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

The final topic of the night was climate change with Welker first asking each candidate how he would combat climate change and support job growth at the same time as president. Trump answered first. 

"So we have the trillion trees program. We have so many different programs. I do love the environment, but what I want is the cleanest, crystal clear water, the cleanest air," Trump said, taking credit for the country's reduced carbon emission last year. 

He went on to slam other counties air-quality and tout the U.S. by comparison. 

"Look at China, how filthy it is. Look at Russia. Look at India. It's filthy. The air is filthy. The Paris Accord, I took us out because we were going to have to spend trillions of dollars, and we were treated very unfairly," Trump said, closing his two minutes by saying his administration has done an incredible job "environmentally."

When it was Biden's turn, he pivoted to the existential threat he says global warming poses to humanity and said the U.S. has a moral obligation to "deal with it" -- but said climate change also creates a prime opportunity for new jobs. 

"Here's where we have a great opportunity. I was able to get both all the environmental organizations as well as labor, the people worried about jobs, to support my climate plan. Because what it does -- it will create millions of new good-paying jobs," Biden said. "Wall Street firms indicated that my plan -- my plan will, in fact, create 18.6 million jobs, 7 million more than his. This is from Wall Street. And I'll create $1 trillion more in economic growth than his proposal does. Not on climate, just on the economy."

Trump slammed Biden's response, claiming the former vice president's plan would cause a massive economic depression and deeming it a "pipe dream," before raising Biden's stance on fracking. 

In the face of Trump's criticisms, Welker asked Biden directly, "Would you rule out banning fracking?"

"I do rule out banning fracking," Biden said. "We need other industries to transition to get to ultimately a complete zero emissions by 2025. What I will do with fracking over time is make sure we can capture the emissions from the fracking, capture the emissions from gas. We can do that and we can do that by investing money. It's a transition to that."

"Excuse me," Trump interrupted. "He was against fracking. He said it. I will show that to you tomorrow."

"Fracking on federal land, I said," Biden responded. "No fracking and/or oil on federal land."

To open the section on race in America, Welker described "the talk" to the candidates -- when parents of color, regardless of class or income, prepare their children for the chance that they could be targeted by police for no reason other than the color of their skin -- giving the first question to Biden. 

"I would like you to speak directly to these families," Welker said. "Do you understand why these parents fear for the children?"

"Yes, I do," said Biden. "The fact of the matter is there is institutional racism in America. We have always said, we've never lived up to it, that we hold these truths to be self-evident, all men and women are created equal. Guess what? We have never, ever lived up to it."

"We have to provide better economic opportunity, better education, better health care, better access to schooling, better access to borrow money to start businesses," Biden continued. "And I've laid out a clear plan as to how to do those things just to give people a shot. It's about accumulating the ability to have wealth as well as it is to be free from violence."

When the same question was posed to Trump, the president raised Biden's controversial 1994 crime bill and again said no one has done more for the Black community than Trump -- other than President Abraham Lincoln. 

"Yes, I do," Trump said, before launching an attack on Biden. "And again, he's been in government 47 years. He never did a thing, except in 1994, when he did such harm to the Black community."

"Nobody has done more for the Black community than Donald Trump. And if you look, with the exception of Abraham Lincoln, possible exception, but the exception of Abraham Lincoln, nobody has done what I've done," he added. 

Trump went on to rail against Biden for not making the changes he's pushing when he was in office and said he ran for office as a direct response to Obama and Biden. 

"Joe, I ran because of you. I ran because of Barack Obama. Because you did a poor job. If I thought you did a good job, I would have never run," Trump said. "I ran because of you."

Fielding Trump's misleading claims that he would ban fracking, Biden made what Trump called a "big statement" when he said, "By the way, I'd have a transition from the oil industry, yes."

"Why would you do that?" Welker followed up.

"Because the oil industry pollutes significantly," Biden said. 

"Oh, I see," Trump interjected. "That's a big statement."

"If you let me finish a statement -- because it has to be replaced by renewable energy overtime. And I'd stop giving to the oil industry, I'd stop giving them federal subsidies," Biden continued.

"He's going to destroy the oil industry," Trump said. "Will you remember that, Texas?  Will you remember that, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma?"

Biden responded by saying Trump "takes everything out of context." 

Trump said his administration is "trying very hard" to locate the 545 children whose parents can't be located after being separated from their parents. However, the president also said that some of the children were brought to the U.S. by "coyotes" and "cartels."

He then pivoted to say that the Obama administration built the detention centers where many migrants are held.

"They had a picture in a certain newspaper, there was a picture of these horrible cages. They said look at these cages. President Trump built them," Trump said. "Then it was determined they were built in 2014. That was him. They built cages." 

In a fiery response, Biden emphasized that the children came to the U.S. with their parents. 

"Coyotes didn't bring them over, Biden said. "Their parents were with them. They got separated from their parents, and it makes us a laughingstock and violates every notion of who we are as a nation. 

Welker asked about the Obama administration's failure to deliver on immigration reform. Biden said that it took too long to get the policy correct.

"It took too long to get it right. Took too long to get it right," he said. "I will be president of the United States, not vice president of the United States. And the fact is, I've made it very clear, within 100 days, I going to send to the United States Congress a pathway to citizenship for over 11 million undocumented people and all of those so-called dreamers, those DACA kids, they are going to be immediately certified again to be able to stay in this country and put on a path to citizenship."

Trump responded that Biden "had eight years to do what he said he was going to do."

Biden and Trump then went back and forth over the catch-and-release policy.