Updated 8:50 p.m.
President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden squared off in Nashville in their final face-to-face confrontation before the election.
Right from the start they went at each other on the pandemic. Biden said no one who's handled it as Trump has should remain as president. Trump said he's done well, and better times are coming. It's one of the last high-profile opportunities for the trailing president to change the trajectory of an increasingly contentious campaign.
Some Trump advisers have urged him to trade his aggressive demeanor for a lower-key style, hoping Biden will get himself in trouble with verbal gaffes.
After the first presidential debate was panned so widely that organizers introduced a mute button, Thursday’s debate was far more civil. Whether because of that button or the terrible reviews, especially for Trump, the two interrupted each other far less frequently, even as they clashed on issues. Trump, in particular, was on his best behavior early, especially with the moderator, 44-year-old NBC White House correspondent Kristen Welker, whom he’d repeatedly attacked before the debate.
Belmont University, the site for the debate in Nashville, also hosted the 2008 debate between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.
Read More: Trump, Biden Use Their Closing Arguments To Paint The Other As The Worse Choice For Americans (via NPR.org)
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