• Held in Cleveland, Ohio, the debate was the first of three that will be held before the US goes to the polls on Nov 3 
• The Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, racial issues and the economy were among the topics discussed
• Trump and Biden clashed over governance records, policy stances but debate descended into an exchange of personal insults at many points  
• Foreign policy issues were discussed briefly with China being mentioned in a negative light by both sides
   

SINGAPORE — The first of three scheduled United States (US) presidential debates took place on Wednesday (Sept 30) as the Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden faced off in a fiery session with both men talking over each other repeatedly. 

Moderated by Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, the debate covered these topics: The Supreme Court, the Covid-19 pandemic, the state of the US economy, race and violence issues, the governance records of both individuals and the integrity of the election process. 

There was also some discussion about the policies that both sides would bring if elected.

Although foreign policy was not on the agenda, both Mr Trump and Mr Biden also touched briefly on trade deals, cooperation with China for Covid-19 and climate change.

The debate repeatedly veered into personal attacks and name calling, with interruptions coming mostly from President Trump as the exasperated moderator noted. 

The two candidates will debate again on Oct 15 (Oct 16 Singapore time) in Miami, Florida and a week later on Oct 22 (Oct 23 Singapore time) in Nashville, Tennessee before Election Day on Nov 3.

TODAY picks out the highlights from the first debate in Cleveland.

FILLING THE LATE JUSTICE RUTH BADER GINSBURG'S SEAT

The debate opened with the issue of the US Supreme Court appointment which is vacant following Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death earlier this month. 

The Republicans intend to appoint conservative legal scholar Amy Coney Barrett but the Democrats have countered that it was an attempt to force an appointment before an election.

Mr Trump, who had the first word, said: “I will tell you very simply, we won the election. Elections have consequences.”

The Democrats would have done the same in 2016 if they could, claimed Mr Trump.

In response, Mr Biden said Ms Barrett seems like “a very fine person” but quickly pivoted to how she was picked due to the Republican Party’s desire to get rid of the Obamacare policy that Mr Biden intends to expand if elected.

COVID-19 AND CHINA 

The debate moved to the ongoing coronavirus crisis after a period of heated exchanges between Mr Trump and Mr Biden over Obamacare and socialism. 

With an infection tally of 7.2 million and more than 200,000 deaths in the US from Covid-19, Mr Biden accused Mr Trump of not having a plan even though he knew how serious the crisis was earlier in the year. 

He also criticised Mr Trump’s dealings with China on the pandemic, choosing to trust the word of China President Xi Jinping instead of sending people to China to determine the scale of the crisis for themselves.

“He did not even ask Xi to do that. He told us what a great job Xi was doing and said we owe him a debt of gratitude for being so transparent with us,” said Mr Biden.  

Both camps have adopted a hard stance against China in their campaigns, although Mr Biden during his term as vice president during the Obama administration had been more conciliatory in his dealings with China. 

Rebutting, Mr Trump said if the US had listened to Mr Biden, millions, not 200,000, would have died.

“It’s China’s fault, it should have never happened,” he said, adding that some countries including China, India and Russia do not give a “straight count” of their Covid-19 deaths. 

Defending his administration's response to Covid-19, Mr Trump said the US is “weeks away from a vaccine” — which Mr Biden later said is unlikely.

US ECONOMIC RECOVERY 

The debate shifted to Mr Trump’s economic response to the pandemic.

Prior to Covid-19, the US had enjoyed record low unemployment, as well as positive economic growth amid the US-China trade war but the pandemic had erased that growth, noted the moderator. 

He then questioned whether it was fair for Mr Biden to claim that the Obama administration handed Mr Trump a booming economy but he “blew it”.

The moderator then noted how Mr Biden was much more reluctant to reopen the US economy than Mr Trump, with Mr Biden believing the recovery will be K-shaped where the economy recuperates in a way that benefits some more than others. 

Mr Trump, who believes in a V-shaped economy, said he “had to close the greatest economy in the history of our country”. 

“We closed it down because of the China plague. When the plague came in, we closed it down, which was very hard, psychologically, to do…  now we're reopening and we're doing record business.”

He warned that if Mr Biden “shuts it down again”, it will destroy the country.

Responding, Mr Biden said fixing the economy is not possible before fixing the Covid-19 crisis.

He foresees a K-shaped recovery because the ultrarich like Mr Trump had done well in the middle of the crisis, pointing out that Mr Trump paid only US$750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017.

“But you folks at home, you folks living in Scranton and Claymont and all the small towns and working class towns in America, how are you doing?”

JOE BIDEN'S SON 

The session then moved towards foreign policy and trade deals. 

Said Mr Biden about Mr Trump’s economic record: “He's done very little. His trade deals are the same way. He talks about these great trade deals. You know, he talks about the art of the deal, China's perfected the art of the steal.” 

Mr Trump then derailed the discussion as he went after Mr Biden’s son Hunter Biden, demanding to know whether he had taken “billions of dollars” from China and if the mayor of Moscow’s wife gave his son US$3.5 million. 

He was referring to his previous claims of Hunter Biden’s business dealings in China and Ukraine — a topic which played a part in Mr Trump’s impeachment earlier this year.

Mr Biden, sighing, said the reports have been discredited and added that he did not want or intend to talk about their families. “I mean, his family, we could talk about all night.” 

His response was peppered by numerous interjections from Mr Trump. At one point, Mr Biden said: “It’s hard to get any word in with this clown.”

CLIMATE CHANGE 

Mr Wallace questioned Mr Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the Paris climate accord in 2017 and roll back on a number of environmental laws made during the Obama administration.

The Paris Agreement, which sets out the global response to climate change, was adopted by nearly every nation. 

“What do you believe about the science of climate change?” Mr Wallace asked Mr Trump.

“We are doing phenomenally but I haven’t destroyed our businesses, our businesses aren’t put out of commission,” said Mr Trump, adding that the Paris Accord was “a disaster” for the US.

Mr Biden pledged to rejoin the Paris Accord as the “first thing” he will do, on top of his Biden Plan, which addresses sustainability issues while creating jobs.

“We make up 15 per cent of the world's problem… That's why we have to get back into the Paris Accord,” he said.

RACIAL TENSIONS

On the issue of racial tension, which have become increasingly fraught in America following the deaths of African-Americans George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the return of the Black Lives Matter movement in several US cities, Mr Trump sought to turn the issue into one about law enforcement. 

He said he has the support of almost every police and military group in the US.

“You can’t even say the words ‘law enforcement’, because if you say those words, you are going to lose all of your radical left supporters,” he said to Mr Biden.

Mr Biden said the current racial tensions in the US were about systemic injustice in the country, and said there were “bad apples” among the vast majority of police officers who are honourable.

“Violence as a response is never appropriate. Never appropriate. Peaceful protest is,” he said, addressing the widespread protests against racism.

One of the most eye-raising exchanges occurred when Mr Wallace asked Mr Trump to condemn white supremacists and militia groups — believed to be Trump supporters — and to call on them to not add to the violence.

Mr Trump refused to categorically call out the right-wing groups, instead saying: “Proud Boys — stand back, and standby.”

The Proud Boys are a far-right, white supremacist, men’s rights group in America which has endorsed violence. Following their mention in the debate, the group celebrated Mr Trump’s remarks on social media, with some members saying “standing by, sir”.