The President will have to answer for his pandemic response, while the former VP makes his case for the White House. The debate is underway.
“Race and Violence in our Cities” is one of the topics selected for tonight’s debate by moderator Fox News host Chris Wallace. Each segment will last about 15 minutes, and the candidates will have two minutes to respond after the moderator opens each segment with a question.
The section on race pits each candidate’s core arguments against the other’s.
Joe Biden has said since he launched his campaign that Trump’s failure to condemn white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 is what motivated him to run for president this year. His argument that the “soul of the nation” is at stake is based in part on Trump’s racist comments and actions, which Biden has said embolden white supremacists across the country.
Though he has condemned violence, property damage and looting, Biden has broadly supported protests against racial injustice and police brutality, and has met with the families of George Floyd, who was killed by police in Minneapolis, and Jacob Blake, who was shot in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Trump, meanwhile, devoted much of the Republican National Convention to condemning the property damage and looting that have taken place along with largely peaceful protests in some cities, and to promising a crackdown.
He has warned that electing Biden would lead to more chaos. His objective is to frighten suburbanites who have drifted toward Democrats since he took office — and while similar tactics failed for Trump and the GOP in 2017 and 2018, he is on the ballot this year, unlike those elections.
Each topic segment will last about 15 minutes, and the candidates will have two minutes to respond after the moderator opens each segment with a question. Wallace will then use the rest of the time in the segment to facilitate further discussion on the topic, according to the commission.
Read more about key things to watch for in tonight’s debate here.
