Trump, Biden clash in final debate on COVID-19 response, health care, race

Before moving on to election security, Welker asked Trump about his recent public criticisms of Dr. Anthony Fauci.

"President Trump, this week you called Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's best known infectious disease expert, quote, 'a disaster.' You described him and other medical experts as, quote, 'idiots'. If you're not listening to them, who are you listening to?" she asked. 

"I'm listening to all of them, including Anthony," Trump said. "I get along very well with Anthony, but he did say don't wear masks. He did say, as you know, this is not going to be a problem. I think he's a Democrat, but that's okay."

Fauci is registered as an Independent and said not to wear a mask at the start of the pandemic as the task force was concerned with having enough personal protective equipment for health care workers. Once the science became clearer, he recommended the practice. 

Biden responded by saying it was Trump who panicked when the virus hit U.S. soil, not the American people, drawing on interviews with journalist Bob Woodward. 

"Think about what the president knew in January and didn't tell the American people. He was told this was a serious virus that spread in the air and it was much worse -- much worse than the flu," Biden said. "Americans don't panic. He panicked."

Biden responded to concerns that another shutdown could harm the economy, already hurting from closures caused by the pandemic.

"I'm going to shut down the virus, not the country," he said. "It's his ineptitude that caused the virus -- caused the country to have to shut down in large part. Why businesses have gone under, why schools are closed, why so many people have lost their living and why they're concerned."

After attacking Trump for golfing during the pandemic, Biden said he hadn't ruled out additional shutdowns if necessary. 

"You need standards," he said. "The standard is if you have a reproduction rate in a community that's above a certain level, everybody says slow up. More social distancing. Do not open bars and do not open gymnasiums."

In rebuttal, Trump criticized Democratic governors in several states for shutting down in response to the pandemic. 

"They're shut down so tight and they're dying," he said. "They're dying. And he supports all these people. All he talks about is shutdowns. No, we're not going to shut down. And we have to open our schools." 

In an example of how young people have better outcomes with coronavirus, the president mentioned his son Baron who tested positive.

"By the time I spoke to the doctor the second time, he was fine. It just went away. Young people -- I guess it's their immune system," he said.

Trump and Biden have contradictory views on the president's handling of the pandemic with Trump asserting he's done better than any other world leader and Biden claiming he's done "virtually nothing."

Trump's insisted again that the pandemic is "going away," touting his administration's efforts on therapeutics and vaccines.

"I don't think we're gonna have a dark winter at all," Trump said. "I say we're learning to live with it. We have no choice. We can't lock ourselves up in a basement like Joe does," drawing a laugh from Biden.

Biden emphasized the lives already lost, making a direct appeal to those at home.

"Number one, he says that we're, you know, we're learning to live with it. People are learning to die with it," Biden said. "You folks home who have an empty chair at the kitchen table this morning, that man or wife going to bed tonight and reaching over to try to touch their -- out of habit where their wife or husband was is gone. Learning to live with it? Come on."

When Trump threatened that Biden would shutdown the country if elected, causing massive economic depression, Biden said, "I'm going to shut down the virus, not the country."

In response to a question on how he would lead the country out of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Biden cited the more than 220,000 Americans who had died from the virus. 

"Anyone who's responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of the United States of America," he said.

Biden went on to say that Trump doesn't have a plan for dealing with the virus. He called for mask wearing, and a national policy on mask wearing, more testing and a national policy on reopening schools and businesses. 

"I will take care of this. I will end this," Biden said to close out his first answer. "I will make sure we have a plan."