presidents we've had in modern history. He pours fuel on every single racist fire."

He added: "This guy is a [racial] dog whistle about as big as a fog horn."

What did they say about corruption?

Mr Trump pulled up supposed leaked emails about his business dealings in China from Mr Biden's son, Hunter.

But Mr. Biden refuted the baseless insinuation by the president that the former US vice-president somehow had an interest in the undertakings.

"I think you owe an explanation to the American people," said Mr Trump.

Mr Biden said: "I have not taken a single penny from any country whatsoever. Ever."

The former vice-president recently revealed to the New York Times that Mr. Trump had a bank account in China and paid the nation $188,561 in taxes from 2013-15, compared to $750 in US federal taxes that the paper claimed he had paid when he became president in 2016-17.

"I have many bank accounts and they're all listed and they're all over the place," said Mr Trump. "I mean, I was a businessman doing business."

What happened in the climate debate?

The two clashed again on energy policy, as Mr Trump asked his challenger: "Would you close down the oil industry?"

"I would transition from the oil industry, yes," said Mr Biden, adding, "because the oil industry pollutes significantly."

He said Big Oil had to be replaced by renewable energy over time with the US moving towards net zero emissions.

"Basically what he's saying is he's going to destroy the oil industry," said Mr Trump. "Will you remember that, Texas? Will you remember that, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Ohio?"

The Biden campaign afterwards said their candidate had been talking about ending oil subsidies.

What was the immigration row about?

Once again, the two clashed when Mr. Trump was asked about his strategy of separating hundreds of children on the southern US border from illegal immigrant adults.

The president pointed out that, during the Obama administration, migrant children were also detained.

"Who built the cages, Joe?" he said, referring to the chain-link enclosures where unaccompanied migrant children were held during the Obama-Biden administration.

But the former vice-president said the Trump administration had gone further by cruelly separating families and the practice was "criminal".