Exactly seven weeks before Election Day and two weeks before the first presidential debate, President Donald Trump faced an un engaged electorate in a 90-minute special presented through ABC News from the Pennsylvania state battlefield.
ABC News host George Stephanopoulos presented the occasion “20/20” – “The President and the People” – at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. The forum was an opportunity for the unsused electorate to ask the president about the problems affecting Americans about the coronavirus pandemic. and economic recovery to racial justice protests.
ABC News has proposed to host a similar city corridor with Democratic presidential candidate and former vice president Joe Biden, but ABC News and the crusade have not been to locate a mutual acceptance date.
Here are the highlights of the town hall.
11: 1 at five p. m. five issues to remember
There are less than 60 days left for many voters to move to the polls to vote for President Donald Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden, but some voters are not yet engaged in either candidate. with questions from some of the voters living in critical state of the battlefield: Pennsylvania.
The occasion for social distancing was moderated through ABC News lead presenter George Stephanopoulos at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, a different setting than the president, who answers questions from the White House press corps and his favorite presenters. on Fox News, he’s used to it.
In 2016, Keystone state opted for Trump through just 44,292 votes, less than a percentage point of the general vote, and although a recent vote by the most likely state electorate showed biden now carries nine points, much can ultimately replace. weeks of an election, and the opportunities for applicants to respond directly to the electorate, such as mayoralty and upcoming presidential debates, may be what the electorate wants for a candidate or absolutely withdraw from the election.
Here are the key themes of the special 90-minute event:
10:59 p. m. President’s answers
ABC News verified what Trump said in the 90-minute special:
10:30 p. m. Trump says COVID-19 is the challenge of his presidency
For the last consultation of the night, Trump asked what is the most difficult component of his presidency and what he learned from it.
“Without a doubt, I would say, because things were going so well, I think I say all COVID, the ‘Chinese virus’ as I call it, because it comes from China, I think it is a much more precise term,” Trump. “But it was very difficult. It was very sad. “
Trump revealed that he knew six other people who had died of COVID-19.
“I learned that life is very fragile because other people were strong and suddenly they were dead. They were gone. And it’s not his fault. It’s the fault of a country that may have stopped him,” Trump said. added, proceeding to blame China.
The president said he may no longer see his industry dealing with China with the same pride “because of the horror of this disease that may have stopped at the border. “
Stephanopoulos then pressured the president: “Could I have done more to prevent it?”
“I don’t think so. I think what I did, like closing the country, I think I saved two lives maybe two and a half, maybe more than that. I don’t think so. I think we did a very smart job. “I don’t know if that’s been recognized, ” he said.
The president went on to say that his reaction to the pandemic also seemed smart to other officials, but he thought they deserved recognition.
“We have acted intelligently with many governors. We’ve earned a safe reputation, we’ve taken a step forward in your reputation. They had nothing. We provide them with supplies. We provide them with the fans. We’ve done a lot of other people, to be fair to you, they look smart who look smart,” Trump said.
10:22 p. m. Trump turns out to misunderstand voters’ consultation on the road to citizenship
A woman who says she emigrated from the Dominican Republic and lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and has not voted before because she has only one citizen, shared with Trump that her mother had died of breast cancer last month but had dreamed of having a citizen. and votes.
“I’m here for her, ” he said in tears.
“We lost our jobs, we learned to love our families. I say it for her,” he added of the pandemic.
He then asked Trump what he would do on the country’s path to citizenship.
“We’re doing anything with immigration that I think is going to be very strong, because we need other people to come to our country, other people like you. And like your mom. And it shows how vicious COVID is, especially when you’re challenged, have a central challenge or some other kind of challenge. And it’s a very sad story,” Trump said, not perceiving that his mother had not yet died of cancer coronavirus.
“I mean regarding your situation with your mom, which is just devastating because I can believe how you feel and look like a wonderful woman and I’ll tell you that she fixes her — and I can, I’m pretty smart with other people — she gave us a wonderful girl, a wonderful girl,” she said, proceeding to mock coronavirus treatments and vaccines.
