Highlights from the first presidential debate held in Cleveland.
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.
ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos has kicked off the network's live coverage of the first presidential debate of 2020 between Trump and Biden.
The debate will run commercial free for 90 minutes on ABC and ABC News Live.
Ahead of a campaign stop Tuesday night in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Vice President Mike Pence sat down for a live interview with Brett Baer on Fox News, where he discussed the upcoming debate.
"We're literally just counting the minutes from when I know President Donald Trump is going to take our case to the American people and he's going to take the fight straight to Joe Biden. We're going to lay out the contrast tonight," Pence said.
Looking ahead to how Trump might react to bombshell reporting in The New York Times on his taxes, Pence said the president could instead use Biden's record against him.
"I'm very confident that they took advantage of all of the legal deductions and exemptions that were available in the tax code, and the president tonight may point out the fact that when he was out creating jobs Joe Biden was spending 47 years in Washington, D.C., helping to create that tax code," Pence said.
Pressed by Baer pointing out that Trump initially called it fake news, but then tweeted that it was "illegally obtained information" along with an explanation, Pence first laughed and then said it is the "same old, same old" allegations before touting Trump's record as a businessman. Pence also said Trump paid millions in state and local taxes but said nothing about federal taxes.
"This is not where the American people are focused," he added.
The vice president didn't get into any details about his own debate next week against Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris but said he's "counting the days."
-ABC News' Justin Gomez
ABC News’ Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl talked through what a typical lead-up to a presidential debate looks like with "ABC News Live Prime" anchor Linsey Davis.
Normally, Karl said a candidate talks about how tremendous a debater his opponent is, hoping to make himself look better during the debate. But Trump’s strategy has been different from years past, trying to downplay Biden instead of build him up.
“For months, Donald Trump has done exactly the opposite -- making it sound like, you know, Joe Biden is somebody who can barely string together a couple of sentences,” Karl said. “So they’ve set the expectations very low, and I think there’s some realization that that is not necessarily a good thing.”
Davis then asked Karl how prepared Trump is for the debate, and Karl said Trump hasn’t done much debate preparation. However, a top Trump adviser told Karl that facing reporters in the White House press briefing room is like preparing for a debate.
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.
