First 2020 Presidential Debate: on Health Care


Donald Trump: My healthcare plan: we got rid of the individual mandate

Q: The Supreme Court will hear a case a week after the election in which the Trump Administration, along with 18 state Attorney Generals are seeking to overturn ObamaCare, to end ObamaCare.

TRUMP: That's right, because they want to give good healthcare

Q: Over the last four years, you have promised to repeal and replace ObamaCare, but you have never come up with a comprehensive plan to replace ObamaCare.

TRUMP: Yes, I have. Of course I have. I got rid of the individual mandate, which was a big chunk of ObamaCare.

Q: That's not a comprehensive place.

TRUMP: That is absolutely a big thing. That was the worst part of ObamaCare. The individual mandate was the most unpopular aspect of ObamaCare. I got rid of it. And we will protect people. We guaranteed pre-existing conditions, but took away the individual mandate.

BIDEN: He has no plan for healthcare.

TRUMP: Of course we do.

BIDEN: He has none, like almost everything else he talks about. He does not have a plan.

Source: First 2020 Presidential Debate, moderated by Chris Wallace Sep 29, 2020

Donald Trump: ObamaCare is no good, even if run well

Joe BIDEN [to TRUMP]: There are 20 million people getting healthcare through ObamaCare now that he wants to take it away.

TRUMP: No, I want to give them better healthcare at a much lower price, because ObamaCare is no good.

BIDEN: He won't ever look you in the eye and say that's what he wants to do: "Take it away." He doesn't know how to do that.

TRUMP: We've already fixed it, to an extent. ObamaCare is no good. We made it better. We guaranteed pre-existing conditions, but took away the individual mandate. I had a choice to make, do I let my people run it really well or badly? If I run it badly, they'll probably blame me. But more importantly, I want to help people; I said, "You've got to run it so well." The problem is, no matter how well you run ObamaCare, it's a disaster. It's too expensive. Premiums are too high, that it doesn't work. So we do want to get rid of it. Chris, we want to get rid of that and give something that's cheaper and better.

Source: First 2020 Presidential Debate, moderated by Chris Wallace Sep 29, 2020

Donald Trump: COVID: We don't know how many died in China, Russia, India

If we would've listened to [Biden and the Democrats], the country would have been left wide open, millions of people would have died, not 200,000. And one person is too much. It's China's fault. It should have never happened. They stopped it from going in, but it was China's fault. And, by the way, when you talk about numbers, you don't know how many people died in China. You don't know how many people died in Russia. You don't know how many people died in India. They don't exactly give you a straight count, just so you understand.
Source: First 2020 Presidential Debate, moderated by Chris Wallace Sep 29, 2020

Donald Trump: FactCheck: experts changed on use of masks as facts emerged

BIDEN: Masks make a big difference.

TRUMP: They've also said the opposite.

BIDEN: No serious person has said the opposite.

TRUMP: Dr. Fauci said the opposite.

BIDEN: He did not say the opposite.

TRUMP: He said very strongly, "Masks are not good." Then he changed his mind. He said, "Masks are good."

FactCheck by Associated Press, Sept. 30: Early on in the outbreak, a number of public health officials urged everyday people not to use masks, fearing a run on already short supplies of personal protective equipment needed by doctors and nurses in hospitals. But that changed as the highly contagious nature of the coronavirus became clear, as well as the fact that it can be spread by tiny droplets breathed into the air by people who may not display any symptoms.

Source: NBC News Fact-Check on First 2020 Presidential Debate Sep 29, 2020

Joe Biden: Coronavirus: it is what it is, because Trump is who he is

BIDEN: 200,000 dead. Over seven million infected in the United States. We have 4% of the world's population, 20% of the deaths. 40,000 people a day are contracting COVID. In addition to that, about between 750 and 1000 people a day are dying. When he was presented with that number, he said, "It is what it is." Well, it is what it is because you are who you are. That's why it is. The President has no plan. He hasn't laid out anything. He knew all the way back in February how serious this crisis was. He knew it was a deadly disease. What did he do? He's on tape as acknowledging he knew it. He said he didn't tell us or give people a warning of it because he didn't want to panic the American people. You don't panic. He panicked.

You should get out of your bunker and get out of the sand trap in your golf course and go in the Oval Office and bring together the Democrats and Republicans and fund what needs to be done now to save lives.

