President Trump and Joe Biden clashed tonight, albeit not on the same stage, or even the same channel.
Their dueling town halls on rival networks marked yet another first in this tumultuous race repeatedly disrupted by the pandemic. The televised events took the place of an originally scheduled second debate, which President Trump refused to participate in despite trailing significantly in the polls.
The president was in dire need of a strong and persuasive performance. Biden now leads in nearly every major battleground state, and the Democratic nominee is also threatening to overtake the president in some states Trump won easily in 2016.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, site of his town hall.
(Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)
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President Trump talks with voters after an NBC News town hall at Pérez Art Museum Miami.
(Evan Vucci/Associated Press)
President Trump speaks during an NBC News town hall with moderator Savannah Guthrie at Pérez Art Museum Miami.
(Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images)
Police arrest anti-Trump protesters outside the president’s town hall venue in Miami.
(Chandan Khanna / AFP/Getty Images)
President Trump supporters gather prior to his arrival in Miami.
(Chandan Khanna / AFP)
A Joe Biden supporter protests prior to President Trump’s arrival in Miami.
(CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP)
President Trump speaks during his town hall event.
(Evan Vucci / Associated Press )
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Moderator Savannah Guthrie speaks during Trump’s town hall event.
(Evan Vucci / Associated Press )
President Trump is seen during a break in the town hall.
(Evan Vucci / Associated Press)
Joe Biden and moderator George Stephanopoulos arrive for an ABC News town hall event at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
(Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images)
President Trump gestures during a break in his town hall.
(Evan Vucci / Associated Press)
Joe Biden onstage at his town hall event.
(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos onstage at Biden’s town hall event.
(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
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Supporters of President Trump gather in the street prior to his arrival in Miami.
(CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP)
Police arrest supporters of Joe Biden prior to Presidnet Trump’s town hall in Miami.
(CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP )
Protesters are arrested near the Pérez Art Museum Miami, site of Trump’s town hall.
(Brittny Mejia / Los Angeles Times)
Supporters of President Trump wave flags at traffic in Miramar, Fla., ahead of a group with Biden-Harris signs.
Evan Halper is a former staff writer who wrote about a broad range of policy issues out of Washington, D.C., with particular emphasis on how Washington regulates, agitates and very often miscalculates in its dealings with California. Before heading east, he was the Los Angeles Times bureau chief in Sacramento, where he spent a decade untangling California’s epic budget mess and political dysfunction.
Brittny Mejia is a Metro reporter covering federal courts for the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she wrote narrative pieces with a strong emphasis on the Latino community and others that make up the diversity of L.A. and California. Mejia was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2021 in local reporting for her investigation with colleague Jack Dolan that exposed failures in Los Angeles County’s safety-net healthcare system that resulted in months-long wait times for patients, including some who died before getting appointments with specialists. She joined The Times in 2014.