10:12 p. m. Trump says he has restored law and order in Democratic-led cities.
Alexander J. Floyd of Dallas, Pennsylvania, who says he voted for Trump in 2016, asked the president how he could balance practical police reform without sacrificing public safety.
Trump raised the plan to reform police Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only black Republican in the Senate, led the Republican Party in the summer after George Floyd’s death, before the two parties’ plans failed in Congress for lack of bipartisan support.
“Democrats see this as a political issue, and I probably agree with them, I think it’s very bad for them, because we’re in law and order. We have to be in law and order in a different way, you’ll see your cities. “And that’s how we can make a plan like Tim Scott’s, which actually goes far enough, but doesn’t take away our cop’s dignity,” Trump said.
Trump has continued to denounce that Democrat-controlled cities, he said, are full of crimes because governors will allow him to send the National Guard to its streets.
“Everywhere there’s a Democratic city, not in all cases, yet if you look at our country’s troubled cities, they’re run by Democrats, and that’s Biden,” Trump said. “They are weak. They’re ineffective. “
“You’re president of all those cities right now,” Stephanopoulos replied.
“I’m president, but I can only do what I have the right to do, George. I want the law of insurgency to deal with 250 anarchists. We can do it smoothly with a National Guard, we proved it in Minneapolis,” Trump said. Said.
10 p. m. Trump criticizes in Atlantic who made derogatory comments about troops
Faced with accusations in the Atlantic that Trump made derogatory comments about U. S. troops, Trump’s “fake” report.
“It’s simple because I’ve never made those statements,” Trump said, and said he was looking to make a stopover at the cemetery during his Paris vacation in 2018. “As far as John McCain is concerned, I’ve never been a john McCain fan. I never thought he treated our vets well. He didn’t do the job. I’ve never been a fan of him. And I think he’s smart and everybody knows it. And I said it across the street. “
Trump went on to say that his movements in the workplace showed his for the military.
“I have done so much for our veterans and for our army. I rebuilt our army. Our army, when I walked into this big office, our army was exhausted, they were probably in the worst state they were probably in. They were exhausted. ” The planes were old and broken, the boats, everything. You see what I’ve done. And you think it’s simple to get that money from the Democrats?Because they don’t like the army,” Trump said.
Asked through Stephanopoulos about how he responds to ex-army exasestors in his management, such as former Defense Secretary James Mattis and former Homeland Security Director John Bolton, who have publicly said he is not worthy of publication, Array Trump described them as “disgruntled employees. “
“Mattis was a highly publicized general. He didn’t do the job. It didn’t do Daesh any good,” Trump said, and proceeded to insist that Mattis be fired, Mattis says he resigned. “John Bolton, all I was looking to do was fly to other people. “
Trump went on to say that the deployment of Americans in the Middle East “is the worst resolution in our country’s history” and that he is looking to move more troops.
9:58 p. m. Trump endorses inventory market functionality and warns about Biden economic depression
Stephanopoulos followed Trump’s comments about a “super V” recovery amid the coronavirus pandemic, noting that many economists say it looks more like a K-shaped recovery, so the other people at the top, who have many actions, are doing pretty well, but only part of the work has returned.
“George, inventories belong to everyone,” Trump said. “I mean, you know, they communicate about the market place inventory is so good. It’s 401K. I know other people with, as long as they weren’t promoting when the market place went down, when we first knew, ya You know, the magnitude of this terrible thing coming out of China. I mean, those other people are doing it, some of them are doing it better than before the pandemic. “
Trump then warned of evidence that if Biden were president, the country would suffer an unprecedented depression.
“I set records in the inventory market, including the pandemic. And it doesn’t happen by accident. I’ll tell you this, if Joe Biden ever got that job and it’s a headwind in the inventory market,” he said. “If Joe Biden were to get here, I think you’d have a depression, like we’ve never noticed in this country. “
“Take a look at the 401K, in many cases they’re bigger than before the pandemic,” he added.
