3 years ago
Trump, Biden to clash over Supreme Court, coronavirus and four other topics
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden will spar over the Supreme Court, the coronavirus, voting integrity and "race and violence in our cities" at the first in-person debate scheduled for next Tuesday, organizers of the debate said.
Economy and the two candidates' track records will also be discussed, dividing the whole session into six segments. Each segment will be allocated 15 minutes at the 90-minute event.
This will be the first debate in a presidential campaign season upended by a pandemic that has complicated plans to hold in-person voting, killed more than 200,000 Americans and thrown millions out of work. Early voting is already under way in several states ahead of the November election.
Also coinciding next week's matchup is a heated battle over the filling of the Supreme Court vacancy left by the recent death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Both campaigns have put much weight on the subject in bids to galvanize voters.
Fox News anchor Chris Wallace was selected as the debate's moderator earlier this month. He is in charge of selecting the topics. A widely respected journalist, Wallace is regarded as Trump's least favorite anchor at Fox News.
The format is intended "to encourage deep discussion of the leading issues facing the country," the debate organizers said, adding that subjects could change as news develops.
On-site attendance is limited due to COVID-19 risks, but the debate is expected to draw millions of viewers to watch live TV from home..
Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic are hosting the debate on their shared campus in Cleveland. Trump and Biden are due to debate two more times, on October 15 and 22 respectively.
