Here’s a recap of the dueling 2020 presidential town halls
President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden each held their own town hall events on October 15, 2020. Here were some key moments.
Video Transcript
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DONALD TRUMP: I denounce white supremacy, OK?
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: You did two days later.
DONALD TRUMP: I've denounced white supremacy for years, but you always do it. You always start off with the question.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Well--
DONALD TRUMP: You didn't ask Joe Biden whether or not he denounces Antifa. I know nothing about QAnon.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: I just told you.
DONALD TRUMP: I know very little you. You told me. But what you tell me doesn't necessarily make it fact. I hate to say that. I know nothing about it. I do know they are very much against pedophilia. They fight it very hard. You may be right.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Why not just say it's crazy--
DONALD TRUMP: Can I be honest?
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: --and not true?
DONALD TRUMP: He may be right. I just don't know about QAnon.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: You do know.
DONALD TRUMP: I don't know. No, I don't know. I don't know.
JOE BIDEN: The words of a president matter.
- Absolutely.
JOE BIDEN: No matter whether they're good, bad, or indifferent, they matter. And when a president doesn't wear a mask or makes fun of folks like me when I was wearing a mask for a long time, then, you know, people say, well, it mustn't be that important.
DONALD TRUMP: $400 million compared to the assets that I have, all of these great properties all over the world, and frankly, the Bank of America building in San Francisco. I don't love what's happening to San Francisco.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Well, do I hear you right?
DONALD TRUMP: 1290 Avenue of the Americas.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: It sounds like you're saying $400 million--
DONALD TRUMP: It's one of the biggest--
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: --isn't that much.
DONALD TRUMP: One of the biggest office buildings--
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: But are you-- are you-- are you confirming that yes, you do owe some $400 million?
DONALD TRUMP: What I'm saying is that it's a tiny percentage of my net worth.
JOE BIDEN: Do you know if I had answered the question directly, then all the focus would be on what's Biden going to do if he wins?
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: So you're still not a fan?
JOE BIDEN: Well, I'm not a fan. I didn't say-- it depends on how this turns out, not how he wins, but how it's handled.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Just this week, you retweeted to your 87 million followers a conspiracy theory that Joe Biden orchestrated to have SEAL Team Six, the Navy SEAL Team Six, killed to cover up the fake death of bin Laden. Now, why would you send a lie like that to your followers?
DONALD TRUMP: I know nothing about it. Can I--
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: You retweeted it.
DONALD TRUMP: That was a retweet. That was an opinion of somebody--
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: But--
DONALD TRUMP: --and that was a retweet. I'll put it out there. People can decide for themselves.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: I don't get that.
DONALD TRUMP: I don't take a position.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: You're the president. You're not, like, someone's crazy uncle--
DONALD TRUMP: No, no.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: --who can just retweet whatever.
DONALD TRUMP: No, no. That was a retweet, and I do a lot of retweets. And frankly, because the media is so fake and so corrupt, if I didn't have social media-- I don't call it Twitter, I call it social media-- I wouldn't be able to get the word out. And the word is--
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Well, the word is false.
DONALD TRUMP: And you know what the word is? The word is very simple. We're building our country stronger and better than it's ever been before.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Let's talk--
DONALD TRUMP: And that's what's happening, and everybody knows it.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: OK. We've got a bunch of questions for you.
DONALD TRUMP: You know what else the word is? We're winning in a lot of states.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: OK.
DONALD TRUMP: We're winning in a lot of states. You're going to see that.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Well, let me ask--
- How will you as president reverse this dangerous and discriminatory agenda and ensure that the lives and rights of LGBTQ people are protected under US law?
JOE BIDEN: I will flat-out just change the law, eliminate those executive orders, number one.
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