US Presidential Debate 2020: Biden slams Trump for failing to act on Russian bounty report

US President Donald Trump and Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden locked horns on September 29 for their first of the three presidential debates ahead of the upcoming poll. During the debate, Joe Biden attacked Trump by calling him a "puppet" of Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin, a charge the Republican leader has faced on several occasions. 

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Biden said, "He’s Putin’s puppet. He still refuses to even say anything to Putin about the bounty on the heads of American soldiers," referring to a New York Times report that said Russian military intelligence unit allegedly offered Taliban-linked terrorists bounties to kill American troops in Afghanistan. The former vice-president also called Trump a "clown" and a "liar" as the US President kept interrupting Biden while he spoke.

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In response, Trump brought up Biden’s son Hunter, whose business dealings in China and Ukraine have been the focus of Republican criticism this election season. Trump mentioned a finding from a recent Senate Republican investigation saying that the Mayor of Moscow City gave Hunter Biden around half a million dollars and asked his opponent to explain what was the money for. 

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Debate began with SC nomination

The debate, which was being moderated by Chris Wallace of the Fox News, kicked-off with the burning issue of Supreme Court justice nomination, then moving on to healthcare, particularly the COVID-19 outbreak and Obamacare. Trump was thrashed by Biden over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic that spread outwards from China and highlighted how the President downplayed the treat when the disease transmission was still in its earlier stage.

The two candidates also discussed tax reforms, ongoing anti-racism protests, among other topics. During the course of the debate, Trump kept interrupting Joe Biden, while Wallace, who was the moderator, kept urging the president not to do so because it will only harm the American public's capability to process the information productively. 

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