Trump town hall: President rages against Savannah Guthrie and protesters arrested as Biden holds rival event

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Trump says only Jesus Christ is more famous than him

Donald Trump and Joe Biden took part in dueling town hall appearances on what should have been the night of the second presidential debate.

On the same day that the presidential candidates should have clashed, would-be moderator Steve Scully was suspended by his employer C-Span after seeking advice from an anti-Trump activist and lying about it when confronted.

Instead, Savannah Guthrie, co-anchor of NBC News’s Today show, hosted the Trump town hall in Miami while ABC News' chief anchor, George Stephanopoulos, hosted Biden in Philadelphia.

Key Points

• Biden stays on and answers more questions
• A combative performance from Trump
• Biden : ‘I don’t believe anyone should be going to drug courts for drug use’
• Social media praise for Savannah Guthrie
• Why should people give Trump a second chance?

[16 October 2020 02:07 · Oliver O'Connell]

Biden asked about fracking and what non-harmful industries he would encourage

Biden reiterates that he will not ban fracking but that the future is in alternative energy. Wind and solar are cheaper that oil and coal and would encourage development for jobs.

New tech in carbon capture would ease the transition, that should be a focus of development.

By 2035 he says the US can have net zero emissions of carbon from energy generation.

Trump thinks clean energy is a joke says Biden, but he says he sees it as jobs.

Stephanopoulos brings it back to fracking and says not everyone buys Biden’s line.

Biden says his plan is about transition not “New Green Deal” [sic].

[16 October 2020 02:08 · Justin Vallejo]

Why should people give Trump a second chance?

Thirty seconds – go:

“Because I’ve done a great job. We had the strongest economy in the world, we closed it up, we are coming around the corner, the vaccines are coming out soon, and our economy is strong, we are at a level with jobs that we’ve never been before. We’ve rebuilt our military, we’ve rebuilt our borders, we had no borders, no nothing, we’ve rebuilt so much, we’ve given you the greatest tax cut in the history of our country, greatest regulation cut, equally as important, and we created new levels of jobs that nobody thought was possible and next year is going to be better than ever before.”

That was precisely 35 seconds.

Trump is 5 seconds in debt.

And with that, the Trump NBC town hall has come to it’s close as Joe Biden continues over at the ABC.

[16 October 2020 02:09 · Oliver O'Connell]

Big question of the night

With the Trump town hall over, will viewers switch over to ABC for Biden?

[16 October 2020 02:11 · Justin Vallejo]

Meet Paulette Dale, the Ken Bone of 2020 and odds-on viral follow-up of the Trump town hall

[16 October 2020 02:12 · Oliver O'Connell]

Democratic Presidential candidate and former US Vice President Joe Biden (L) and moderator George Stephanopoulos arrive for an ABC News town hall event at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on October 15, 2020. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP via Getty Images)

[16 October 2020 02:16 · Oliver O'Connell]

Does president Trump’s foreign policy deserve credit for advances in peace

Questioner asks about advances in peace regarding Serbia and Kosovo, Israel and the UAE and Bahrain,, and whether Trump should get credit for that.

Biden concedes he gets some credit, but his America First policy is really America Alone. Mentions North Korea, Putin and Nato at breaking point.

"We find ourselves less secure than we’ve been," Biden says on Trump's foreign policy

"This president embraces all the thugs of the world."

There is no coherent plan in foreign policy.

Biden says America is most effective when it leads by example.

[16 October 2020 02:18 · Justin Vallejo]

Watch the moment Trump refused to denounce QAnon

[16 October 2020 02:24 · Oliver O'Connell]

Biden asked about rights of transgender people by mother of a transgender child

Biden says he would reverse Trump’s executive orders regarding transgender people. Says there should be no discrimination and: "There is no reason to suggest that there should be any right denied to your daughter."

He highlights the epidemic of murders of Black transgender women. 

His language and terminology about trans people is in his answer was off, but it was passionate.

[16 October 2020 02:27 · Oliver O'Connell]

Pete Buttigieg on what he hopes for the future

[16 October 2020 02:32 · Oliver O'Connell]

Biden asked about Charlottesville and race

"We are a country that is a country of slaves who came here 400 years ago, indigenous people and everyone else is an immigrant. And we're a diverse county. And unless we are able to treat people equally, we're just never going to meet our potential."