US Presidential Debate 2020 Live Updates: Biden attacks Trump for legitimising North Korea

Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s unexpectedly well-fashioned presidential debate concludes with both candidates getting enough time to make their case stronger ahead of the November 3 Election. The debate passed the 90-minutes deadline that was initially agreed upon by each campaign with the last topic being leadership. Moderator Welker questioned what Trump and Biden would say in their inauguration speech to the Americans. 

US President, in a vague response, said that before the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone would note how much their life has improved under his presidency. He said, "Success is going to bring us together. We are on the road to success."

Joe Biden, on the other hand, said, "I'm gonna give you hope... We're going to choose science over fiction. We're going to choose hope over fear."

With just a few minutes left before the orderly final face-off wraps up, the moderator opened the question about climate change. Joe Biden insisted that there is a need to expand the sources that provide renewable energy and mounted an attack on Trump for his previous claims about wind energy leading to cancer.

Donald Trump hits back saying, "I know more about wind than you do. It’s very expensive. It kills the birds". Trump denounced "massive windmills" needed to generate wind power and mentioned that he "loves solar, but it's not powerful yet to really run our big, beautiful factories."

Similar to the attacks that he has made in the past, the US President emphasised that Biden would ban fracking even though the Democratic Challenger has time and again mentioned that it is not the case.

On the mention of American families, the debate turned to the question of race in the United States. With the country being rocked with protests for several months amid the pandemic, Joe Biden noted that there is “institutional racism” in the country. Meanwhile, Trump who has been reluctant on using this phrase reiterated that he has done more for the African-American community than any other president since Abraham Lincoln.  But Biden attacked Trump saying that he is "one of the most racist presidents we’ve had in modern history".

“He pours fuel on every single racist fire,” Biden said mentioning that Donald Trump started his 2016 election campaign by calling Mexicans as “rapists.” Former US VP said, "This guy is a dog whistle about as big as a foghorn."

With the next topic being American families, Trump hoped that the US Supreme Court would dismantle the Affordable Care Act better known as Obamacare. He said, "Obamacare is no good... What we’d like to do is terminate it." 

On the other hand, Joe Biden said that he would institute the Obamacare plus a public option, and revamped the plan as "Bidencare". The former US VP also stressed that he backs private insurance. "Healthcare is not a privilege, it's a right," Biden said. "Everyone should have the right to have affordable health care."

On the mention of the spiralling controversy over Trump’s tax returns, the US President reiterated that he “prepaid millions and millions of dollars in taxes". Trump accused the IRS of treating him badly and launching a "witch-hunt" even before he decided to run for office in 2016. Joe Biden, however, simply said, “Show us. Just show us. Stop playing around.”

Meanwhile, former US Vice President defended his son Hunter Biden and his business activities in Ukraine and China before unleashing to an attack on Donald Trump, who has tried to indicate Hunter being corrupt. Biden mentioned Trump's trouble with Ukraine hinting at his impeachment. Late last year, Trump was impeached by the House over his tricky phone conservations with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

“The guy who got in trouble in Ukraine was this guy - trying to bribe the Ukrainian government to say something negative about me,” Biden said.

Joe Biden attacked Donald Trump for ‘legitimising’ North Korea by meeting with its Supre Leader Kim Jong Un. The former US VP called the North Korean leader a "thug". To this, Trump responded by mocking former US President Barack Obama saying that Kim "doesn’t like" him. He also said that the Democrats "let us a mess". Trump even noted that the US is "not at war" with North Korea.

Jumping into the next topic, the moderator brings up foreign country interference in the United States. "Any country that interferes in American elections will pay a price," begins Biden, saying it has been his clear position throughout his political career. "They are interfering with American sovereignty. That's what's going on right now,” Joe Biden added. He said Russia would prefer Trump because "They know I know them. And they know me."

As Moderator Kristen Welker pressed Trump for his derogatory comments on Dr. Anthony Fauci as a ‘disaster’ along with other health experts as ‘idiots’, he downplayed his differences with Dr. Fauci and said, "I think he’s a Democrat, but that’s okay.” However, Dr. Fauci is not a Democrat, he is not affiliated with any party and has clearly insisted on staying away from politics. The US top infectious disease expert was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Republican George W Bush.

The US President claims to take “full responsibility” for the COVID-19 pandemic but added, "It’s not my fault that it came here. It’s China’s fault." Trump earlier criticised Biden’s proposals on the COVID-19 saying "All he talks about is shutdowns. No, we’re not going to shut down." However, Biden responded, "I’m going to shut down the virus, not the country."

Trump and Biden begin their final face-off with moderator Kristen Welker opening the debate with questions about COVID-19 response. While Trump reiterated that he is "immune" to the virus and that the outbreak is "going away", Biden insisted that there is "no other serious" scientist that thinks the same way.

After First Lady Melania Trump cancelled her first campaign appearance since her COVID-19 diagnosis and did not accompany US President Donald Trump to Erie, Pennsylvania, she is attending the final presidential debate Nashville. Melania’s chief of staff, Stephanie Grosham had said that the First Lady was experiencing "lingering cough" and dropped travel plans. However, White House posted an update on October 23 that the First Couple's "next stop" is Tennesse.

US President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger in US Election 2020, Joe Biden are scheduled to meet for the final face-off before November 3. After setting a chaotic example in the first presidential debate on September 30 where moderator Chris Wallace was seen battling to gain control of the discussion, the expectations with the final face-off remain comparatively high owing to a substantial change of rules. In an attempt to have a more orderly discussion, the microphones of both Republican and the Democratic candidate will be turned off for some portions so that the point can be made an uninterrupted manner. 

The final face-off between Donald Trump and Joe Biden will take place at Belmont University in Nashville and will commence at 9 PM (EST). The 90-minute event will be moderated by NBC News' White House correspondent Kristen Welker.  Welker has already announced the six topics ahead of the debate that includes Fighting COVID-19, American families, Race in America, Climate Change, National security and Leadership