Former Vice President Joe Biden will participate in ABC’s town hall event at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Thursday evening.
Stay tuned to Breitbart News for live updates.
All times Eastern.
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9:31 PM: Biden asked if the next debate will happen and if he will demand Trump take a COVID test. Biden says it’s just “decency” to take the test. Biden says he is worried about the people working the cameras and the Secret Service agents. Biden says he will abide by what the commission calls for. He says he was ready to debate virtually but Trump wasn’t ready for that. Biden says the Cleveland Cleveland will not let what happened the last time, and he says he expects to be there.
Biden town hall concludes without any questions about Hunter Biden. Stephanopoulos thanks Biden and says the questioners were terrific who did a service to democracy.
9:22 PM: A Democrat asks Biden about entering the race after Charlottesville 2017. He asks if he loses, how will he use his platform to get Trump and those rallying behind him to support a more perfect union.
Biden says that would be hard because Trump has not shown that he has been “chastened” by being the only president impeached and have a member of his own party vote to expel him. He says Trump has only become emboldened.
Biden says he would focus on these issues as a professor and at the Biden Institute.
Biden says America is a country where everyone is an immigrant except indigenous people and people who came here as slaves 400 years ago.
Biden says if he is elected president, he will not “race-bait” like Trump and try to unify.
Moderator asks what will it say about America if he loses, Biden says it will say he is a “lousy candidate.” He says he hopes it doesn’t say we are as racially, ethnically, and religiously at odds with each other like Trump wants us to be.
9:15 PM: A mother with a transgender child asks Biden how he will reverse the Trump’s administration’s “dangerous and discriminatory” agenda.
Biden says he will “flat-out just change the law” and “eliminate those executive orders.”
Biden says too many transgendered women of color are being murdered and says an eight-year-old child who decides life could be easier as a transgender person should not be discriminated against.
(After Hirono’s questioning about “sexual preference” during Barrett’s confirmation hearing, will the transgender community go after Biden for his remarks about people choosing to be transgender?)
9:12 PM: “A conservative who voted for Trump in 2016” asks Biden about international relations. He says peace is breaking out all over the world and asks if Trump’s foreign policy deserves some credit.
Biden says “a little” but not “a lot.” He says America is isolated now more than ever and North Korea has more bombs and Iran has more material to build a nuclear weapon. Biden says America is isolated in the Pacific and Japan and Korea are at odds. Biden says we are less secure than we have been before complimenting Trump’s Middle East peace deal.
But Biden says America is not trusted, saying Trump came behind Russia’s Putin and China’s Xi in an international poll about trust. Biden rips Trump for allowing NATO to crack and not talking to Putin about Russian bounties on American soldiers. Biden says Trump “embraces all of the thugs in the world” and says he is “best friends” with North Korea’s dictator and they trade “love letters.” Biden says Trump has learned the “art of the steal” from Xi. Biden says Trump gets “laughed at” when he goes to the United Nations and there is a “lack of respect” being showed to America under Trump.
9:00 PM: A “Republican” who votes for Democrats starts off by denouncing fracking and says it is harming Southwestern Pennsylvania. She asks about bringing energy jobs in a way that is better for the environment.
Biden claims he did not propose banning fracking before saying fracking should not deal with polluting wells or producing small earthquakes. Biden says the future rests with renewable energy and speaks extensively about solar energies and batteries in basement and a host of other things.
Biden talks about weatherizing millions of homes and buildings that will provide good union wages.
Stephanopoulos says not everyone buys his answer on fracking and reads him critical remarks from someone from a local boilermakers union. Biden claims most of the boilermakers support him even though many have supported Trump at his rallies.
When asked if he supports fracking, Biden says he is not for the “New Green Deal” framework.
8:51 PM: A disaffected Republican who supported John Kasich and whose father was the secretary of transportation under Reagan (Drew Lewis) blames Trump for a host of ills and asks Biden if he will resist the temptation to exact revenge.
Biden says in politics grudges don’t work, citing an article that wondered if Biden were Irish because he doesn’t hold grudges.
Biden says with Trump out of the way, there will be 4-8 Republican Senators who will be open to supporting parts of his agenda. Biden now talking about his Cancer Moonshot plan.
Biden says he will let the “Department of Justice be the Department of Justice” if presented with evidence of Trump’s wrongdoings. He says they are not his lawyers and will not leave options off the table.
8:45 PM: Next question is about the Supreme Court. Question says the Court has become more polarized. He asks about ideas about “safeguards” for more long-term stability. He then asks about LGBT Americans being concerned about their rights.
Biden says he read online that Barrett has not answered questions and did not lay out a judicial philosophy. He says “there is great reason” to be concerned for the LGBT community.
Biden says health care overall is “very much in jeopardy” because Trump will go directly to the Supreme Court to get Obamacare “wiped out.”