Source: First 2020 Presidential Debate, moderated by Chris Wallace Sep 29, 2020

Joe Biden: We didn't shut down economy; Trump shut down his economy

BIDEN: We didn't shut down the economy [for coronavirus]. This is his economy he shut down. The reason it's shut down is because, look, you folks at home. How many of you got up this morning and had an empty chair at the kitchen table because someone died of COVID? How many of you are in a situation where you lost your mom or dad and you couldn't even speak to them, you had a nurse holding a phone up so you could in fact say goodbye?

TRUMP: We would have lost far more people, far more people.

BIDEN: His own CDC Director says we could lose as many as another 200,000 people between now and the end of the year. And he said, if we just wear a mask, we can save half those numbers. Just a mask.

Source: First 2020 Presidential Debate, moderated by Chris Wallace Sep 29, 2020

Joe Biden: Trump lied about COVID; don't believe him on vaccines

Q: You say the public can trust the scientists, but they can't trust President Trump. Your running mate, goes further, saying that public health experts, "Will be muzzled, will be suppressed." Given that polls show that people are concerned about the vaccine and are reluctant to take it, are you and Senator Harris, contributing to that fear?

BIDEN: Do you believe for a moment what he's telling you in light of all the lies he's told you about the whole issue relating to COVID? He still hasn't even acknowledged that he knew this was happening, knew how dangerous it was going to be back in February, and he didn't even tell you. He's on record as saying it. He panicked or he just looked at the stock market. One of the two. Because guess what? A lot of people died and a lot more are going to die unless he gets a lot smarter, a lot quicker.

Source: First 2020 Presidential Debate, moderated by Chris Wallace Sep 29, 2020

Joe Biden: Wearing masks saves lives; social distancing is responsible

BIDEN: Masks make a big difference. His own head of the CDC said if everybody wore a mask and social distanced between now and January, we'd probably save up to 100,000 lives. It matters.

TRUMP: And they've also said the opposite.

BIDEN: No serious person has said the opposite.

TRUMP: Dr. Fauci said the opposite.

BIDEN: He did not say the opposite.

TRUMP: He said very strongly, "Masks are not good." Then he changed his mind. He said, "Masks are good."

BIDEN: He's been totally irresponsible the way in which he has handled the social distancing and people wearing masks, basically encouraged them not to. He's a fool on this.

Source: First 2020 Presidential Debate, moderated by Chris Wallace Sep 29, 2020

Joe Biden: A hundred million people have pre-existing conditions

BIDEN: There's a hundred million people who have pre-existing conditions and they'll be taken away as well.

TRUMP: There aren't a hundred million people with pre-existing conditions. Joe, the hundred million people is totally wrong. I don't know where you got that number.

FactCheck by NBC News, Sept. 20: A 2017 study from the Department of Health and Human Services estimated that about 133 million people had a pre-existing condition that would make them unable to buy insurance.

Source: First 2020 Presidential Debate, moderated by Chris Wallace Sep 29, 2020

Joe Biden: Public option won't end private insurance; only for Medicaid

Q: You would like to add a public option to Obamacare. The Republicans argue that that is going to end private insurance.

BIDEN: It does not. It's only for those people who are so poor they qualify for Medicaid they can get that free in most states, except Governors who want to deny people who are poor Medicaid. Anyone who qualifies for Medicaid would automatically be enrolled in the public option. The vast majority of the American people would still not be in that option.

Source: First 2020 Presidential Debate, moderated by Chris Wallace Sep 29, 2020

  • The above quotations are from First Presidential Debate, Case Western Reserve University, Sept. 29, 2020.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Health Care.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Joe Biden on Health Care.
  • Click here for more quotes by Donald Trump on Health Care.
2020 Presidential contenders on Health Care:
  Democrats running for President:
Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO)
V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC)
Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA)
CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY)

2020 Third Party Candidates:
Rep.Justin Amash (L-MI)
CEO Don Blankenship (C-WV)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Howie Hawkins (G-NY)
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Howard Schultz(I-WA)
Gov.Jesse Ventura (I-MN)
Republicans running for President:
Sen.Ted Cruz(R-TX)
Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Gov.John Kasich(R-OH)
V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC)
Pres.Donald Trump(R-NY)
Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL)
Gov.Bill Weld(R-MA & L-NY)

2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
Sen.Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC)
Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK)
Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX)
Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA)
Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA)
Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
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Page last updated: Oct 07, 2020