First Presidential Debate
Hosted by The Commission on Presidential Debates
debates.org
Chris Wallace, Moderator
Host of Fox News Sunday
Tuesday, September 29, 2020
8:00 PM CST
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Donald J. Trump
Florida
The 45th President of the United States of America
2017-Present
Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
Delaware
The 47th Vice President of the United States of America
2009-2017
The Records: Trump vs. Biden
Donald J. Trump
Donald J.Trump is currently the 45th President of The United States. He was born and raised in Queens, New York. After taking over his father’s real estate company, he expanded its operations and reach. His brand popularity was cemented when he became the host of the television show The Apprentice. Prior to his political career, he was known for his Manhattan properties, television personality, and glamorous lifestyle.
His political career began in 2015, when he announced he was seeking the Republican nomination for president. After receiving the nomination at the Republican National Convention, he ran against democratic candidate and U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. Although he lost the popular vote, Trump managed to win office through the Electoral College.
Trump is known for his anti-establishment and unconventional political methods. His stances on immigration, environment, foreign policy, race, among other issues, have gained controversy since his time in office.
Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
A native of Scranton, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware, Joseph R. Biden, Jr. briefly worked as an attorney before emerging into politics. After a brief stint of serving as a Delaware county councilman, he was elected to the U.S. Senate from Delaware in 1972, serving six terms from 1973 to 2009 as a member of the Democratic Party.
Biden ran for president two times in 2004 and 2008. Though his 2008 presidential campaign did not gain momentum, Democratic nominee U.S. Senator Barack Obama selected him as Vice-President candidate. Their ticket won both the 2008 and 2012 reelection bids, together serving two terms from 2009 to 2017. In 2019, Biden launched his campaign for the presidency and is now the 2020 Democratic nominee.
The Supreme Court of the United States
Following the death of Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, a spot on the Supreme Court has become vacant. President Trump has vowed to replace the seat by the election, while Biden has suggested that the seat should be replaced after the election.
Biden argues that because voters have already begun participating in the democratic process through early-voting and casting mail-in ballots, holding off the consideration of a Supreme Court nominee is crucial until election results are known. President Trump will not be waiting until after the election to nominate a candidate. Based on preliminary vote counts, it is likely that Trump will be able to put a candidate through the Senate before leaving office.
Trump’s List of Nominees
President Trump has nominated Amy Coney Barrett, a sitting judge on the seventh Circuit Court of Appeals based in Chicago. Barrett was also nominated to the circuit court by President Trump. Barrett, a devout Catholic and mother of seven, has spent much of her career teaching law at her alma mater, University of Notre Dame. She also worked under former Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia from 1998 to 1999. Barrett has repeatedly claimed that she subscribes to the originalist position of Justice Scalia.
She is popular among the right for her conservative positions on abortion, the Affordable Care Act, Title IX provisions, immigration, to name a few. Her strong religious dogma has earned her scrutiny, including during her nomination for her circuit court position. Judge Barrett has repeatedly claimed that her religious convictions do not affect her legal opinions.
The rest of President Trump’s prospective nominees can be found on his website, located here.
Joe Biden’s List of Nominees
Presidential Candidate Joe Biden said on Sunday September 20, 2020 that he will not be releasing a list of potential Supreme Court nominees before the November Election. He has previously committed to nominating a Black woman, however has not gone any further publicly.
Relevant Quotes
"There are Senate Republicans out there who know in their hearts that if they shut out the voices of those during a voting period, during an election, they're closing the door on American democracy thereafter," Biden said during a speech in his hometown of Wilmington, Del.
"I urge every senator to take a step back from the brink, take off the blinders of politics for just one critical moment, and stand up for the Constitution you swore to uphold," said Biden, a longtime former senator himself. "Just because you have the power to do something doesn't absolve you of your responsibility to do right by the American people. Uphold your constitutional duty, summon your conscience."
Speaking in Philadelphia, Biden outlined three reasons why he won't release his roster, despite pushes from Republicans to do so.
"First, putting a judge's name on a list like that could influence that person's decision making as a judge, and that would be wrong," Biden said. "Second, anyone put on a list like that under these circumstances will be subject to unrelenting political attacks because any nominee I would select would not get a hearing until 2021 at the earliest. She would endure those attacks for months on errand without being able to defend herself.And thirdly and finally, perhaps most importantly, if I win, I'll make my choice for the Supreme Court not based on a partisan election campaign, but on what prior presidents have done ... only after consulting Democrats and Republicans in the United States Senate and seeking their advice and asking for their consent."
The COVID-19 Pandemic
Data as of Sept. 28, 6:31 p.m. EDT. Cases in California, Washington, Texas, Nebraska and Utah include individuals repatriated from Wuhan, China, and the Diamond Princess cruise ship. Sources: State officials and NBC News. Graphic: Jiachuan Wu, Joe Murphy & Nigel Chiwaya / NBC News.
Rapidly, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) evolved from an isolated disease to a global pandemic that brought many countries to a halt. Nations have faced collapsing economies as hospital systems are pushed to the brink. As expected, on March 13, 2020, the United States declared a national emergency to combat the approaching COVID-19 pandemic.
Since then, the impact of this epidemic has disrupted travel, financial markets, stress on supply chains, reduced consumer activity, a steep rise in unemployment as well as the collapse of many industries all while dealing with a shortage in medical materials and other related goods.
Policy
Trump
Trump authorized four executive orders to provide coronavirus relief to Americans. The orders included $400-per-week to out of work Americans, student loan relief, and eviction protections.
The Trump Administration set up agreements with U.S. based companies Pfizer and Moderna to jumpstart production of vaccines. Once they are developed, the US can also acquire more vaccines.
Under President Trump, the Department of Health and Human services announced billions in funding to hospitals related to COVID-19 expenses.