But even as the inventory market improves, the US unemployment rate is high. But it’s not the first time It increased from about 3% before the pandemic to almost 15% in April. No job.
9:54 p. m. Trump defends ‘non-presidential’ behavior
Jim Roudeski of Irwin, Pennsylvania, who voted for Trump in 2016, asked the president if he would do anything else within a moment to create a more unified message, as critics argue that Trump would possibly be “non-presidential. “
“So I’m fighting a battle. It’s a great battlefield and I have a lot of strength against me,” Trump said. “Sometimes you don’t have time to be totally, as you’d say presidential, you have to get things done. “
Trump has pointed out how more than two hundred of his court candidates, in addition to two Supreme Court justices, more than 50 circuit court judges, and more than 150 district court judges, have been confirmed to date. It’s time to be “presidential” because it moves so fast, including moving other people who can’t stick to it.
“And, honestly, we acted very temporarily. And I have to get rid of other people temporarily because they don’t do their job . . . And when I do that to track down someone else who’s smart and if they don’t get rid of that person,” Trump said.
“I used to pretend that I was a kid on the electoral crusade and that it could be more presidential, it’s very simple, more presidential than any other candidate, unless maybe it’s Abraham Lincoln when he wears the hat, right?But the fact is, presidential is less difficult than I have to do, but I’m doing things. “
9:48 p. m. Trump defied attention: where’s the plan?
Ellesia Blaque, a Philadelphia assistant professor who says she voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and suffers from a condition called sarcoidosis, asked Trump what he would do for others like her with pre-existing ailments, while demanding Obamacare situations in court. without presenting a fitness care plan of choice.
“We’re not going to damage pre-existing situations and, indeed, quite the opposite,” Trump said, before falsely claiming that Democrats would get rid of protections for pre-existing situations or adopt “socialized medicine” even though Biden said he would. not Medicare for everyone.
“We’re going to put a physical care plan in position and protect others with pre-existing conditions,” he continued, before Stephanopoulos clarified that he has yet to provide a plan in his first term as president.
Trump continued to point out how he got rid of Obamacare’s individual mandate, a monetary fine for not having health insurance, and claiming he had “other opportunities for Obamacare that are 50% less expensive and better. “
“It’s been three and a half years, ” said Stephanopoulos.
“George, it’s been 40 years since you got smart physical care,” Trump replied.
9:39 p. m. Stephanopoulos demanding situations trump’s denunciation of Democratic-led states: ”These are U. S. states”
When asked through some other voter whether Americans can expect more help from the federal government, given that more staff risk wasting their jobs in the coming months, Trump said he sought to see more stimulus bills, but negotiations between Republicans and Democrats. gave the impression that he was dead.
Stephanopoulos urged Trump why he, the negotiating leader, beat him himself to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“Because they know exactly what my position is,” Trump said. “At the right time, I will. But they know exactly what my position is. What they need is a bailout of democracy-led states that don’t do well and, you know,” I don’t think it’s the right way — “
“Why do you keep talking about Democratic states and cities?” Stephanopoulos told the president, “these are American states and cities. “
“Listen, I’m the president of all. I don’t need to say it, but they’re Democratic-led cities. That’s what it is,” Trump said.
9:36 p. m. Voter demands Trump situations with slogan ”Make America big again”
Pastor Carl Day of Philadelphia, a black man who says he voted for Jill Stein in 2016, challenged trump’s ubiquitous slogan, “Make America Great Again,” in response to a long history of systemic racism in housing and corrupt justice.
“Because you repeat it, we have to see when it’s “awesome?”?Because it goes back to a time when we can’t identify with so much “greatness, ” he asked. “You’ve said all about suffocation and everything else, yet it hasn’t yet addressed and identified that there’s been a racial challenge in America. “
“I hope there are no racial problems,” Trump replied. ” I can tell you there’s none with me because I have wonderful respect for all races, for everyone. This is a wonderful country for that. “
The president then referred to what he called “the most productive unemployment figures they have ever had in the black community, so far” before the economic consequences of the pandemic.
