Following Trump's diagnosis, a number of heath and safety measures were implemented for the VP debate, including spacing the candidates' podiums 12 feet apart.
More info here. The New York Times reported late last year that Trump had raised doubts around the debate, stating that he did not trust the Commission on Presidential Debates—a nonpartisan entity. He later wrote on Twitter that though he wanted to debate the Democratic nominee, he was concerned that the Commission was "biased" against him.
More recently, though, Trump indicated that he would debate his opponent. I look forward to it, actually," he told reporters in February , when asked. And in June, Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale and Rudy Giuliana requested a fourth debate between Biden and Trump, which, if granted, would add one more to the schedule.
That said, given the President's history of inconsistent and self-contradictory messaging, there's no real way to know what he'll decide. Biden has since dismissed Pelosi's suggestion. However, the Trump team said there should be a third face-to-face debate - on 29 October, just five days before polling. No, said the Biden team. Three dates had been set for debates - 29 September, 15 October and 22 October.
That would be it. Quite what format any Biden-Trump debate takes now is hard to pin down. He touched on a number of key matters, including his health and the possibility of movement towards a stimulus package for the economy.
On his health, Mr Trump said: "I'm back because I'm a perfect physical specimen. He said he had stopped taking most "therapeutics" but was still taking steroids and would be tested for Covid again "soon". But although his doctor has said he now has no symptoms, questions still remain about when the president first became infected and whether he could still be contagious.
And although the names of many people who have interacted with the president and tested positive are now known, it remains unclear just how many were exposed at the White House.
New Covid safety measures are in place there. One of the top Republicans, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, said on Thursday that he had not been to the White House since 6 August because its approach to handling Covid with social distancing and masks was "different from mine and what I suggested we do in the Senate".
Mr Trump said on Thursday that "somebody got in and people got infected" but gave no more details. A gathering on 26 September announcing Mr Trump's Supreme Court pick has been seen as a possible "super-spreader" event, with several attendees known to have tested positive. The president on Tuesday had said he was breaking off talks with the Democrats on an overarching Covid stimulus package but, after a negative stock market reaction, said he would instead try to agree individual deals.
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The president said: "We're learning to live with it. We're dying with it. Mr Biden laid blame for the ,plus American deaths as a consequence of the pandemic at Mr Trump's door. During a back-and-forth on race relations, Mr Trump said: "I am the least racist person in this room.
He brought up the crime bill that Mr Biden helped draft and which Black Lives Matter blames for the mass incarceration of African Americans. But Mr Biden said Mr Trump was "one of the most racist presidents we've had in modern history.
He pours fuel on every single racist fire". He added: "This guy is a [racial] dog whistle about as big as a fog horn. Once again, Mr Biden largely held up under fire - avoiding the kind of gaffes and stumbles that could have played into Republican attempts to question his age and mental acuity. The Trump campaign will try to make an issue out of Mr Biden's call for a "transition" from oil-based energy - a risky thing to throw in at the tail end of the debate.
In an era of hybrid cars and energy-efficient homes, however, when even petroleum companies employ similar language, it may not hit Americans as hard as Republicans imagine. In the end, the raucous first debate probably will be what the history books record. And with polls showing most Americans already having made up their minds - and more than 45 million already having voted - the chance that this evening has a lasting impact on the race seems slim.
Read more from Anthony. Mr Trump brought up purported leaked emails from Mr Biden's son, Hunter, about his business dealings in China. But Mr Biden denied the president's unfounded insinuation that the former US vice-president somehow had a stake in the ventures.
Mr Biden said: "I have not taken a single penny from any country whatsoever.
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