by Nomad
The final presidential debate between President Trump and former Vice-president Joe Biden be held at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. This would have been the third in the series but is now only the second following the cancellation of the October 15 debate. Nevertheless, it will mark the last time the two candidates will appear on the same stage before the November 3 election.
The debate will offer the president one last chance to salvage his re-election. If this debate is anything like the other one, it should prove disastrous for the increasingly-desperate incumbent.
The Associated Press reported the other day that Trump's campaign has somehow burned through a staggering $1 billion and is now running on empty. And word on the street- Wall Street, that is- is that Trump is apparently no longer considered "a worthy investment" for several prominent Republicans and conservatives in the finance community.
In public appearances, the president has discounted the 221,000 Covid-19-related deaths. It's extremely difficult - if not impossible- to put a positive spin on such bad news.
That hasn't stopped Trump.
To cheering crowds in Erie Pennsylvania this week, Trump said:
Early on, we took aggressive action. We saved so many lives. Remember it was supposed to be 2.2 million...We pioneered incredible therapies. Excuse me, here I am. That was quick. That was quick. No, great doctors. We have great doctors and reduced the fatality rate 85%. Think of that. And I’m working to make the antibody treatment that I received available to anybody that needs it free. And it’s getting very close to getting approved. We will have 100 million vaccine doses before the end of the year, maybe sooner than that..The claim of an early vaccine contradicts the assessments of his own administration’s top public health officials.
Meanwhile, an economic relief package for the average American (ranging from $1.8 to $2.2 trillion) has stalled in the Republican Senate. The Washington Post reported on Wednesday:
The already dismal prospects for a new coronavirus relief bill are looking even dimmer: On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell revealed that he has warned the White House not to make a deal with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi before the November presidential election. Six months have passed since Congress last approved any economic relief, and an estimated 8 million Americans have fallen into poverty in the interim.
As ABC News reports, who wins and who loses the debate may not make all that much difference to the election outcome.
Roughly 35 million Americans have already voted in the 2020 election, reflecting an extraordinary level of participation and interest despite unprecedented barriers brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
Most experts believe early voting and mail-in voting will favor the Democrats. In any event, such enthusiasm - despite the pandemic blues- has not been shown by American voters in decades.
And Trump's bad news doesn't stop there.
Biden has maintained a nationwide lead in polls. In fact, according to FiveThirtyEight, his current lead is his largest from the entire campaign.
An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll noted:
The former vice president leads Trump 54% to 43% among likely voters in the poll. It's the highest level of support Biden has achieved since the poll began testing the head-to-head matchup in February. Biden has never been below 50% in the question in the Marist poll, and Trump has never been above 44%.Regardless, when it comes to positive poll numbers, there is a two-word phrase that sends shivers up the spine of every Democrat this election: Remember Hillary.
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The debate will be moderated by NBC News White House correspondent and co-anchor of “Weekend Today” Kristen Welker. She will be the second Black woman to serve as the sole moderator of a presidential debate.
Be sure to join us live at Nomadic Politics for running commentary from 9 to 10:30 p.m. ET.
Be sure to join us live at Nomadic Politics for running commentary from 9 to 10:30 p.m. ET.