1st presidential debate between Trump and Biden spirals into chaotic clash

Highlights from the first presidential debate held in Cleveland.

ByLibby Cathey, Lauren Lantry, and Matt Zarrell
Last Updated: January 6, 2022, 3:01 PM EST

President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee for president Joe Biden faced off from a social distance in the first presidential debate of 2020 in Cleveland, just five weeks out from Election Day.

The first presidential debate at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic came on the heels of bombshell reporting from The New York Times on two decades of Trump's tax records, ahead of a contentious Supreme Court confirmation process in the Senate and as the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll shows Biden maintains a 10-point edge among both registered and likely voters.

The coronavirus pandemic's impact on the race was also on display as the two candidates didn't partake in a handshake, customary at the top of such events. The size of the audience was also limited and everyone attending the debate had to undergo COVID-19 testing and follow other public health protocols.

The debate’s moderator, Chris Wallace of "Fox News Sunday," selected six topics for Tuesday with each segment expected to get approximately 15 minutes: Trump's and Biden's records, the Supreme Court, COVID-19, the economy, race and violence in U.S. cities, and the integrity of the election -- the final topic coming as Trump over the weekend wouldn’t commit to a peaceful transfer of power.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the debate unfolded. All times Eastern.
Sep 29, 2020, 10:15 AM EDT

Biden preps for personal attacks from Trump ahead of Tuesday’s debate

A tale of two campaigns is emerging ahead of the first face-to-face meeting in the general election between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden Tuesday night on the presidential debate stage.

While President Trump has hit the campaign trail hard, holding eight events in the last week, Biden has taken a decidedly different approach, keeping a light schedule in order to prepare for their upcoming meeting.

The former vice president has hunkered down for debate preparations, which are being overseen by Democratic debate guru and Biden's former chief of staff, Ron Klain, according to sources familiar with the preparation.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a Hispanic Heritage Month event, Sept. 15, 2020, at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Fla.
Patrick Semansky/AP, FILE

The preparations also includes Bob Bauer, a senior Biden adviser and former White House general counsel, stepping into the role of Donald Trump to help the former vice president get ready for Tuesday according to a source familiar with the process.

"Joe Biden is very big on preparing," said Patti Solis Doyle, a Democratic strategist and former adviser to Biden, who took part in his 2008 vice presidential debate preparations.

"He understands that this is an opportunity to really speak directly to the American people. And so he wants to make sure he's ready and prepared," she added, noting his fondness for briefing books and discussion of strategy.

Biden aides expect the former vice president to focus on making the case for his own presidency in his time on the stage, with Biden expected to contrast his vision with Trump's record -- particularly his response to the coronavirus pandemic.

More on Biden's debate prep can be found here

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

Sep 29, 2020, 9:37 AM EDT

Suburban women in key battlegrounds are 'critical' debate audience

When President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden share a debate stage for the first time Tuesday night, a key audience for both candidates will be suburban women voters in a handful of critical election battlegrounds.

Women voters in the suburbs around Minneapolis, Minn., will be critical to deciding the outcome of the presidential race in the state, analysts say.
ABC News

ABC News Live recently met with five women voters from diverse backgrounds and political views in the suburbs around Minneapolis to discuss the 2020 campaign and issues important to mothers, young female professionals and retirees across the state.

They described anxiety over a year of cascading crises for their families, from the pandemic and recession, to protests for racial justice, a spike in violent crime and looting and a sudden vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court.

WATCH: Meet suburban women voters in the Twin Cities tonight at 7pm ET and 9pm ET on ABC News Live Prime.

-ABC News' Devin Dwyer

Sep 29, 2020, 9:07 AM EDT

Trump vs. Biden: On the issues

Leading up to Tuesday's debate, ABC News has broken down where each candidate stands on some of the key issues.

Throughout the day, we will be profiling each individual issue here.

Here is ABC News' coverage on some of the key issues:

Election security and integrity

Racial justice

Health

Economy

Climate change and the environment

Sep 29, 2020, 8:35 AM EDT

Trump targets Biden's mental health in debate lead-up, despite aides' efforts to raise expectations

President Donald Trump is set to enter the first presidential debate on Tuesday down in the polls, but coming off the high of nominating his third Supreme Court justice. Some top advisers expect a dominant performance by the president, despite the opposing narratives of attacks on Joe Biden's mental state and the Trump campaign's work to raise expectations for the Democrat ahead of the showdown.

With days to go the debate, Trump has carried out conflicting and confounding strategies both repeatedly targeting Biden's mental acuity, claiming at a recent rally he doesn't know he's alive, while also making passing attempts to boost the former vice president as a seasoned debater who could outshine him.

"This guy doesn't have a clue. He doesn't know where the hell he is," Trump told his supporters in Pittsburgh a week to the day before the first debate. "This guy doesn't know he's alive."

At a campaign rally Saturday night in Pennsylvania, the president both attacked Biden as "dumb" before immediately lauding him as an experienced debater. "He’s a dumb guy. Always known as a dumb guy. But we look forward to seeing him in the debate. He's got a lot more experience. He's got 47 years. I’ve got 3 1/2 years. So we'll see. But he's got 47 years of experience."

PHOTO: This combination of pictures shows Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Sept. 23, 2020, at Camp North End in Charlotte, N.C., and President Donald Trump during a campaign rally at Cecil Airport in Jacksonville, Fla., on Sept. 24, 2020.
This combination of pictures shows Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Sept. 23, 2020, at the Black Economic Summit at Camp North End in Charlotte, N.C., and President Donald Trump during a campaign rally at Cecil Airport in Jacksonville, Fla., on Sept. 24, 2020.
Photos by Jim Watson and Brendan Smialowski / AFP

Biden has brushed off Trump's onslaught of attacks on his mental fitness. "Watch me, Mr. President. Watch me. Look at us both, what we say, what we do, what we control, what we know, what kind of shape we're in," the former vice president said when asked by ABC News about the president's attacks on his cognitive ability.

While some advisers tell ABC News they're nervous as the president enters his first debate since his encounters with Hillary Clinton four years ago -- with Biden having participated in nearly a dozen debates leading up to clinching the Democratic nomination -- others are anticipating a knockout performance by the president and expect the debate to help highlight the former vice president's gaffes, sources familiar said.

-ABC News' Will Steakin, Katherine Faulders and John Santucci