Trump and Biden were both forced to answer tough questions as the President vied for an elusive campaign reset while trying to defend his response to the coronavirus pandemic, his embrace of conspiracy theories and his stance on White supremacists under tough questioning from NBC's Savannah Guthrie.
At the same time, Biden was repeatedly pressed to clarify his position on whether he will support adding members to the Supreme Court, his work on the 1986 and 1994 crime bills and his positions on fracking and the Green New Deal. He was also forced to explain his controversial comment that if Black Americans don't support him "you ain't Black."
The two separate town halls replaced the face-to-face debate that was to take place Thursday night but then was canceled by the Commission on Presidential Debates after Trump contracted the coronavirus and refused to participate in a virtual debate with Biden.
The separation of the two candidates on different networks Thursday night -- each in their own sphere with their own moderator -- created an even more stark contrast between their personal styles and approaches for voters who flipped back and forth between the two channels.
From the very beginning of the NBC town hall, Trump was an antagonistic participant, interrupting and criticizing the premise of questions from Guthrie -- sometimes before she had even finished asking them -- and often offering falsehoods as part of his answers. That dynamic immediately created a contentious back-and-forth between Trump and Guthrie that ratcheted up the crackling tension of the NBC event, as she interjected to fact-check his answers or ask if he was serious about his statements.
Trump alternately played victim and aggressor as they parried back and forth at rapid-fire speed. "You always do this," he said, looking angry during a tense exchange when Guthrie questioned his equivocations about White supremacy. "You've done this to me and everybody. ... Are you listening? I denounce White supremacy. What's your next question?" he snapped.
When Guthrie persisted on that subject, Trump complained, "Here we go again." Guthrie noted that Trump has sometimes sounded "hesitant" about condemning White supremacists. He immediately pivoted to his denunciation of Antifa and "these people on the left that are burning down our cities that are run by Democrats" and demanded why the press doesn't ask more questions about their activities.
Voters flipping over to Biden's town hall might have felt like they'd entered a different universe. The former vice president spoke in measured tones during that more policy-heavy event. Unlike the first debate where Trump tried to rattle Biden by interrupting nearly every one of his answers, Biden would listen to the question from ABC's George Stephanopoulos or a voter and then answer at length, sometimes with long, winding responses.
An unavoidable focus on Covid-19
In one of the most news-making moments of the night, the President admitted that he may not have taken a coronavirus test on the day of his debate wi
