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.
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.
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Biden criticizes Trump's foreign policy
Voter Mark Halfman, who cast a ballot for Trump in 2016, described the president's foreign policy as a "modern-day miracle" citing his Middle East peace plan and reduction in troops overseas.
He asked Biden if the president deserved some credit, to which the vice president said, "a little but not a whole lot."
"We find ourselves in a position where we're more isolated in the world than we ever have been," Biden said. "'America first' has made America alone."
Biden cited Trump's relationship with questionable figures and hurting relationships with America's democratic allies.
"You see what’s happened and everything from Belarus to Poland ... to Hungary and the rise of the totalitarian regimes in the world. And as well as this president embraces all the thugs in the world," he said.
Biden reiterates that he would not ban fracking, discusses the environment
When asked about the environment, Biden reiterated that he would not ban fracking, calling instead for the practice to be managed "very, very well."
"I think you have to make sure that fracking is, in fact, not admitting methane or polluting the well or dealing with what can be small earthquakes and how they're drilling," he said. "So it has to be managed very, very well."
The former vice president also said that the future rests in renewable energy and criticized Trump for his comments on the environment.
"Every time we talk about global warming or the environment, the president thinks of, you know, it's a joke and I think it's jobs," Biden said.
"I, as president, am going to invest that $600 billion we spend on government contracts only on those things that, in fact, also are not only made in America, but building an infrastructure that's clean and new," he added.
Stephanopoulos pushed back on Biden, citing a New York Times op-ed written by a member of the Boilermakers Local-154, who said that fracking was at odds with Biden's goal to end the use of fossil fuels.
After touting the union's endorsement, Biden said that he would end oil subsidies. He also tried to distinguish between his plan and the Green New Deal.
"The new green deal calls for the elimination of all -- all nonrenewable energy by 2030," he said. "You can't get there. You're going to need to be able to transition, George, to be able to transition to get to the place where we invest in new technologies that allow us to do things that get us to a place where we get to net zero emission, including in agriculture."
Biden talks about Supreme Court
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.
Biden questioned on his support of the 1994 Crime Bill
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.
Biden criticizes Trump on the economy
Anthony, a Republican voter from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, asked Biden about his assertion that he wouldn't raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 a year and how that fit with his promise to repeal the Trump tax cuts.
Biden said that the majority of those tax cuts, $1.3 trillion out of a total $2 trillion, went to the wealthiest Americans.
"If you raise the corporate tax just back to 28%, which is a fair tax, you'd raise $1,300,000,000 by that one act," he said. "If you made sure people making over $400,000 paid what they did in the Bush administration, 39.6%, you'd raise another -- it goes up to, let me get you the exact number here -- about another 200 -- excuse me, $92 billion."
Stephanopoulos asked Biden if the economy could handle the tax increases after the (devastation) caused by the pandemic. Biden pointed to a Moody's analysis of his tax plan which said his plan would create 18.6 million jobs and raise the GDP by a trillion dollars. He also talked about the wealth that billionaires gained, while millions of Americans were out of work.
Trump "talks about a V-shaped recovery. It's a K-shaped recovery," Biden said. "If you're on the top, you're going to do very well. ... If you're at the bottom, or you're in the middle or the bottom, your income is coming down. You're not getting a raise."
Stephanopoulos pressed Biden on whether it's wise to raise the corporate tax when the economy is weak.
"We're going to invest a great deal of that money into infrastructure and green infrastructure," he said.