2020 Presidential Debate Transcript

Full Transcript of the First 2020 Presidential Debate Between Donald Trump and Joe Biden

Moderated by Chris Wallace of Fox News

Chris Wallace, Moderator: Welcome to the first of the 2020 presidential debates between President Donald J. Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. This debate is being held at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.

President Trump, Vice President Biden, thank you both for being here tonight. We're going to have a series of segments tonight, each with a different topic. We're going to start with the topic of the coronavirus pandemic.

President Donald Trump:

Thank you, Chris. It's great to be here. I think we've done a phenomenal job on the coronavirus pandemic. We've saved millions of lives.

Vice President Joe Biden:

I disagree with the President. I think we've had a very poor response to the coronavirus pandemic. We've had over 200,000 deaths in this country. That's more than any other country in the world.

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Conclusion: The first presidential debate of 2020 was a contentious affair, with both candidates trading barbs and interrupting each other throughout the night. On the topic of the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump defended his administration's response, while Vice President Biden criticized it. The debate did not result in any clear consensus on who won, and it is likely that the race for the presidency will remain close until the very end.