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

Highlights from Biden's town hall with voters in Philadelphia.

Last Updated: October 22, 2020, 7:11 PM EDT

With less than three weeks to Election Day, Democratic nominee for president Joe Biden faced voters directly in an ABC News Town Hall from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Thursday night.

The live special edition of "20/20" -- titled "The Vice President and the People" -- was moderated by ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos.

The primetime event followed a fiery back-and-forth on the fate of the second presidential debate, which was originally scheduled for Thursday in Miami but ultimately canceled last Friday.

The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates changed its format to be virtual following President Donald Trump's positive COVID-19 diagnosis, to which Trump took issue, saying he wouldn't "waste" time in a virtual debate. With Trump's rejection of the event, Biden then agreed to participate in the town hall with ABC News.

Voters had the opportunity to ask the former vice president the questions most important to them

The event was held in accordance with state and local government health and safety regulations, as well as guidelines set forward by health officials.

Trump, at the same time Thursday, participated in a town hall from Miami with NBC News. The president participated in an ABC News town hall in September.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developed. All times Eastern.
Oct 15, 2020, 10:16 PM EDT

FACT CHECK: Biden correct Trump has overstated Regeneron drug's promise -- but wrong that there's no plan

BIDEN'S CLAIM: Biden said he had not seen a distribution plan for Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19. "What's happening is there is no plan to figure out how to distribute it," he said. "How many -- you know, we have 500,000, you know, vials of it. Well, we don't have all the testing equipment. We don't have all the ability to get it to the people who need it.”

FACT CHECK: Biden is correct to suggest that Trump has overstated the promise of Regeneron's monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19.

However, there is a federal plan for distribution of the treatment touted by Trump.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has said the government is stockpiling doses of antibody treatments for Americans and that it plans to distribute those doses to state governments and hospitals similar to how it delivered the drug remdesivir, another therapeutic that has been administered to people with COVID-19.

Since Oct. 1, hospitals have been able to purchase remdesivir, also known as Veklury, directly from the drug’s distributor. Over the past five months, the U.S. government had overseen the allocation and distribution of the drug in its limited supply.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar has said his agency does not anticipate a problem with delivering the doses so long as the drug receives authorization from regulators.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos, Sony Salzman and Anne Flaherty

Oct 15, 2020, 10:11 PM EDT

Biden takes more questions following end of town hall

After Stephanopoulos ended the 90-minute town hall, Biden put on a mask and took questions from voters who remained in the hall.

Former Vice President Joe Biden answers questions from members of the audience after an ABC News Town Hall in Philadelphia, Oct. 15, 2020.
ABC News

"This is what Joe Biden loves," ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz said following the town hall. "We'll all probably be in bed before he's out of that hall."

Former Vice President Joe Biden answers questions from the audience after an ABC News Town Hall in Philadelphia, Oct. 15, 2020.
ABC News

Oct 15, 2020, 10:08 PM EDT

Biden promises to unify the country

Democratic voter Keenan Wilson started his question by referencing that the former vice president said he entered the race following the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. He asked Biden how he would steer Trump and his supporters "towards the ideals of a more perfect union."

Biden said he doesn't think Trump would stop his rhetoric and added that the president was emboldened by his impeachment.

The vice president said he would lead by the example set by his father and treat everyone with dignity.

"Whether I'm a defeated candidate for president, back teaching or I'm elected president, it is a major element of everything that I'm about," he said.

Biden said he feels most Americans want to be inclusive and provide opportunities to all regardless of race or background.

"If I'm elected president, you will not hear me race baiting, you will not hear me dividing, you will hear me trying to unify," he said.

Stephanopoulos asked Biden, if he lost, what that would say about the country.

"Well, it could say that I'm a lousy candidate and I didn't do a good job, but I think -- I hope that it doesn't say that we are as racially, ethically and religiously at odds with one other as it appears the president wants us to be," he said.

The vice president, however, said he is committed to making sure that if elected he would be a voice for all Americans.

"I think the people are ready, they understand what's at stake," he said. "I'm going to take care of those who voted against me as well as those who voted for me. For real. That's what presidents do. We've got to heal this nation."

Oct 15, 2020, 9:51 PM EDT

FACT CHECK: Biden claims Trump has no clear plan for vaccine distribution. But the Trump administration has outlined a plan. 

BIDEN'S CLAIM: Biden claimed that neither he nor the doctors he has spoken with had not seen a plan from the administration to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine. "There should be a plan," he said. "When we have the vaccine, how do we distribute it?"

FACT CHECK: The Trump administration does have a plan to distribute a potential COVID-19 vaccine, although the president has misrepresented how quickly it could be distributed.

Some of that plan was outlined in a Sept. 16 "Distribution Strategy," released jointly by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Defense.

The documents, according to HHS, provide an overview of distribution plans along with guidelines for "state, tribal, territorial, and local public health programs and their partners on how to plan and operationalize a vaccination response to COVID-19" in their communities.

The Trump administration also created "Operation Warp Speed," a partnership between HHS and DOD, as well as other private and federal agencies, to accelerate the research, development and eventual distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar has said that as part of Operation Warp Speed, federal officials have been laying the groundwork for vaccine delivery. "This in-depth, round-the-clock planning work with our state and local partners and trusted community organizations, especially through CDC, will ensure that Americans can receive a safe and effective vaccine in record time," Azar said in a press release last month. 

Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention executed a contract with McKesson -- the company that distributes the annual flu vaccine -- to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available. 

Trump, though, has exaggerated how quickly most Americans could receive it, suggesting it would be widely available by the end of the year or even sooner. Federal public health officials and outside experts say most Americans will not be able to get vaccinated until well into next year.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos and Sony Salzman

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