2020 United States gubernatorial elections, West Virginia
One-term incumbent Republican Jim Justice ran for re-election in 2020. Justice was elected as a Democrat, but later switched to the Republican Party, making him the first Republican governor since Cecil H. Underwood, elected from 1997 until 2001. Justice faced centrist Democrat Ben Salango, who was endorsed by U.S. Senator Joe Manchin. Primaries were held on June 9, with Justice defeating former West Virginia Secretary of Commerce Woody Thrasher and former member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from the 63rd district, Mike Folk, by a large margin. Meanwhile, Salango won by a slim margin in a hotly contested Democratic primary between Salango and community organizer Stephen Smith, businessman Jody Murphy, and Douglas Hughes.


2020 United States gubernatorial elections, West Virginia
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, retired Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton, and Secretary of State Mac Warner were mentioned as potential general election challengers, prior to Justice's decision to re-join the Republican Party.


2020 United States gubernatorial elections, Territories, American Samoa
Two-term incumbent Governor Lolo Letalu Matalasi Moliga was term-limited in 2020. Running to replace him were Lieutenant Governor Lemanu Palepoi Sialega Mauga, American Samoa Senate President Gaoteote Palaie Tofau, territorial Senator Nua Sao, and executive director of the American Samoa Government Employees' Retirement Fund Iʻaulualo Faʻafetai Talia. Although individuals can and do affiliate with political parties, elections are held on a non-partisan basis with candidates running without party labels and no party primaries. The governor and lieutenant governor are elected on a shared ticket. The Mauga–Ale ticket won the elction with more than 60% of the vote.


2020 United States gubernatorial elections, Territories, Puerto Rico
Incumbent governor Wanda Vázquez Garced of the New Progressive Party and the Republican Party, who became governor after Pedro Pierluisi's succession of Ricardo Rosselló was declared unconstitutional, was defeated in the New Progressive primary by Pierluisi in her bid to win a full term. He faced Isabela mayor Carlos Delgado Altieri, who won the Popular Democratic Party primary, as well as Senator Juan Dalmau of the Puerto Rican Independence Party, Alexandra Lúgaro of Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana, César Vázquez of Proyecto Dignidad, and independent candidate Eliezer Molina. Pierluisi won the election by a very slim margin.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team
The men's national basketball team of the United States won the gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. The Olympics were delayed a year until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal for the Americans. Team USA qualified for the Olympics by finishing as one of the top two teams from the Americas at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2019.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team
The U.S. team returned two Olympic gold medal winners in  Kevin Durant (2012, 2016) and Draymond Green (2016). Unlike the 2019 World Cup team that finished in seventh place with a team of traditional centers and limited shooting, the Olympic team featured multi-positional players and adept shooters. After the disappointing World Cup, in which only four of the initial 35 candidates were on the final roster, star players began openly expressing an interest in joining the Olympic team. While other countries had a core roster that has played together for years in multiple international tournaments, the U.S. team changed every year.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team
Complicating the decision for National Basketball Association (NBA) players to commit to the Olympics was the pandemic's impact on the league's schedule. The 2020 NBA Finals did not end until October 11, 2020. Although the start of the 2020–21 NBA season was delayed, it still began 71 days after the prior Finals, as opposed to the usual 100 days or more. The season was condensed with many back-to-back games. While the 2021 Finals were scheduled to allow players time to travel to Tokyo, the playoffs were ongoing while other countries were practicing.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team
The delayed season cut into Team USA's time to gel and learn to play as a team. Moreover, three team members played in the Finals, which did not conclude until July 20, and they missed all of training camp and the pre-Olympic exhibitions in Las Vegas. The United States played their first game in the Olympics on July 25.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Roster
The United States was coached by Gregg Popovich, who had won five NBA championships as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs. He made his head coaching debut for Team USA on the 2019 World Cup team in China. In February 2020, USA Basketball announced an initial list of 44 finalists for the 2020 Summer Olympics, originally scheduled for July–Aug 2020. After the Games were postponed until 2021, the list of finalists was expanded to 57 to remain flexible.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Roster
By the end of the 2020–21 NBA season, a number of All-Star level players were either injured or requiring extended recovery time for the upcoming season. Olympic training camp took place while the 2021 NBA playoffs were ongoing. No tryouts were held, with decisions on the final 12-man roster based in part on player health and availability.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Roster
