1st presidential debate between Trump and Biden spirals into chaotic clash
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.
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At least 1.1 million voters already cast their ballots in the 2020 election ahead of 1st presidential debate, according to election expert's analysis
Ahead of tonight's presidential debate, a first opportunity to see former Vice President Joe Biden and President Trump spar over a range of critical issues, some voters already decided who they are voting for.
At least 1.1 million ballots have already been cast in the 2020 election, according to data compiled by Michael McDonald, an elections expert and professor of political science at the University of Florida.
Across the 14 state reporting data -- Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Illinois, Virginia, South Carolina, Montana, South Dakota and New Jersey -- voters cast a total of 1,144,059 ballots, as of the most recent reports.
McDonald cautions that the total number is likely higher because he does not "have complete reports for all states."
On Sunday, when the vote total was just under 1 million, McDonald wrote in his analysis that the volume of early voters "this far in advance of an election has never occurred in any American election. Period."
"Around this time in 2016, I noted only 9,525 people had voted," he wrote. "There literally is no comparison since at this comparable point in time in 2016, so few people had cast early votes that states did not bother to release any data."
-ABC News' Kendall Karson
Trump vs. Biden on the issues: Racial justice
The horrific killing of George Floyd in March set off massive protests across the country against racial injustice and police brutality.
Over the months that followed, new and previous supporters of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement held demonstrations from coast to coast and a new generation of Americans protested for racial equality.
Race is now at the center of the national conversation heading into the final weeks of the 2020 campaign for president, from the disproportionate impact the novel coronavirus pandemic has had on communities of color to reforms that would help address racial disparities in policing.
It has also been a complicated issue for both candidates over the course of their long careers. Former Vice President Joe Biden made history by choosing a Black woman, Kamala Harris, to be his running mate and served alongside the nation's first Black president.
But he has also drawn criticism for his position on busing in the 1970's to help end segregation in schools and the 1994 crime bill, which helped lead to an era of mass incarceration.
Trump set the tone for his presidency when he said Mexico was not sending its best immigrants, including "rapists," on the day he announced his campaign. That was followed by a call to ban Muslim immigration, his perpetuation of the debunked "birther" conspiracy against President Barack Obama among other things. And he has largely ignored the sources of the racial unrest that has erupted around the country in recent months.
At the same time, Trump has claimed he is the least racist person and touted the economic opportunities he has created for African Americans during his presidency.
-ABC News' Justin Gomez
FiveThirtyEight election coverage
The FiveThirtyEight presidential election forecast has Joe Biden with a 78 in 100 chance of winning the Electoral College -- but the outcome is a long way from certain.
Check out some of FiveThirtyEight's debate and election content here:
Will the first presidential debate shake up the race?
Inside Trump debate preparations
President Trump had planned to meet with a small team of advisers over the weekend to go over to go over topics ahead of Tuesday night's faceoff, sources familiar told ABC News.
Over the last few weeks the president has resisted typical debate prep, similar to 2016. This time, debate meetings have taken place both at the White House and the president's weekend retreat in Bedminster, New Jersey, with sessions often including top advisers such as former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien, Jason Miller and Jared Kushner along with other top aides.
The sessions have often featured conversations about potential debate topics or issues of the day that are on the president's mind with few traditional sessions such as mock debates, according to sources familiar with the meetings.
Trump has also been eager to target Biden personally, looking to lean into attacks on his son, Hunter Biden, once he's on the debate stage, including over his Ukraine business dealings while his father was in office, though he has denied any wrongdoing and has never faced charges, sources said. The president even previewed that strategy at a rally Fayetteville, North Carolina, laying into the former vice president's son and saying, "I think it'll be brought up in the debate."
-ABC News' Will Steakin, Katherine Faulders and John Santucci
Trump, Biden compete for battleground Ohio ahead of 1st debate
Despite Republican successes in statewide races in Ohio since 2016, the Buckeye State has become increasingly competitive as Trump and former vice president Joe Biden prepare to face off in Cleveland for their first debate on Tuesday.
In recent weeks Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have traveled repeatedly to Ohio, where they defeated Hillary Clinton and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., her vice presidential candidate, in 2016, 51% to 43%.
Republicans also performed well statewide two years ago, winning the gubernatorial race and other down-ballot contests.
“Ohioans showed up for President Trump in 2016 and we expect them to do the same this November,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Samantha Zager told ABC News.
The president’s campaign has had a permanent presence on the ground in Ohio since 2016, and said they have made more than 10 million voter contacts in the state, where they and other GOP groups continue to canvass on the ground during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Biden campaign, meanwhile, has relied on virtual and digital organizing in the state during the pandemic, and has hosted hundreds of events and held 450,000 conversations with voters over the last month. Following Tuesday's debate, Biden will take a train tour of the state on Wednesday.
Biden has delivered a sharp economic message focused on Trump's record, centered on Toledo and Youngstown, home to several car plants and many blue-collar voters who abandoned Democrats and voted for Trump for years ago.
He's run at least eight television ads in recent weeks, including a response to Trump's call for a ban on Goodyear, the Ohio-based tire company than ran in Akron, where the company is based.
In an election year reshaped by the coronavirus pandemic, it’s also playing host to a number of legal battles over access to ballot drop boxes, which are increasingly used by voters as an alternative to in-person voting or relying on the United States Postal Service, amid concerns about service delays.
Read more about the battle for Ohio here.
-ABC News' Ben Siegel and Adia Robinson