“And he solved a lot of problems, and you know what else, brought other people together,” Trump said.
Stephanopoulos noted that there is still a wealth hole between blacks and whites in America, a hole that existed long before the pandemic, to which Trump said, “I mean, there’s a hole, but we were doing smart work. better. “
9:31 p. m. Trump refuses to say if there are racial injustices in America
As racial justice protests continue across the country, a registered nurse in Glenshaw, Pennsylvania, says she has voted Republicans as president, mentioning the names of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Jacob Blake, asked Trump if she believed racial injustices were occurring. nation case.
“Well, I think those were tragic events, and I think we should also take into account the fact that if you look at our police, they do a phenomenal job. You’ll have other people drowning, making mistakes and it happens, it happens, where they have to make a quick resolution and bad things happen,” Trump said, adding that there were “rotten apples” but that “99%” are other wonderful people. “
“And I’ll tell you this, if you need to prevent crime, we’ll have to give the police the respect they deserve,” he added. “I agree with you, those times are terrible, but we’ll have to allow the police to do their job. Otherwise, the crime will be shot. “
Referring to the shooting of two sheriff’s agents in Los Angeles this week, Trump said the occasion was an example of “disrespect” by law enforcement.
Stephanopoulos also condemned the act before presenting Trump that black Americans are more than three times more likely than white Americans to be killed by police.
The president would say either way if there is a systematic police problem.
“No, I think there are disorders, but I also think there are very large disorders or if you don’t return their authority to the police,” he said.
9:27 p. m. Trump says he ‘played’ the virus, repeats that he’s going to ‘disappear’
A first-time voter asked Trump why he downplayed the pandemic, as he admitted to doing in audio recordings of interviews with Bob Woodward to avoid panic, but Trump rejected the characterization of the issue.
“I didn’t minimize it. In fact, in many ways, I’ve taken it a step forward, in terms of action. My action has been very strong,” Trump said. ” Yes, because what I did with China, I put a ban on Europe, I put up a ban and we would have lost thousands more people if I hadn’t put up the ban. So this is called ‘action’, not with the mouth yet actually.
Stephanopoulos noted that there were gaps in those bans, but Trump defended the exceptions, saying, “We allowed some other people and that’s true, but they were American citizens. “
Trump then predicted that the country would have noticed two million deaths from his action.
When asked if he regretted anything about his reaction to the pandemic, Trump said no.
“I think I did a wonderful job,” he said, as the country approaches 200,000 COVID-19 deaths.
Trump went on to say that even without a vaccine, the virus will “disappear,” repeating a line he made in March when the country began to close its doors, which has been the subject of strong criticism.
“It’s happening to disappear. It’s happening to disappear, I mean it,” Trump said.
9:14 p. m. Trump says waiter masks don’t work
Julie Bart of Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, who claims to have voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, asked Trump why, as a leader, he no longer wears a mask, while science has shown that dressing in a mask is effective in curbing the spread of the virus.
“Well, I use them when I have to and when I’m in hospitals and other places,” Trump said, even though he’s been seen in public under a mask less than a handful of times.
He then resorted to an attack on Biden calling on the governor to describe a protective order before protecting Americans who still refuse to wear masks.
“Now there are, by the way, many other people who don’t need to wear a mask. There are many other people who think that masks are not good,” he said.
When Stephanopoulos insisted that Trump said the mask was bad, Trump said, “the waiters. “
“They come and serve you, and they have a mask. And I saw him the other day they were serving me, and they play with a mask. I don’t blame them. I’m just saying what’s going on. “” The concept of a mask is smart, but it’s also smart: you touch it constantly, you touch your face, you touch the dishes. There are other people who don’t think masks are smart. “
9:09 p. m. Why Pennsylvania could decide on the 2020 election
Pennsylvania now seems the highest state in the 2020 election.