Biden
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have created a “Seven-Point Plan” for COVID-19
Fix Trump’s testing-and-tracing fiasco to ensure all Americans have access to regular, reliable, and free testing.
Fix personal protective equipment (PPE) problems for good.
Provide clear, consistent, evidence-based national guidance for how communities should navigate the pandemic — and the resources for schools, small businesses, and families to make it through.
Plan for the effective, equitable distribution of treatments and vaccines because discovering isn’t enough if they get distributed like Trump’s testing and PPE fiascos.
Protect Older Americans and Others at High Risk.
Rebuild and expand the defenses that Trump has dismantled to predict, prevent, and mitigate pandemic threats, including those coming from China.
Implement mask mandates nationwide by working with governors and mayors and by asking the American people to do what they do best: step up in a time of crisis.
The Economy
“Employers added 1.4 million jobs in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Job growth at that level marks a slowdown from earlier this summer: Employers added a revised 1.7 million jobs in July and 4.8 million jobs in June. The unemployment rate fell to 8.4% from 10.2% in July. It's below 10% — which was also its Great Recession peak — for the first time since March.
It was a much bigger decrease than economists had expected, and appears to have resulted from workers on short-term or temporary layoffs finding jobs again.
But this improvement was offset by some other factors. Permanent job losses increased by more than half a million to 3.4 million. More than 8 million Americans have been unemployed for 15 weeks or more.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate didn't improve evenly across different groups. The White unemployment rate is only 7.3%, while it remains above 10% for Black, Hispanic and Asian workers. The Black unemployment rate is the highest at 13%.”
Policy
First, use all available authorities, including the Defense Production Act to turn the tide on this epidemic.
Launch a task force reporting directly to Biden making sure dollars are spent on those that need it
Consult congress and build the next deal, including direct cash relief, student loan forgiveness, social security boosts, cost free treatment for Covid-19, etc.
President Trump ordered heavy tax cuts his first years in office.
President Trump withdrew from the North American Free Trade Agreement. The trade agreement was replaced by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
President Trump has engaged in heavy deregulation of natural gas and energy industries. This has led to a boom of oil and gas production, with the US now being a net exporter of natural gas.
Race and Violence in our Cities
Demonstrators confront Secret Service police and park police officers outside of the White House during a protest over the death of George Floyd. ERIC BARADAT / AFP via Getty
Policy
Reduce the number of people incarcerated, while making efforts to reduce crime.
Root out racial, gender and income based disparities in the criminal justice system.
Focus Criminal Justice system on redemption and rehabilitation
Eliminate profiteering from criminal justice system
Calls for immediate passage of Congressman Bobby Scott’s SAFE Justice Act
Under President Trump, a total of 187 of Article III judges have been confirmed by the Senate.
President Trump’s Executive Order 13809 revitalized local law enforcement agencies access to surplus equipment from the Defense Department, such as armored vehicles.
President Trump targeted international drug cartels with Executive Orders 13773, 13774, and 13776.
Under President Trump, the Department of Justice announced $98 million in grants for the COPS hiring program that allowed 802 full-time law-enforcement officers to be hired.
During national protests against police violence and racism, President Trump has claimed that crime statistics are “at a level they haven’t been at.” This claim appears to be an inflation of the truth.
The Integrity of the Election
Biden
Established a major legal operation, bringing in former solicitors and hundreds of lawyers in what the campaign billed as the largest election protection program in presidential campaign history.
Senior Biden officials have described the steps necessary in guarding the integrity of the election to avoid confusion from baseless accusations and misinformation.
Congressional Democrats are investigating changes at the Postal Service put in place by Louis DeJoy, a Republican mega donor installed this year as postmaster general, that could affect mail-in voting.
Biden operation encourages voters to request ballots soon, make a voting plan, and cast ballots as soon as possible.
Trump
President Trump has equated mail-in ballot usage with an increased amount of voter fraud. He also claimed that he has the power to stop widespread usage of mail-in ballots.
President Trump has been very outspoken about a fear that people who use mail-ballots will also vote in person. In early September, he went as far as to instruct his audience at a North Carolina rally to vote both in person and through the mail, which is a felony.
He has also floated the idea that mail in ballots can be sent to dead people. This is a claim that many experts have said is highly unlikely.
Immigration
Inside a U.S. Border Patrol Processing Center in McAllen, Texas. Photo: U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PATROL/European Pressphoto Agency/Shutterstock
Policy
Supports a path to citizenship for children or young adults who came to the United States without legal status with their parents
Supports improving screening procedures along the border
Wants to address root causes causing migrants to flee Central American countries
Does not support decriminalizing illegal border crossing.
Recent mass shootings also have immigration in the news. Democrats have pushed back forcefully against Trump's rhetoric and lobbied accusations of racism and xenophobia, most recently linking an anti-immigrant mass shooting to Trump.
In the first 100 days Biden Administration will:
Immediately reverse Trump Administration’s cruel and senseless policies that separate parents from their children at the border.
End Detrimental Asylum Policies
End mismanagement of the asylum system
Under President Trump, the Department of Homeland Security began to wind down the Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals program (DACA).
Under President Trump, the Department of Homeland Security restricted non-essential travel across the U.S.-Mexico border, citing the threat of COVID-19.
President Trump unsuccessfully requested funding from congress to build a full wall along the US-Mexico border.
Under President Trump, arrests of undocumented immigrants went up. From his inauguration through fiscal year 2019, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement made 269,419 arrests.
During President Trump’s first days in office, he signed an executive order disqualifying sanctuary cities from receiving federal grants.
President Trump declared a national emergency allowing him to access specialized powers to enforce security on the border.
President Trump issued several orders halting or limiting travel to several majority-Muslim countries.