The final presidential debate was much more civil then the last debate, thanks to the mute function on the candidates’ microphones. Although there was minimal yelling and interruptions, things still got heated as the debate progressed.
Some key issues the candidates debated on were climate change, health insurance, immigration and the coronavirus pandemic.
Both candidates acknowledged the threat of climate change, but differed as to how to address it. Trump said he doesn’t believe that wind and solar power are the best for the American economy, and later said windmills kill birds and are too expensive. He also suggested they aren’t efficient, saying, “the fumes coming up to make these massive windmills is more than anything that we’re talking about with natural gas.”
During the climate change segment, Biden denied that he wanted to ban fracking. “I never said I oppose fracking,” he said. However, that is not true. The Trump campaign released a video after the debate where Biden and Kamala Harris both support bans on fracking (that is not their current position).
Perhaps the most surprising part of the night was when Biden said, “I would transition from the oil industry,” saying he would work towards the oil industry being replaces by renewable energy. Trump took this as an opportunity to win the vote of workers in the oil industry in swing states, by saying, “Will you remember that, Texas? Will you remember that, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma?”
When the moderator, Welker, switched to the subject to foreign interference of Iran and Russia in the election, both candidates argued that foreign interference is against them. Trump said Russia wants Biden to win since no one has been harder on Russia, and other countries, making them pay much more for NATO than they were previously doing. Trump also brought up Hunter Biden’s emails, accusing the Biden family of raking in millions because of Biden’s position as vice-president. Biden, again, denied these allegations, saying none of it was true, “I have not taken a penny from any foreign source ever in my life,” he said. He then turned the tables and brought up Trump’s tax returns. Trump said he was under audit, and will release them once the audit has been done.
One key question for Trump’s campaign is did Trump perform well enough to change the trajectory of the race? It seems that it wasn’t a night that will have a tremendous impact on the race, with millions of voters already having cast their vote through early voting and mail-in ballots.
