The long-awaited first debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden starts tonight at 9 p.m ET at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. Black News Alerts has you covered with potential topics.
What to Expect:
- One topic sure to receive a great deal of attention is the issue of mail-in ballots. These ballots have been proposed as a safe alternative to heading to the polls during the COVID-19 pandemic, though President Trump has found issue with them believing it gives an unfair advantage to Democrats. “I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots and the ballots are a disaster,” the president said in press briefing last week. President Trump feels so strongly about the risk of mail-in ballots that he has refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power if he loses in November.
- What goes around, comes back around. One of the biggest issues of the 2016 election was Donald Trump’s taxes. The billionaire real estate mogul refused to release his tax returns, a precedent presidential candidates had followed for years. This week, it was reveled that Trump payed just $750 in federal income taxes in 2016. We’ll be sure to see questions about Trump’s finances tonight as well as attacks from Vice President Biden.
- So, what about this drug test requirement? There is none, though Donald Trump wishes there was. The president has repeatedly called on Joe Biden to take a drug test, believing he is on performance enhancing drugs. Though the claims are baseless, we’ll see if Trump presses Biden on the issue tonight on the debate stage.
Joe Biden just announced that he will not agree to a Drug Test. Gee, I wonder why?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 28, 2020
- Last, but certainly not least, there’s the matter of the Supreme Court. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s death left a vacancy on the High Court with just over a month until Election Day. The last time this occurred was in 2016 when Justice Antonin Scalia passed. At the time, President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to fill the seat where a Republican held Senate, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, refused to hold a vote, saying precedent required that the winner of the 2016 election nominate the future justice.
- Hypocrisy has now dominated political talking points these past few weeks as Republicans push to fill the seat now and Democrats demand they wait until January. President Donald Trump has since nominated U.S. Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett to be Ginsberg’s successor, setting up a showdown on Capitol Hill. Both candidates should be expected to make their case to the American people in Cleveland tonight.
Other topics, like COVID-19, the Affordable Care Act and social injustice, will surely be added to the slate of questions thrown at the two men. Stick with us for more updates as the event nears!