An initial 12-man roster was named with a combined 37 NBA All-Star selections, led by Kevin Durant with 11. He entered the 2020 Games ranked second in U.S. men's Olympic basketball history with 311 career points, needing just 25 more to match Carmelo Anthony's record of 336. A two-time Olympic gold medalist from the 2012 and 2016 teams, Durant was joined on the squad by one other gold medal winner, his 2016 teammate Draymond Green, who he also played with on the Golden State Warriors.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Roster
Also committing to the team were four of the NBA's top 10 scorers from the 2020–21 season with Bradley Beal (31.1 points per game), Damian Lillard (28.8), Zach LaVine (27.4) and Jayson Tatum (26.4). Six players on the roster were named All-Stars in 2021, but only two were among the past season's 15 selections to the All-NBA Team—Lillard (first team) and Beal (second team). While stocked with scorers, the original roster was limited in size; Bam Adebayo and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Kevin Love were the lone traditional interior players.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Roster
The team also lacked a primary facilitating guard; when not leading a pick and roll, Lillard is primarily an isolation scorer. Alternatively, the United States could use Durant as a point forward and utilize big men Green and Adebayo's playmaking skills. Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks and Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns were named to the roster, but missed all of training camp and the exhibition games while playing in the 2021 NBA Finals. Middleton and Tatum were the only returnees from the 2019 World Cup team.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Roster
After playing in three exhibition games, Beal was ruled out for the Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19. A starter in all three games, he was expected to be one of the team's primary scorers. Love also withdrew from the team, stating that he was not fully recovered from a right calf injury that sidelined him for much of the prior NBA season. They were replaced by JaVale McGee and Keldon Johnson.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Roster
A journeyman, 7-foot (2.1 m), shot-blocking center, McGee was a finalist for the Olympic team and has won three NBA championships, including two with Durant and Green on the Warriors. He helped to fill Team USA's need for size after being outrebounded during exhibition games. The second-year forward Johnson had been playing with the Olympic team as a member of the U.S. Select Team and had been with San Antonio for two seasons under Popovich. USA Basketball director Jerry Colangelo stated that injuries and players' contract status, among other factors, impacted the roster decisions. "Some people say, ‘Well what about that guy?’ Well, there is a reason. You think we're stupid? We know who can play and who can't play", he said.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Exhibition games
With Booker, Holiday, and Middleton still playing in the NBA Finals, Team USA added seven players to the roster from the U.S. Select Team for the exhibition games: Saddiq Bey, Darius Garland, John Jenkins, Keldon Johnson, Josh Magette, Dakota Mathias and Cam Reynolds. The Americans began their exhibition schedule after four days of training camp. They played four games in eight days, with a fifth game cancelled because of coronavirus issues. Johnson was promoted to the Olympic team before the final exhibition game. The Americans did not play with the signature up-tempo style of the past three Olympic gold-medal teams under former coach Mike Krzyzewski. Their slower pace left the team, unfamiliar with each other after only six practices, dependent on reading and reacting to each other.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Exhibition games, Nigeria
In their first game, the United States was upset 90–87 by Nigeria, the first win by an African team over the American men's team. The Nigerians played as a more cohesive unit after about three weeks of training. In their last two meetings, Team USA had beaten them by 83 points at the 2012 London Olympics and 44 points in an exhibition game prior to the 2016 Rio Olympics. The Americans fell to 54–3 in major exhibitions games since 1992, when NBA players were first allowed to play for Team USA, with previous losses to Australia ahead of the 2019 World Cup and to Italy before the 2004 Olympics.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Exhibition games, Australia
Team USA lost their second straight exhibition game 91–83 to Australia. It was the fourth loss in five games for the Americans dating back to the 2019 World Cup. The Americans held a 10-point lead in the second half, but they were held without a field goal in the last 4:34. The Boomers, who shot 53% from the field, were led by Patty Mills with 22 points and Joe Ingles with 17. The United States got 22 points from Damian Lillard and 17 from Kevin Durant.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Exhibition games, Argentina
Durant and Bradley Beal both scored 17, and the Americans led throughout in a 108–80 win over Argentina. The United States jumped to a 15–4 lead almost 3+1⁄2 minutes into the game, scoring 33 points in the first quarter while leading by as much as 17. They led 58–42 at halftime, and shot 51% for the game. Argentina was held to 31% shooting on 3-pointers, making 9 of 29. They were led by Luis Scola, who scored 16 points in 19 minutes.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Exhibition games, Argentina
Already missing three players to the NBA Finals, Team USA was down to eight Olympic players after Jayson Tatum was held out of the game due to a sore right knee. The win avoided the first U.S. three-game losing streak since NBA players were allowed on the national team.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Exhibition games, Australia
A day before it was scheduled to be played, USA Basketball announced that their second game against Australia was canceled "out of an abundance of caution" after Beal and Jerami Grant had been placed on COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Beal, who tested positive, was also ruled out for the Olympics.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Exhibition games, Spain
