The election is drawing nearer, and the polls are filling up with voters for early voting. On Oct. 22, President Trump and Vice President Joe Biden had their second and last Presidential debate. If you watched the first debate, you noticed how both candidates did not engage in a respectful debate, failing to showcase leadership to the people watching. This debate was more subtle than the first.
In this debate, six main topics were discussed: COVID, American families, race, climate change, national security and leadership. With election day around the corner, this was the last opportunity for both candidates to prove to the American people they are worthy of being President. Before this debate started, media outlets mentioned muting the microphones for the person not speaking, but during the debate, that rule stopped being applied after some time.
For this debate, the moderator was journalist and NBC correspondent Kristen Welker. Walking onto the stage, Biden had a mask on whereas Trump did not. The first topic was COVID-19. Kristen asked President Trump how he would handle the pandemic moving forward. Trump said, “We’re fighting it hard…we have a vaccine that’s coming. It’ll be announced within weeks, the military is going to distribute that vaccine very soon.”
Biden responded by holding up his mask, stating, “If we just wore these masks, President advisors, we could save a hundred thousand lives.” Biden’s plan is to encourage all to wear masks and have rapid testing. Moderator Kristen asked President Trump if it’s a guarantee that a vaccine is coming, and he said no but it will be ready by the end of the year. Trump states that he does not want to shut down schools and wants them to stay open. Meanwhile, Biden wants to provide resources to schools and businesses to keep them safe.
A controversial topic for the public is Donald Trump’s taxes. Trump said, “The IRS treats me very badly,” and states that they agreed to release his taxes up until he ran for office in 2016. Trump also said that he is not able to release more information. Both candidates have had rumors and news spread about having a conflict of interest with other countries. President Trump admitted to having bank accounts in China and “all over” because he is a businessman. Vice President Biden discusses how he would follow international policies to China if boundaries were broken.
Vice President Joe Biden’s plan is to pass Obamacare with a public option, Bidencare. Premiums reduced and drug prices reduced as he mentioned in the first debate. Biden said, “I support public insurance,” and states they will not lose their insurance under his plan. President Trump states he has a plan to replace The Affordable Care Act but did not specify the specifics.
Like mentioned before, race was another major topic discussed. Vice President Biden expressed that there is institutional racism in America and understands why parents are fearful for their children. President Trump said, “Nobody has done more for the black community than Donald Trump,” continuing to talk about how the Obama administration did not create change for the black community nor give them long term funding. Biden brought up how Trump wanted more people in jails in previous years and the federal institutions need more people. Biden also said that he is going to be offering 20 million dollars to the states to change state laws to eliminate minimum mandatories. Biden’s goal is to change the system, conveying how he wants to institute rehabilitation instead of arresting people.
Trump previously shared a video on social media of someone screaming, “White power,” and Kristen asked Trump what he has to say to those who say that this a message of hate. Trump talks about how he never heard of Black Lives Matter until he heard the saying “pigs in a blanket” and that it was a horrible thing to say about police enforcement. “I am the least racist person,” Trump said, stating how he has worked on changes for all people. Biden was asked about crime bills he supported in the past. Biden said, “It was a mistake.” Biden argued that no one should be sent to jail for a drug offense, and instead, should be given treatment.
With over 40 million people who have already voted, this debate was important for those few people still waiting to vote. This was a real debate compared to the first. 54% of people state that Biden did best and 39% said Trump did best during the debate according to USA Today news.
For more information on your voting polls and voting plan, visit iwillvote.org and be sure to vote for your candidate.
Jennifer Tellez
Reporter