Debate Highlights

I couldn't waste my time watching these two old, white, male buffoons argue like children (no offense to children), but skimming the transcript provided a few laughs. Biden so clearly belongs in the old folks home (no offense to old folks); his only coherent statements were in his closing since obviously he could practice that beforehand. To be clear, I am not voting for Trump. However, I also cannot vote for Biden when he explicitly rejects Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, and potential limits to Supreme Court Justice terms as Barrett sweeps onto the Bench.

Donald Trump: (13:08)
That’s why I got elected. Let’s get off the subject of China. Let’s talk about sitting around the table. Come on, Joe. You could do better.

Donald Trump: (34:26)
They built the cages. Who built the cages, Joe?

Joe Biden: (34:27)
Let’s talk about what we’re talking about.

Donald Trump: (34:28)
Who built the cages, Joe?

Joe Biden: (34:29)
Let’s talk about what we’re talking about. What happened? Parents were ripped… Their kids were ripped from their arms and separated, and now they cannot find over 500 of the sets of those parents, and those kids are alone. Nowhere to go. Nowhere to go. It’s criminal. It’s criminal.

Kristen Welker: (35:05)
Let me ask about your immigration policy, Mr. Vice President. The Obama Administration did fail to deliver immigration reform, which had been a key promise during the administration. It also presided over record deportations, as well as, family detentions at the border before changing course. So why should voters trust you with an immigration overhaul now?

Joe Biden: (35:23)
Because we made a mistake made. It took too long to get it right. Took too long to get it right. I’ll be President of the United States, not Vice President of the United States.

Donald Trump: (36:24)
Kristen, he had eight years to do what he said he was going to do. And I’ve changed. Without having a specific, we got rid of catch and release. We got rid of a lot of horrible things that they put in and that they lived with. But he had eight years he was Vice President. He did nothing except build cages to keep children in.

Donald Trump: (04:53)
But why didn’t he do it four years ago? Why didn’t you do that four years ago? Even less than that. Why didn’t you when you vice president? You keep talking about all these things you’re going to do, and you’re going to do this, but you were there just a short time ago and you guys did nothing.

Joe Biden: (05:09)
We did-

Donald Trump: (05:09)
You know Joe, I ran because of you. I ran because of Barack Obama, because you did a poor job. If I thought you did a good job, I would’ve never run. I would’ve never run. I ran because of you. I’m looking at you now, you’re a politician, I ran because of you.

Kristen Welker: (05:24)
All right, Vice President Biden, your response to that. And then I do have some questions for both of you.

Joe Biden: (05:28)
Well, I’ll tell you what I hope he does look at me because what’s happening here is, you know who I am. You know who he is, you know his character, you know my character, you know our reputations for honor and telling the truth. I am anxious to have this race. I’m anxious to see this take place. I am … The character of the country is on the ballot. Our character’s on the ballot, look at us closely.

Donald Trump: (06:10)
They’re calling it the laptop from hell.

Joe Biden: (06:22)
There are 50 former national intelligence folks who said that what he’s accusing me of is a Russian plant. They have said that this has all the … five former heads of the CIA, both parties, say what he’s saying is a bunch of garbage. Nobody believes it except him and his good friend, Rudy Giuliani.

Donald Trump: (06:44)
You mean the laptop is now another Russia, Russia, Russia hoax? You got to be kidding me-

Joe Biden: (06:51)
That’s exactly what was told.

Donald Trump: (06:51)
This is where he’s going. The laptop is Russia, Russia, Russia?

Donald Trump: (06:56)
You have to be kidding, here we go again with the Russia. Boy, oh, boy.

Joe Biden: (10:11)
One of the things is that in the ’80s we passed 100 percent, all 100 senators voted for a bill on drugs and how to deal with drugs, it was a mistake. I’ve been trying to change since then particularly the portion on cocaine. That’s why I’ve been arguing that in fact we should not send anyone to jail for a pure drug offense, they should be going into treatment across the board, that’s what we should be spending money. And that’s why I set up drug courts which were never funded by our Republican friends. They should not be going to jail for a drug or an alcohol problem, they should be going into treatment. That’s what we’ve been trying to do, that’s what I’m going to get done because I think the American people have now seen that in fact it was a mistake to pass those laws relating to drugs, but they were not in the Crime Bill.

Donald Trump: (11:04)
But, why didn’t he get it done? See, it’s all talk, no action with these politicians, why didn’t he get it? “That’s what I’m going to do when I become president.” You were vice president along with Obama as your president, your leader, for eight years, why didn’t you get it done? You had eight years to get it done, now you’re saying you’re going to get it done because you’re all talking and no action, Joe.