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, 3:55 PM EDT

In Pennsylvania, advantage Biden with a big boost from women: POLL

Overwhelming support in Philadelphia and its suburbs lift former Vice President Joe Biden to a clear lead in crucial Pennsylvania, with backing from college-educated white people and women -- notably white, moderate and suburban women -- central to his advantage in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll.

President Donald Trump, for his part, is suffering attrition among his 2016 supporters; 8% of them now back Biden instead. While a small slice of the electorate, it’s a potentially important factor in a state Trump won by 44,292 votes out of nearly 6.2 million cast four years ago.

In this June 2, 2020, file photo, people wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 wait to vote in the primary election in Philadelphia.
Joshua Roberts/Reuters, FILE

Likely voters support Biden over Trump by 54 to 45%, almost exactly matching a national ABC/Post poll released Sunday. The result includes more than a 2 to 1 Biden lead in the populous Philadelphia suburbs, home to nearly a quarter of likely voters, and close results in northeastern and western Pennsylvania, leaving only the conservative center of the state clearly to Trump.

See more data on this new poll here.

-Gary Langer of Langer Research Associates, conducted the poll.

-ABC News' Isabella Meneses contributed to this report.

Sep 29, 2020, 3:39 PM EDT

Biden, Harris release 2019 tax returns

The Biden campaign released Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ 2019 tax returns, a clear effort to draw a sharp contrast with the revelations about Trump’s tax returns reported by the New York Times, ahead of tonight’s debate.

With Tuesday’s release Biden has made public 22 years of records, and Harris 15 years.

The releases were posted to Biden’s campaign site.

-ABC News' Mary Bruce and Molly Nagle

Sep 29, 2020, 3:24 PM EDT

Trump vs. Biden on the issues: Health

With unprecedented unemployment in the United States, where health care is inextricably linked to employment, and a coronavirus pandemic ravaging the globe, it's safe to say that on Nov. 3, health is on the ballot.

As it stands, more than 200,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. Another 13 million are unemployed.

An overview of the presidential candidates’ positions on various issues.
2:15

Trump vs. Biden on the issues: Health and COVID-19

An overview of the presidential candidates’ positions on various issues.
ABCNews.com

Health might be a political football in 2020, but it's also a deeply personal issue that affects every American voter. Given health's crucial significance this year, the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund polled 4,220 likely voters in battleground states between Aug. 25 and Sept. 20 on which health care issues mattered most to them, and which candidate -- President Donald Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden -- they thought would be more likely to address those health concerns.

Here's what the American public said about which health care issues they care about, in advance of the first presidential debate.

-ABC News' Erin Schumaker

Sep 29, 2020, 3:08 PM EDT

Trump departs for Ohio ahead of debate

President Trump is on his way to Ohio ahead of the debate tonight and while he didn't speak to reporters before departing, his chief of staff Mark Meadows said that Trump was essentially done preparing for the debate and added that he was in a good mood.

PHOTO: President Donald Trump gestures to reporters as he departs with first lady Melania Trump to participate in his first presidential debate with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in Cleveland, from Washington, Sept. 29, 2020.
President Donald Trump gestures to reporters as he departs with first lady Melania Trump to participate in his first presidential debate with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in Cleveland, from the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, Sept. 29, 2020.
Leah Millis/Reuters

Meadows said that some of the debate guests would be traveling on Air Force One, but didn't name names. However Alice Johnson, who Trump pardoned last month, was spotted boarding.

President Donald Trump gestures as White House interns cheer him on as he leaves the White House residence for Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on September 29, 2020, in Washington.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

In addition to Johnson, the pool traveling with the president so far has spotted Lara Trump, Eric Trump, Tiffany Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Kim Guilfoyle aboard Air Force One.

-ABC News' Katherine Faulders