The Democratic nominee spoke of Americans lost to the coronavirus, parried attacks over his son and proceeded cautiously on immigration.
The debate between President Trump and Joseph R. Biden Jr. had its share of sharp clashes on Thursday evening, as the two candidates met for the final time before Election Day. Mr. Biden, who remains ahead in national and key battleground polling, framed Mr. Trump as a divisive leader who has failed to guide the country through the coronavirus pandemic. The president, who interrupted his opponent much less than during their first debate (partly because of new debate rules), denounced Mr. Biden’s international and domestic record. Here are four standout moments from Mr. Biden during the debate, which was held at Belmont University in Nashville. The first question of the debate went to Mr. Trump, asking about his handling of the pandemic. The president, invoking his own diagnosis with the virus and seeking to turn the page away from the topic, said that Americans were “learning to live with” the outbreak and that the “country can’t lock ourselves up in a basement like Joe does.” Mr. Biden used the moment to do something the president has not: acknowledge the hundreds of thousands in the country who have lost loved ones to the virus. He shot back that Americans are “learning to die with” the virus, and highlighted how families are missing loved ones at the dinner table or in their bedrooms. The words served a dual political purpose. Mr. Biden wants to center this election on Mr. Trump’s pandemic response, which has earned low marks from both voters and health experts. Mr. Biden has also fashioned himself as a comforter in chief, using moments of grief to highlight his history of family tragedy and connect with voters on a human level. Throughout the week, Mr. Trump’s allies had made clear he intended to attack Mr. Biden over his son’s business dealings, including those in China. Conservative news outlets have zeroed in on that angle as Election Day nears, hoping to cast Mr.