According to the presidential forecasts of FiveThirtyEight, Pennsylvania is by far the maximum state high that will likely provide President Trump or Joe Biden with the decisive vote of the electoral school: it has a 31% chance of being the tipping state (this is what happens when you take one). of the maximum number of states divided in the union and give it 20 electoral votes. ) In fact, Pennsylvania is for our style to give Trump an 84% chance of winning the presidency if he leads the state, and that gives Biden a 96% chance of winning if Pennsylvania turns blue.
Nathaniel Rakich, fiveThirtyEight election analyst
9:06 p. m. Trump defends the reaction to the pandemic against a voter who asks why he threw ” under the bus”
Paul Tubiana, who identifies himself as conservative and pro-life, says he is diabetic and voted for Trump in 2016, and has bitten his words invoking his own struggle.
“I had other people who didn’t care about social estinement and dressed in masks. I imagine you were doing a smart task in reaction to a pandemic, until about May 1, and then you took your foot off the accelerator,” Tubiana says. “Why did you throw other vulnerable people like me under the bus?”
Trump has rejected any mismanagement through his administration.
Well, we didn’t, Paul, replied Trump, we worked the pandemic. We work very hard. She came here from China, they deserve never to have let that happen. And if you look at what we did with the enthusiasts and now, frankly, with the vaccines, we’re very close to having a vaccine. “
The president went on to advance a positive schedule for a coronavirus vaccine, as he has already done, suggesting that one of them would arrive before Election Day, despite the considerations of Democrats and scientists according to which the Food and Drug Administration Drugs is under political effort to speed up a vaccine for Trump’s policies. Gain.
“If you need to know the truth, it would have taken years for the previous administration to get a vaccine because of the FDA and all approvals. And we’re in the weeks after the reception, you know it can take only 3 weeks, 4 weeks,” Trump said.
When Stephanopoulos asked Trump why the United States has 4% of the world’s population, more than 20% of international coronavirus cases, and 20% of its deaths, Trump attributed the highest rates to higher and to a higher general population.
9 p. m. City Hall begins
President Donald Trump is answering questions Tuesday night of Pennsylvania’s unsused electorate at the user and at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia just seven weeks before the 2020 election.
Aside from two Fox News occasions this spring, Trump has not faced direct questions from the electorate about the election cycle. Biden has not had a city corridor in user with electorate since February, and most of his crusader occasions now come without members. of the general public.
The disappearance of the “on” vote in 2020 has been the subject of much discussion. A recent national vote in Monmouth found that only 3% of the registered electorate had no one to vote for, and an NBC / Marist Pennsylvania vote last week established the number of a 2% registered electorate and most likely electorate.
But not all of the electorate he chose between Trump and Biden pledged to vote for either. This phase of the crusade, with unpredictable formats that add town halls and debates, represents new opportunities in a race that remains in a position of disruption.
ABC News Chief Policy Director Rick Klein
8:45 p. m. La Pennsylvania’s political importance as Biden and Trump increase pedestrian traffic in the crusade
The last crusade before November obviously singled out Pennsylvania as a focal point for Biden and Trump to win the White House.
Within a week, there were 4 crusader occasions in Keystone State, and any of the applicants visited the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on September 11 to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the attacks.
While the frequency of visits becomes less difficult due to the state’s proximity to the bases of the two applicants’ homes, Pennsylvania provides more than a logistical convenience during pandemic time. After Florida, Pennsylvania has the second largest number of electoral votes at stake among primary states on the battlefield, making it a critical detail in any mathematical calculation imaginable to win the presidency.
For Trump, a momentary victory in Pennsylvania would be a defense of his narrow victory in 2016 when he surpassed Hillary Clinton by 0. 7% and toppled the “blue wall” by winning Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. Prior to 2016, Pennsylvanians voted for Democrats in six consecutive presidential elections starting in 1992.
