Trump, Biden faceoff in first 2020 presidential debate: What they had to say about the Supreme Court, health care & COVID-19

The first, and perhaps most consequential debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden was held Tuesday night in Cleveland, Ohio.

There are now less than five weeks left in this election, but people are already voting.

The first question was on the Supreme Court, with both men discussing the timing of filling the now vacant seat on the Supreme Court.

Debate Takeaways: An acrid tone from the opening minute

Trump said he has the right to fill the seat before or after the election.

Biden said since people are already voting, the American people need to have a say.

But the debate quickly moved from there into the question of health care.

The Affordable Care Act is slated to be heard by the Supreme Court just one week after the election.

Debate veers from ‘How you doing?’ to ‘Will you shut up?’

A repeal of the Affordable Care Act would jeopardize the health care of millions of Americans, making this a vital issue for the court and the country.

But the big thing from the first half-hour was what seemed to be a lack of control.

Trump talked over the moderator, Chris Wallace, while also talking over Biden.

This came to a head early on, when Wallace had to try and bring the debate back under control.

Interruptions galore in messy first Trump-Biden debate

Eventually, the topic moved to COVID-19 and the nationwide death toll that had just topped 200,000. The key topic was how Trump handled the pandemic.

Trump said the nation is just weeks away from a vaccine. But members of the White House coronavirus team have said the end of the year, with full-scale distribution next year.

Cox Media Group