Donald Trump and Joe Biden face off this evening in Nashville, Tennessee, for their second and final debate. The Commission on Presidential Debates says it will mute the microphones of both candidates during parts of tonight’s 90-minute program — after Donald Trump interrupted Biden at least 128 times during their first debate. The debate will also feature plexiglass barriers separating the candidates, after President Trump held the last debate while he was likely infected with coronavirus. On Wednesday, former President Barack Obama headlined a drive-in rally for Biden in Philadelphia, where he blasted Trump for failing as president.
Barack Obama: “I did hope, for the sake of the country, that he might show some interest in taking the job seriously. But it hasn’t happened. He hasn’t shown any interest in doing the work or helping anybody but himself and his friends or treating the presidency like a reality show that he can use to get attention.”
On Wednesday, President Trump spoke to an estimated 15,000 people at a campaign rally in Gastonia, North Carolina, where few wore masks and no one practiced social distancing. The rally came amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in North Carolina, with hospitalizations rapidly approaching a previous record high set in July.