While President Donald Trump called himself the ‘least racist person in this room,’ Democrat Joe Biden gave the exact opposite assessment during a tussle over race during the Nashville presidential debate.
‘Abraham Lincoln here is one of the most racist presidents in modern history,’ Biden said.
Trump had tried to tarnish Biden’s civil rights record by pointing to his Senate vote in the 1994 crime bill and falsely claimed the former vice president had referred to black men as ‘super predators.’
President Donald Trump claimed he was the ‘least racist person in this room,’ after debate moderator Kristen Welker asked him about calling Black Lives Matter a ‘symbol of hate’ and sharing a video to Twitter of a man shouting ‘white power’
‘Abraham Lincoln here is one of the most racist presidents in modern history,’ Democrat Joe Biden said of Trump after Trump again made the claim that ‘nobody has done more for the black community than Donald Trump … with the exception of Abraham Lincoln’
‘Nobody has done more for the black community than Donald Trump … with the exception of Abraham Lincoln, possible exception, but with the exception of Abraham Lincoln, nobody has done what I’ve done,’ Trump said, repeating a boast he’s been making all year, name-dropping the president who ended slavery.
The president pointed to his record of funding historically black colleges and universities, signing the bipartisan First Step act – a big criminal justice reform bill – and creating so-called ‘opportunity zones’ to boost minority communities.
Debate moderator Kristen Welker asked Trump about a different part of his record – noting how he had called the Black Lives Matter movement a ‘symbol of hate.’
She also mentioned how Trump had shared a video of a man chanting ‘white power’ and he lashed out at athletes who have taken a knee over racial inequality.
Moderator Kristen Welker of NBC News had started out the discussion on race asking both presidential candidates about ‘the talk’ – essentially when families of color tell their kids they could be victimized, including by the police, because of the color of their skin
‘The first time I ever heard of Black Lives Matter, they were chanting “Pigs in a blanket,” talking about our police, “fry them like a bacon,” I said that is a horrible thing,’ the president said. ‘I thought it was a terrible thing.’
He then made the claim,’ I am the least racist person in this room.’
Biden then made fun of Trump’s Abraham Lincoln line.
‘He pours a fuel on every single racist fire,’ Biden said. ‘Every single one.’
‘He started his campaign coming down the escalators that he was going to get rid of those Mexican rapists. He banned muslims because they are muslims. He said about the poor boys last time he was on stage, he told them to stand down and stand ready,’ Biden said.
POLL SHOWS JOE BIDEN NARROWLY WON THE FINAL PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
Former Vice President Joe Biden was narrowly judged to have won Thursday night’s final presidential debate by 42% of viewers, while 39% of viewers believe President Donald Trump came out on top, according to a new poll for DailyMail.com.
In a census-balanced OnePoll survey of over 500 people, the economy was the prevailing issue Americans wanted to hear the candidates speak about, followed by the coronavirus outbreak and healthcare.
Who do you feel won the debate?
Did the final presidential debate affect your choice of who to vote for?
Which topic was important to you to hear candidates speak about tonight?
Do allegations of corruption of Hunter Biden change what you think of his father?
A little more than half of the viewers said the debate did not affect who they will vote for, with 52% saying their mind is made up, while 38% said the debate did make an impact on their preferred candidate and 12% were undecided.
The Hunter Biden corruption scandal loomed over the debate, with 48% saying the allegations against Biden’s youngest son did not impact their opinion of his father. But 39% said it had changed what they think of the former Vice President.
An overwhelming 64% thought muting the microphones was effective after the trainwreck first debate saw the candidates constantly interrupting one another.
The same 64% voted that they would like to see microphones muted for all future debates.
How effectively do you feel the final presidential debate was moderated?
Do you feel the muting of microphones (for candidates not answering in initial questioning) was effective?
Would you like to see microphone muting for all future presidential debates?
There was widespread praise for NBC’s Kristen Welker who moderated the debate, with 79% of viewers saying that it was moderated well. Of that, 37% said it was moderated ‘very effectively’ and 42% thought ‘quite effectively’.
60% of viewers agreed that the final debate restored their faith in the format of presidential debates after the first.
Overall, 47% of American viewers found Thursday night’s final presidential debate informative, with 18% feeling it was very helpful, 29% saying quite helpful and 30% voting that it was ‘neither helpful or unhelpful’.
What is your ethnicity?
What region do you live in?
The majority of voters in the poll were white Democrats between the ages of 25-34.
37% of poll participants were from the South, while 22% were from the Midwest, 21% from the West and 18% from the Northeast.
The genders were evenly split in the survey, with 50.57% female and 49.43% male.
He messed up the name of the right-wing group, the Proud Boys.
‘Come on, this guy is a dog whistle about as big as a fog horn,’ Biden said.
Trump bristled that Biden had smacked him for his Lincoln boast, pointing out the Democrat got the context wrong.
‘He made a reference to Abraham Lincoln, where did that come in?’ Trump said. ‘No, I said not since Abraham Lincoln has anybody done what I’ve done for the black community. I didn’t say I’m Abraham Lincoln.’
Trump returned to his attack line on the crime bill.
Biden uttered, ‘Oh God.’
Earlier in the conversation Biden had flat-out said the crime bill ‘was a mistake.’
He also pointed to the fact that he and President Barack Obama had a Republican Congress that prevented them from getting some criminal justice initiatives done.
He pushed that no American should be on jail for just drug charges, they should be placed in rehabilitation instead.
Welker had kicked off the segment on race by asking each of the candidates if they understand why families of color had to give their kids ‘the talk’ – essentially tell them they could be victimized, including by the police, because of the color of their skin.
‘I never had to tell my daughter if she’s pulled over make sure she puts … both hands on top of the wheel and don’t reach for the glove box because someone might shoot you,’ Biden said. ‘But a black parent, no matter how wealthy or how poor they are, has to teach their child when you’re walking down the street don’t have a hoodie on when you go across the street,’ he used as an example.
Trump answered in the affirmative and then talked about his record.
‘Yes, I do,’ Trump told Welker, telling her he understood ‘the talk.’