First U.S. Presidential Debate as Nation Faces Turmoil
By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – The first debate between President Donald J. Trump and former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was underway Tuesday as the nation struggles to overcome a pandemic and social and political unrest.
Seeking re-election in November, Trump was expected to paint his rival as a mentally incapable presidential candidate or “sleepy joe” who mainly hides in his basement to avoid scrutiny from the public and press.
Biden, 77, was due to paint his opponent as a leader under whose watch hundreds of thousands of people died of the coronavirus and a nation beset by deadly racial unrest and economic difficulties for average Americans.
Another issue is Trump’s decision to nominate Amy Coney Barrett, a staunchly conservative Catholic, to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal feminist icon. Justice Ginsburg died of cancer at age 87 on September 18.
Tuesday’s debate also came amid allegations that Trump paid just $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and another $750 the following year. The New York Times newspaper also claimed that he paid none at all in 10 of the previous 15 years, citing leaked tax records.
He was allegedly personally responsible for more than $420 million in debt, mostly coming due within the next four years.
FAKE NEWS?
Trump denied wrongdoing calling the report “fake news” and maintaining that he paid “many millions of dollars in taxes.”
His supporters say the 74-year-old but very energetic president faces unprecedented opposition over his America-first, conservative, pro-life and pro-Christian views from what they view as mainly leftist-liberal media and politicians.
Tens of thousands of Christians prayed for the president and other Trump administration officials during a prayer march over the weekend in Washington.
The debate in Cleveland was to run from 9 p.m. Eastern for 90 minutes without commercial interruptions on all significant U.S television networks and other outlets.
The moderator, Chris Wallace of Fox News, has selected six broad topics, including the Supreme Court, the coronavirus, violence in cities, and the integrity of the election.
He was trying to enforce a set of loosely defined ground rules.
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