ABC This Week interviews during 2020: on Civil Rights

Donald Trump: Best employment & best homeownership for Black Americans

TRUMP: We have tremendous African American support. If you look at just prior to this horrible situation coming in from China, when the virus came in, that was the probably the highest point, home ownership for the black community, homeownership, lower crime, the best jobs they've ever had, highest income, the best employment numbers they've ever had. If you go back and you want to look over many years, go back six or seven months, that was the best single moment in the history of the African-American people in this country

Q: Your statement is though, make it great again. Are you aware of how tone deaf that comes off to the African American community? You have yet to acknowledge that there's been a race problem in America.

TRUMP: Well, I hope there's not a race problem. I can tell you, there's none with me, because I have great respect for all races, for everybody. This country is great because of it.

Joe Biden: Government should look like the country, by gender & race

BIDEN: I didn't feel pressure to select a Black woman but I think that the government should look like the people, look like the country. 51% of the people in this country are women. In order to be able to succeed, you've got to be dealt in across the board. I cannot understand and fully appreciate what it means to walk in her shoes.

HARRIS:˙Joe and I have talked about the state of Black America. He has a deep sense of awareness and knowledge about systematic racism. And Joe actually knows how to say the words "Black Lives Matter."

BIDEN: I was asked about voting for Trump, and I said, "How can a Black man vote for him?" I shouldn't have said that. I was trying to make the point that this is a man who spent his entire career denigrating African Americans. But the truth is, there's a fundamental difference between Donald Trump and me on the issue of race across the board.

Joe Biden: COVID: Mask mandate is about saving lives

BIDEN: I'm going to ask every governor to step up. This isn't about freedom; it's about freedom for your neighbors. It's about a patriotic responsibility to protect your neighbors. The only way you can do that is to be socially distanced and wearing a mask when you're in public, when you're outside. This is the first time I've ever heard people say that doing something patriotic you can save other people's lives, impacts on their freedom. Give me a break; this is about saving lives.

Q: Would you be prepared to shut this country down again?

BIDEN: I will be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives because we cannot get the country moving until we control the virus. That is the fundamental flaw of this administration's thinking. In order to keep the economy growing, and people employed, you have to fix the virus, you have to deal with the virus. I would shut it down, I would listen to the scientists.

Stacey Abrams: Voter suppression is rigging the game

ABRAMS: What I mean by rigged is this: we have a right to vote that is afforded to eligible American citizens, but we have seen over the last 20 years a constriction on who has the right to use that right. We have seen it through voter ID laws. You can't get on the rolls. And if you get on the rolls you can't stay. You may not be able to cast your ballot, because they close your precinct or they change the rules, that's rigging the game. Q: It rarely comes up that people are worried about voter suppression. You feel this is more important than other issues?

ABRAMS: No. I think this is fundamental to tackling those other issues. The ability to vote is how you tackle climate change. We can't have climate change legislation simply by wishing it. We have to be able to vote into office our representatives.

Amy Klobuchar: Paper ballots allow audits, ensure election integrity

Pete Buttigieg: Voters have judged his record, not his marriage

A: I think there's only one way to find out. When I came out, it was in the middle of a reelection campaign. I just reached that point in my life where I was ready. And we didn't know what