For Biden, a local in Scranton, Pennsylvania, he has a sentimental price and gives him the opportunity to rebuild a strong Democratic clientele in a state that won twice with Barack Obama. The former vice president has already made five trips to the state since the pandemic began. earlier this year.
Alisa Wiersema of ABC News
8:42 p. m. Trump addresses racial problems and wealth disparities in America
Another unused voter asked the president about his ubiquitous cross-slogan, “Making America Big Again,” in a soft account of a long history of systemic racism in housing and corrupt justice.
“Because you repeat it, we have to see when it’s “awesome?”?Because it goes back to a time when we can’t identify with so much “greatness, ” asked the voter. “You’ve said all about choking and everything else, yet it hasn’t yet addressed and identified that it’s a racial challenge in America. “
“Well, I hope there are no racial problems,” Trump said. ” I can tell you there’s none with me because I have great respect for all races, for everyone. This is a wonderful country for that. “
The president then referred to what he called “the most productive unemployment figures they have ever had in the black community, so far” before the economic consequences of the pandemic.
“And he solved a lot of problems, and you know what else, brought other people together,” Trump said.
8:34 PM Biden criticizes Trump for ‘unfulfilled promises’ to Pennsylvania residents
Former Vice President Joe Biden criticized the president for “failed leadership” and “unfulfilled promises” to Pennsylvanians in a statement released Tuesday afternoon before Trump’s Philadelphia vacation to attend the ABC News mayorality.
“President Trump failed in Pennsylvania when he promised to get jobs back, but he brought only one tax scam that favored the superintendent and CEOs. He failed in Pennsylvania by deliberately deceiving other Americans and refusing to act to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic. that claimed the lives of some 8,000 Pennsylvanians and failed in Pennsylvania by allowing the pandemic to devastate the economic well-being of millions of people and push the state’s unemployment rate to its highest point in decades,” Biden wrote.
“Long before COVID-19 spread to Philadelphia, the failure of President Trump’s leadership felt in every corner of the city. Pennsylvanians deserve better,” Biden added, promising to “restore” the leadership he lacks in the White House if elected. .
Biden is in Florida on Tuesday, his first vacation in the key state of the battlefield since officially seating the Democratic presidential nomination, a stopover that coincides with a new list of polls that looks like a tighter race in the state with Trump.
ABC News hosted a city corridor with Biden, but ABC News and the crusade failed to locate a mutually appropriate date. Biden has a city racer with CNN on Thursday.
8:30 p. m. Trump, pressed at ABC Town Hall to downplay the pandemic threat, says he ‘played’
Less than two months before the ballots were counted, President Donald Trump defended his race management in the United States amid a pandemic that disproportionately affected minority populations and unprecedented social unrest in American cities.
When asked Tuesday through a disproportionate ABC News mayor, “The President and the People,” why he would “minimize a pandemic known to disproportionately low-income families and minority communities,” Trump denied ever underestimating the risk of the disease.
“Yes, well, I didn’t downplay it. In fact, in many ways, I’ve taken it a step forward, in terms of action. My action is very strong,” Trump said.
8:30 p. m. State of the race: Pennsylvania survey
Recent polls paint a bleak picture of Pennsylvania’s feelings.
According to a Quinnipiac University ballot published Thursday, Biden has an 8-point lead in Pennsylvania, 52% over Trump’s 44%. Meanwhile, a Monmouth University ballot released Wednesday showed a tighter career between the two, with Biden ahead of Trump in four issues. Pennsylvania’s registered voters, 49% to 45%.
With less than two months to the election, and as Pennsylvania residents are among the first electorate in the country to request and return ballots by mail this week, the dubious effects of the election mean there are likely to be more trips to Keystone State.
Mayor’s office occurs when presidential candidates say they plan to take the state of Keystone in November, while Tump won Pennsylvania in 2016 by a margin of 0. 7%, the narrowest in a presidential election for the state since 1840.
Tuesday’s occasion will take a position in accordance with local and state government COVID-19 regulations related to participation limits, as well as rules established through fitness officials.
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