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

ABC News Live has kicked off debate coverage on ABC News Live Prime with Anchor Linsey Davis taking a deep dive into the most important issues at stake in this election.

Davis first spoke with ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Mary Bruce, who is at the debate in Cleveland, to discuss Biden's strategy and whether he will try to fact check Trump in real time. 

"It's clear the gloves here are already off but Joe Biden's team today made it very clear. They said it is not the former vice president's job on the debate stage here tonight to fact check the president. I think that's because they think it would derail him as he tries to focus on the substance here," said Bruce.

"The vice president instead of constantly trying to fact check the president is going to be focused on his message to the American people trying to hammer home on the issues that he thinks matter most voters," she said, adding some of those issues are health care, the pandemic and the president's taxes. 

Bruce noted Biden has been "intensely" preparing for the debate, unlike the president who has been out campaigning. The president has said his strongest debate preparation happens in his interactions with reporters.

ABC News Live will simulcast pre-show coverage until the debate at 9:30 p.m. ET, and immediately after, ABC News' powerhouse political roundtable will add context and analysis.

ABC's News Live's new political show, "Your Voice Your Vote: The Breakdown," checked in with younger voters ahead of the debate -- a college Republican and a college Democrat at the University of Miami -- who are hosting a bipartisan watch party on what issues are important to them. 

"What I think young voters really care about is making our American democracy a more just and equitable one for all," said Rachel Stempler, president of University of Miami Young and College Democrats.

"I think the most important issues for voters here in South Florida, are the detrimental effects of COVID shutdowns and the looming threat of socialist policies coming from the west. I hope to see these issues addressed at the debate," said Andrew Heffler of the University of Miami College Republicans.

"Your Voice Your Vote: The Breakdown" with ABC News Live Update's Diane Macedo and ABC News Senior National Correspondent Terry Moran airs weekdays at 3 p.m. ET and re-airs at 5 p.m., 8 p.m., 10:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. ET on ABC News Live.

In an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper Tuesday evening, Biden senior adviser Symone Sanders said that the former vice president's focus in the debate will be on "kitchen table issues."

"Look, we expect that the American people actually don't want to hear President Trump attack Vice President Biden and his family," Sanders said. "So Joe Biden is going to speak directly to those folks at home tonight about the kitchen table issues that they care most about. And what President Trump decides to do with his time, that's on him."

When asked how Biden is going to deal with Trump possibly attacking the Biden's son Hunter, she said, "This is not about the vice president's son. This is about Joe Biden and Donald Trump."

Sanders went on to downplay the importance of the debate 35 days out from Election Day, saying that Tuesday's event isn't going to "fundamentally change the course of this race."

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

"Joe Biden is going to make the case that this is really about Scranton versus Park Avenue," she added. 

-ABC News' Beatrice Peterson

Climate change -- a hot-button topic for years -- has taken on renewed significance ahead of the 2020 presidential election, with wildfires decimating the West, tropical storms pounding the Gulf Coast and year after year of record temperatures.

Both Trump and Biden largely toe their respective party lines when it comes to issues pertaining to environmental policy.

Throughout his presidency, Trump reversed many American commitments to mitigating climate change, most notably pulling out of the Paris Agreement, removing clean water protections and seeking to fast track environmental reviews of dozens of major energy and infrastructure projects, such as drilling, fuel pipelines and wind farms.

Biden has countered the Trump administration's policies by promising to protect the environment with a proposed a $5 trillion plan.

Here is where each candidate stands on the issues