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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Trump Jr. defends his father’s tax record by attacking Biden
Donald Trump Jr., who is a part of his father's re-election campaign, pointed to some of his father's accomplishments -- a great economy before COVID-19 and getting closer to achieving peace in the Middle East -- before moving onto his father's opponent.
When pressed by ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos about his father's tax record and debt, which was first reported by the New York Times, Trump Jr. went on the attack.
"If people have a problem with the tax code, talk to Joe Biden," Trump Jr. said. "He's the guy that's been legislating these things or 47 years."
Protesters gather outside the debate hall
Outside the debate site in Cleveland on Tuesday, protesters were seen wearing costumes -- appearing to criticize Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett -- and holding signs in support of Black Lives Matter.
One photographer captured a Trump supporter in a red "Make America Great Again" hat and a counter protester in a shirt reading "racism is a public health issue" arguing ahead of the debate.
Harris watching the debate from Howard University
Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris will be watching the debate from Howard University with her husband Doug Emhoff and members of her staff, according to an aide. Harris earned bachelor's degrees in political science and economics at the university in Washington, D.C.
--ABC News’ Averi Harper
Martha Raddatz only journalist to moderate debates with both Biden, Trump
ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Raddatz said Trump is combative when he debates, saying "dealing with Donald Trump is more like being a lion tamer than a debate moderator. You really have to keep him on time. He'll go after the moderator."
Biden, Raddatz said, often uses humor when he debates.
Trump warns of fraud with mail-in ballots, Biden fact checks him using Trump officials
The final question to both candidates was how will they reassure the American people that the next president will be the legitimate winner of this election.
Biden answered first by urging Americans to make a voting plan before they get to the polls, before assuring Americans that their mail-in votes would be counted.
"His own homeland security director as well as the FBI director says there is no evidence at all that mail-in ballots are a source of being manipulated and cheating. They said that the fact is that there are going to be millions of people because of COVID that are going to be voting by mail in ballots -- like he does by the way, he sits behind the Resolute desk and sends his ballot to Florida."
"Number two, we're going to make sure that those people who want to vote in person, are able to vote," Biden added.
Trump struck a different note warning of "fraud like you've never seen."
"As far as the ballots are concerned, it's a disaster," Trump said. "They're sending millions of ballots all over the country."
"I think we're going to do well because people are really happy with the job we've done. But you know what, we won't know -- we might not know for months, because these ballots are going to be all over," Trump added.
Elections officials in dozens of states have stood firm in expressing confidence to ABC News that they'll be able to effectively carry out expanded mail-in voting in November, despite Trump's repeated claims of rampant voter fraud.