Biden thinks Barrett’s nomination should have been held until the next election.
When finally pressed about court packing, Biden again says he is not answering the question because Biden says the focus would have been on what Biden is going to do when he wins instead of what is going on if he had answered the question. Biden says there are four or five options available for “safeguards.” He says he has not been a fan of court packing but “it depends on how this turns out” and “how it’s handled.” Biden says there should be a real live debate on the floor.
When asked if voters have a right to know, Biden says they do and says he will come out with a clear position depending on how Republicans handle Barrett’s nomination, suggesting he will have these options on the table.
8:31 PM: A Republican who voted for Trump asks Biden about the Crime Bill that showed “prejudice against minorities.” Biden says the “Black caucus” and every black mayor voted for it at the time. Biden is on the defensive, saying there was a lot of things that were “bad and good.” He talks about the Violence Against Women Act that was included. He mentions about drug courts for mandatory rehabilitation. Biden says we should decriminalize marijuana and wipe out records.
Biden now talks about writing the Second Chance Act with Arlen Specter. He admits that it was a mistake supporting it.
Biden giving a prolonged explanation about the “same time for the same crime” and how the bill was marked up in the judiciary committee with obscure minutiae before Stephanopoulos gives him a lifeline about whether he believes more cops equal less crime. Biden says he still believes that if means community policing and not jump squads.
When asked about “systemic problems,” Biden says he will set up a national task force with cops and members of the black community and other stakeholders to solve various problems. He says cops don’t like bad cops and says there are a lot of things we have learned that we can do like banning chokeholds and de-escalating circumstances. Biden says instead of shooting to kill, cops could shoot them in the leg.
Biden says one of things that must change is that cops get called into circumstances where people are “mentally off,” so that is why there must be “psychologists” and “social workers” to go out with cops on 9-11 calls to de-escalate situations. He says cops are like schoolteachers because they have to deal with all sorts of problems. He says we should not be defunding cops but mandating what police departments should be doing.
8:24 PM: A progressive student from Harrisburg says the true swing vote could be young black Americans who are deciding whether to vote for Biden or stay at home. He says he is one of those voters.
He asks what Biden has to say to young black voters except “you ain’t black.”
Biden says if young black men and women vote, they can determine the outcome of the election.
Biden says talks about allowing black Americans to generate wealth before mumbling something about criminal justice reform (even though he supporter the Crime Bill). Biden talks about expanding school opportunities for black Americans because it will lessen the “shortcomings” some have had at home. He talks about school psychologists and mental illness causing drug abuse. He talks about providing millions for HBCUs. Biden also talking about giving more opportunities for young entrepreneurs… Biden just sounding like an old Senator speaking at a committee meeting.
Biden says a black person’s home will be valued 29% and insurance will be higher than a white person’s. Biden claims he first got involved in politics because of redlining.
8:15 PM: Biden now asked about tax cuts and not raising taxes for people making less than $400,000.
Biden says is is “absolutely” wise to raise corporate taxes even if the economy is weak. Biden says Moody’s found his plan would grow the GDP by more than Trump because “everything moves” when you allow more people to participate in the economy. Biden says Trump talks about a V-shaped recovery when it’s actually a K-shaped recovery. Biden now talks about charging stations on the highway and “owning the electric market.”
8:09 PM: Questioner asks Biden about Harris’s remarks about not wanting to take a vaccine that Trump approves. She asks if Biden would take a vaccine if one were approved before the end of the year and whether he would mandate every American take one if he wins the election.
Biden says Trump talks about things that are not accurate. He says if scientists say the vaccine has gone through the three phases, he would take it. Biden says Trump says crazy stuff like “inject bleach in your arm” and “Regeneron is the answer that will cure everything.”
Biden rips Trump for not wearing a mask and making fun of him for wearing a mask. He says people think it’s not important because of Trump’s terrible example. He says the words and actions of a president matter.
Biden, after saying he would mandate masks, now says you can’t but adds that responsible leaders can encourage mask use. He says he would ask state and local officials to mandate masks. He also says there will be legal questions about a potential national vaccine mandate.
8:01 PM: Moderator George Stephanopoulos kicks off the the town hall. First question is about the Coronavirus. He asks what would following the science have meant for policy and what would his administration do.
Biden says Trump was informed about how dangerous the virus was and Biden blames Trump for not keeping scientists in China. Biden says Trump panicked when he thought Americans would panic in his interview with Woodward because he thought bad news would be bad for the stock market. Biden says Trump thinks the stock market is the barometer of success. He admits that he did not call for social distancing in January because he says the science was not clear about the virus. He says it was clear in March and Trump was still misleading Americans. Biden claims there were plans to send PPE to schools and claims schools could have opened if the stimulus bill that was passed had passed.
7:55 PM: Biden set to start answering questions at the top of the hour.
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