Lillard scored 19 points and newly promoted teammate Johnson had 15 in the United States' 83–76 win over Spain. Behind by as many as nine points in the first half, Team USA was down 46–42 in the third quarter when they scored 11 unanswered points in a 23–6 run that spanned into the fourth quarter. Johnson scored eight points during the spurt, including a dunk which excited the crowd. The Americans led 65–52 with 7:30 remaining, and Spain never got closer than seven points. The Spaniards were led by Ricky Rubio with 23 points.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Exhibition games, Spain
Durant, Lillard, and LaVine made a combined nine 3-pointers. Johnson shot 7 of 9 and had a team-high plus–minus of plus-18. Grant returned to the team after being in health and safety protocols. Johnson had appeared in two previous exhibition games. JaVale McGee, who was added to the team with Johnson, was present but did not play.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play
After the final exhibition game against Spain, LaVine was placed into health and safety protocols, and did not travel with the rest of the team to Tokyo on July 19. He was later cleared and joined the team on July 22. The NBA Finals concluded in six games on July 20, with Milwaukee winning over Phoenix. Holiday and Middleton attended the Bucks' championship parade on July 22.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play
They flew the next day to Seattle, where they took a private plane with Booker and arrived in Tokyo on July 24 before 11:00 pm JST (UTC+9), less than 24 hours before Team USA's opening game against France. The Americans lost to the French, but recovered to finish 2–1 in group play to advance to the knockout round.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play, Preliminary round
The Olympics feature 12 nations divided into three groups of four. The United States was placed in Group A. Each team plays three games, one game each against the other teams in their group. The first- and second-place teams advance to the knockout stage, along with the top two third-place teams. The remaining four teams are eliminated.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play, Preliminary round, France
Team USA's 25-game winning steak in the Olympics ended after a 83–76 loss to France. The Americans led by seven points in the final 3:30 of the game, but the French took the lead for good after Evan Fournier made a 3-pointer with a minute remaining. He scored a game-high 28 points on 11-for-22 shooting. On the next possession, the United States attempted five shots but missed them all, the last three being open 3-point attempts by LaVine, Durant, and Holiday. France ended the game on a 16–2 run, and the Americans did not make a basket in the last 4+1⁄2 minutes of the game.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play, Preliminary round, France
The Americans led by 10 early in the third quarter after Durant made the opening shot after halftime. Their offense, however, went stagnant. After France played 7-foot (2.1 m) big men Rudy Gobert and Vincent Poirier together for most of the second half, the United States scored just 29 points in the final 18 minutes. Durant picked up his fourth foul with 16:45 left in the game.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play, Preliminary round, France
Nando de Colo made a 3-pointer with 2:42 left in the third to give France a 55–54 lead, and they outscored the U.S. team 25–11 in the period to enter the fourth quarter up 62–56. Holiday opened the fourth scoring 12 points in the first 4+1⁄2 minutes, and Team USA led by six with 5:23 left.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play, Preliminary round, France
Gobert scored 14 points for France and de Colo finished with 13. Holiday had a team-high 18 points for the United States and added seven rebounds and four assists in 27 minutes off the bench. Despite having just arrived in Tokyo, he was the team's best player. However, their main scorers were quiet towards the finish. In foul trouble, Durant made just 4 of 12 for 10 points in one of the worst games of his Olympic career. Lillard was 3 of 10 for 11 points. The team made just 31% of its 3-pointers.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play, Preliminary round, France
Adebayo added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Americans. The other NBA Finals players, Booker and Middleton, both played, but not as effectively as Holiday, who also led the team in minutes (27:52). The United States and France last met in the 2019 World Cup, when the French eliminated the Americans from medal contention. France returned seven players on their Olympic team from that squad. Team USA's last loss in the Olympics was in 2004, when they settled for a bronze medal in Athens.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play, Preliminary round, Iran
The United States earned its first win in a 120–66 blowout over an overmatched Iran team. Lillard bounced back from his struggles in the opener to score 21 points on seven 3-pointers, including six of Team USA's 13 makes in the first half. They led 28–12 after the first quarter, expanding the margin to 30 after LaVine made their 10th three-pointer in 17 attempts to open the game, making it 47–17. The U.S. squad was 19 of 39 on 3-pointers, and made 23 of its 37 attempts (62%) inside the three-point line. Iran was ranked No. 23 in the world, ahead of only Japan—which qualified as the host country—in the 12-team Olympic field.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play, Preliminary round, Iran
