Joe Biden declines to say whether he will 'pack' Supreme Court
President Trump challenges former vice president to take a side during first debate
The first presidential debate got personal right out the gate Tuesday night as Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden called President Trump "the worst president America has ever had" and Trump said there is "nothing smart" about the former vice president.
The first showdown, which took place Tuesday night in Cleveland, Ohio and was moderated by "Fox News Sunday” anchor Chris Wallace, heated up quickly as Trump and the former vice president traded personal barbs as they fielded questions on ObamaCare, the Supreme Court and the coronavirus pandemic.
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Leading up to the debate, sources close to the Biden campaign told Fox News that the former vice president wouldn’t engage in personal attacks or respond to any insults leveled against him by Trump.
But Biden, within the first half of the debate, slammed the president as a “liar” and a “clown” and repeatedly called on him to “shut up.”
“Would you shut up, man?” Biden said to Trump, calling him “unpresidential.”
Later, Biden cut Trump off again, saying: “Will he just shush for a minute?”
Meanwhile, the president slammed Biden, saying the former vice president is not “smart.”
“You graduated the lowest in your class,” Trump said to Biden, after he said the president should become “smart” with the coronavirus pandemic.
“Don’t ever use the word smart with me,” Trump said. “Nothing smart about you Joe.”
The president, when asked about his campaign rallies, said that Biden doesn’t hold events because “nobody shows up to his events.”
“People want to hear what I have to say,” Trump said.
The debate shifted to taxes. Biden vowed to repeal the "Trump tax code," and the president cut him off questioning why he didn't propose a better tax plan during his "47 years" in Washington.
"Because you weren’t president screwing things up," Biden said. "You're the worst president America has ever had."
The conversation, later, shifted to trade and foreign policy, with Biden slamming Trump on his trade deals with China.
"China ate your lunch," Trump said, raising claims about the business history of Biden's son, Hunter Biden. "And no wonder your son goes in and takes out billions of dollars to manage, makes millions of dollars--while we’re at it, why did the mayor of Moscow’s wife give your son $3.5 million? What did he do with Burisma?"
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The president was referring to a newly-released report by Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, which detailed Hunter Biden's business dealings with China, and his lucrative role on the board of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings.
According to the report, an investment firm co-founded by Hunter Biden, Rosemont Seneca Thornton, “received $3.5 million in a wire transfer” from Elena Baturina, the wife of the former mayor of the Russian capital.
Biden fired back calling the claims "totally discredited."
"My son did nothing wrong with Burisma," Biden said. "Everyone has discredited it."
The two started shouting at one another, with Biden cutting through saying: "It is hard to get any word in with this clown--excuse me--this president."
"Here's the deal. We want to talk about families and ethics. I don’t want to do that," Biden said, pointing to the Trump family. "His family--we can go on all night."
Trump fired back saying: "My family lost a fortune by helping us come work with government."
"This is not about my family or his family its about your family," Biden said, pointing to the camera. "He doesn't want to talk about what you need, the American people, it's about you. That's who we’re talking about here."
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