Biden's ABC town hall: Former VP lays out vision in stark contrast to Trump's

Biden spoke about the current situation with the Supreme Court and didn't express confidence in Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett's testimony this week.

"I don't even think she has laid out much of a judicial philosophy, in terms of the bases upon which she thinks are there unenumerated rights in the Constitution," he said.

Biden reiterated that her hearings and vote should not have been held this close to the election.

"You get disagreement among scholars on this, but I believe it's inconsistent, when millions of people have already voted to put someone on the court. I think it ... should have been held until ... this election is over.

Stephanopoulos asked Biden if he would consider expanding the Supreme Court, noting that a year ago during a primary debate he was against court packing.

Biden declined to respond, because he said he didn't want to distract from the biggest issues.

"No matter what answer I gave you, if I say it, that's the headline tomorrow. It won't be about what's going on now. The improper way they're proceeding," he said.

When pressed by Stephanopoulos, Biden said he will have a more clear position before Election Day, "depending on how (the Senate) handled this."

Biden encouraged voters, however, to use this opportunity to vote for leaders who can influence the courts.

"That's your opportunity to get involved in lifetime appointments that have. Presidents come and go, justices stay and stay and stay," he said.

Angelica Politarhos, a Republican voter from Garnett Valley, Pennsylvania, asked Biden about his view now on the 1994 Crime Bill. 

"Things have changed drastically," the former vice president said. "That crime bill, when we voted, the black caucus voted for it, every black mayor supported it across the board."

When Stephanopoulos asked Biden if it was a mistake to support the bill, he said the mistake occurred at the state level.

"The mistake came in terms of what the states did locally," he said. "What we did federally, we said it was -- you remember, George, it was all about the same time for the same crime."

Stephanopoulos also asked Biden about previously saying that more police meant less crime. Biden said that only works if those police officers were doing community policing. 

"We had community policing from the mid '90s on until -- until (George W.) Bush got elected, what happened? Violent crime actually went down," Biden said. 

"The cops didn't like it," he added. "They didn't like the community policing because you had to have two people in a vehicle. They had to get out of their cars." 

Biden went on to call for de-escalation training for police. "So instead of anybody coming at you and the first thing you do is shoot to kill, you shoot them in the leg," he said. 

He also called for psychologists to accompany police officers on calls where mental health is a factor.

Cedric Humphrey, a Black student, brought up race issues in his question to Biden.

Humphrey noted that young Black voters are conflicted between voting for Trump and not voting. He also made a reference to controversial comments Biden made in May during an interview for a radio show, which he later apologized for.

"So my question for you then is, besides 'you ain't black,' what do you have to say to young black voters who see voting for you as further participation in a system that continually fails to protect them?"

Biden brought up several proposals including expanding educational opportunities for all Americans, which he said propels people to a better economic standing.

"The federal government spends billions of dollars a year on universities because they're ... the best-kept secret of where most of the major inventions come out of," he said. "And so that school will now be able to produce young black women and men who are going to go into a field of a future that's burgeoning."

Biden also said he would expand a program under President Barack Obama that provided over $1.5 billion to small business associations across the country.

Stephanopoulos asked Humphrey if he heard what he needed to hear, to which the voter responded, "I think so."

Biden said he would speak with Humphrey after the town hall to answer any more questions.

This is Biden's third run for president. Here's what you need to know about the Democratic presidential nominee.