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Viewers'
Guide:
Trump,
Biden
meet in
Ohio for
1st
debate
By
MICHELLE
L. PRICE
apnews.com
CLEVELAND,
OH -
President
Donald
Trump
and
Democrat
Joe
Biden
will
meet in
their
first
debate
Tuesday
in a
presidential
election
year
marked
by
extraordinary
turmoil.
With
the
election
35 days
away and
early
votes
already
being
cast in
some
states,
Biden
has kept
a lead
over the
Republican
president
in most
national
polls.
While
debates
have not
significantly
shaken
up the
election
in
recent
years,
Tuesday’s
highly
anticipated
matchup
will
offer
the
clearest
contrast
yet
between
the two
men.
The
debate,
starting
at 9
p.m.
Eastern
Time in
Cleveland,
is the
first of
three
between
Trump
and
Biden.
Here’s
what to
watch:
SUPREME
COURT
A
fast-track
push by
Republicans
to fill
the
Supreme
Court
seat
held by
the late
Ruth
Bader
Ginsburg
is
roiling
an
already
deeply
divided
Washington
and will
likewise
be a
flashpoint
during
the
debate.
Both
Democrats
and
Republicans
believe
the
confirmation
battle
might
energize
their
voters
and
shape a
court
that
could
decide
major
issues
such as
health
care,
abortion
access
and
possibly
even the
outcome
of the
November
election.
Biden
has so
far not
heeded
Trump’s
call to
release
a list
of
potential
court
nominees,
as the
president
did
before
naming
Amy
Coney
Barrett
as his
choice
to
replace
Ginsburg.
Biden
has
focused
on how
the
makeup
of the
court
could
threaten
President
Barack
Obama’s
signature
health
care
law.
CORONAVIRUS
The
president’s
response
to the
COVID-19
pandemic
is
expected
to be a
central
focus.
More
than
200,000
people
have
died
from the
coronavirus
in the
U.S.
while
everyday
life
remains
jumbled
and many
schools
and
businesses
are
still
shuttered.
The
president
has
defended
his
response
to the
outbreak,
frequently
pointing
to his
move to
restrict
travel
from
China in
February.
But
the
president
and his
backers
have
routinely
dismissed
experts’
analysis
of the
seriousness
of the
outbreak
and
measures
to rein
it in. A
new book
from
journalist
Bob
Woodward
revealed
the
president
acknowledged
intentionally
playing
down the
seriousness
of the
virus
earlier
this
year.
Biden
and
Democrats
have
keyed in
on the
president’s
coronavirus
response
throughout
the
campaign,
and the
former
vice
president
is
expected
to keep
it front
and
center
Tuesday.
CLASS
(AND TAX
BILL)
CONTRASTS
Biden,
who
frequently
highlights
his
working-class
upbringing,
has
increasingly
cast the
election
as a
campaign
“between
Scranton
and Park
Avenue,”
referring
to his
own
childhood
home in
Pennsylvania
and
Trump’s
adult
life as
a
Manhattan
businessman.
Biden is
likely
to
turbocharge
that
argument
Tuesday
in the
wake of
a
bombshell
New York
Times
report
on the
president’s
shrouded
tax
history,
including
that he
paid
only
$750 in
federal
income
taxes in
2016 and
2017 and
nothing
in many
other
years.
Biden’s
line of
attack
aims to
cut into
Trump’s
support
among
white
working-class
voters,
particularly
in Rust
Belt
states
that
helped
him win
the
presidency
in 2016.
TACTICS
AND
STYLE
Trump, a
former
reality
show
star, is
at ease
on
camera
and has
skipped
formal
debate
preparation.
He often
leapfrogs
to
friendlier
talking
points
like the
confirmation
of
judges
or “law
and
order,”
favors
derisive
nicknames
and
withering
attacks,
and at
times
employs
a
dizzying
number
of false
statements
and
misrepresentations.
Biden’s
performances
during
the
Democratic
primary
debates
were
uneven
and
played a
role in
his
early
struggles
in
polling
and
primary
contests.
With
decades
in
politics,
he’s
also got
more
experience
as a
debater
than the
president.
Biden
has
promised
to be a
“fact-checker”
as he
stands
side-by-side
with
Trump
but also
says he
doesn’t
want to
get
sucked
into a
“brawl.”
Look for
the
Democrat
to walk
a line
between
contrasting
himself
with the
president
and
challenging
the man
who may
continue
his
campaign
attacks
on
Biden’s
mental
and
physical
stamina
or his
family.
MODERATOR
AND
FORMAT
The
debate
will be
moderated
by Fox
News’
Chris
Wallace,
who has
a
reputation
as a
straight
shooter.
Wallace
moderated
a
presidential
debate
in 2016,
favoring
direct
questions
to get
the
candidates
talking.
He said
before
the 2016
debate
that he
did not
believe
it is
his job
“to be a
truth
squad,”
and he
largely
stayed
away
from
interjecting
to
fact-check
the
candidates.
The
format
for
Tuesday’s
debate
consists
of six
15-minute
segments,
scheduled
to focus
on the
following
topics,
selected
by
Wallace:
“The
Trump
and
Biden
Records,”
“The
Supreme
Court,”
”COVID-19,”
“The
Economy,”
“Race
and
Violence
in our
Cities”
and “The
Integrity
of the
Election.”
Each
candidate
will be
given
two
minutes
to
respond
to a
question
from the
moderator
opening
the
segment.
Candidates
will
then be
able to
respond
to each
other,
and the
moderator
will use
the rest
of the
15-minute
period
to
discuss
the
topic
further.
SAFETY
PRECAUTIONS
Amid
the
customs
and
routines
upended
by the
coronavirus
will be
the
customary
display
of
civility
before
the
debate:
Trump
and
Biden
are not
expected
to shake
hands at
the
opening.
They
will
each be
stationed
at
podiums
spaced
far
apart
and are
expected
to have
a
limited,
socially
distanced
audience.
HOW TO
WATCH
The
90-minute
debate
will
start at
9 p.m.
ET and
will be
aired on
major
networks
and
cable
news
channels
including
ABC,
CBS,
CNN,
Fox, Fox
News
Channel,
PBS,
NBC,
MSNBC
and
C-SPAN.
Most of
the
networks
will
offer a
way to
watch
the
debate
live
online,
through
their
apps and
accounts
on
YouTube
and
other
social
media
channels.
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