Popovich moved Holiday and Booker into the starting lineup in place of LaVine and Green. The Americans played faster with the three-guard lineup, scoring 19 fast-break points in the first half. The pace, in turn, led to a succession of open shots. Six U.S. players made multiple 3-pointers. Team USA had 34 assists on 42 baskets, and six players scored in double fugures. Booker had 16 points and had five rebounds, Tatum scored 14 and LaVine added 13. The United States defense forced 23 turnovers, which led to 37 points. Iran's 7-foot-2-inch (2.18 m) center Hamed Haddadi led the team with 15 points and six rebounds. They shot just 37% for the game.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play, Preliminary round, Czech Republic
The U.S. team defeated the Czech Republic 119–84 to advance to the quarterfinals. Tatum scored a game-high 27 points, and Durant had 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists. The Czechs made eight of their first 11 shots to establish a 10-point lead, and they led the entire first quarter, outshooting the Americans 65% to 35%. Durant made a 3-pointer in the second quarter to put Team USA up for good. The basket also moved him past Carmelo Anthony to become the U.S. men's basketball team's all-time Olympic scoring leader.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play, Preliminary round, Czech Republic
Durant scored 14 points in the first half, and the Americans led by as many as seven before going into halftime ahead 47–43. They outscored the Czech Republic 29–13 in the third quarter, which they ended with a 22–6 run to lead by 22 to begin the fourth. Tatum scored 17 in the final quarter while Durant rested.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play, Preliminary round, Czech Republic
After making just seven of 20 shots in the first quarter, the United States shot 33 of 44 over the next 26 minutes, including 21 of 25 to open the second half. Lavine scored 13 points, Holiday added 11, and McGee finished with 10. Holiday was again outstanding on defense, providing constant pressure on the ball and recording three steals. Blake Schilb led the Czechs with 17 points.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play, Knockout round
As the top second-place team in group play, the United States qualified for the seeded pot of the draw and avoided facing any of the group winners in the quarterfinals. They were drawn to face Spain, who the Americans beat for the gold medal in 2008 and 2012, and who they also defeated in the 2016 semifinals. Durant averaged 27 points per game and shot 53.7% from the field in the three knockout games to lead the team to gold.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play, Knockout round, Quarterfinal – Spain
Durant scored 29 points and Team USA advanced to the medal round with a 95–81 win over Spain. The Americans trailed by 10 in the second quarter, before outscoring the Spaniards 36–10 over the next nine minutes. Durant had 13 points in the third quarter, include three 3-pointers, to help the team overcome its sluggish start. The United States was 9 of 15 on 3-pointers in the second half after making only 4 of 17 in the first. Ricky Rubio scored a game-high 38 points, which also set an Olympic record for Spain. It was the most points scored against the U.S. team in the Olympics or any other major event, surpassing Dirk Nowitzki's 34 points for Germany against the Americans in the 2002 World Championship.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play, Knockout round, Quarterfinal – Spain
Spain was behind 17–10 early, but went on a 29–12 run over 10 minutes and led 39–29 with 3:25 remaining in the first half. However, Team USA went on its own spurt, outscoring the Spaniards 14–4 and tying the score 43–43 at halftime after scoring seven straight in the final 70 seconds. The United States opened the third quarter with a 22–6 run, and they led by as many as 16 before entering the fourth up 69–63. Durant shot 10 for 17 from the field, including 4 of 7 on 3-pointers. He led five Americans who scored in double figures, including Tatum (13), Holiday (12) Lillard (11), and LaVine (10). Sergio Rodríguez scored 16 and Willy Hernangómez added 10 for Spain.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play, Knockout round, Semifinal – Australia
Durant scored a game-high 23 points, and the United States overcame another slow start for a 97–78 victory against Australia. The Americans trailed the Boomers by 15 midway through the second quarter, before a 48–14 run put them ahead 74–55 after three quarters. After Team USA missed their first 10 three-pointers of the game, Booker hit their first late in the second period with 3:22 left. He scored 11 points in the third and finished with 20 points and three 3-pointers. Patty Mills led the Australians with 15 points, but he shot just 5 of 14.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play, Knockout round, Semifinal – Australia
Australia took an early eight-point lead while holding the United States to only one basket in the first four minutes. The Aussies led 24–18 to start the second quarter. They scored eight straight points to lead 41–26 with 5:23 left in the first half. After making 13 of their first 26 shots, the Boomers made just 3 of their next 16, including just one basket the rest of the half. They still led by 11 points with 2:59 remaining, but Team USA scored the last eight points of the half to cut the deficit to 45–42.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play, Knockout round, Semifinal – Australia
Holiday made two baskets and Durant hit three in the Americans' 12–0 run to start the second half, part of a combined 20–0 stretch over 6:56 from the second quarter. They outscored Australia 32–10 in the third. Durant made 10 of 19 shots in the contest and had a game-high nine rebounds. Team USA got 11 points each from Middleton and Holiday, who also finished with eight rebounds and eight assists and was the primary defender on Mills. Dante Exum scored 12 points and Jock Landale added 11 points for the Australians.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play, Knockout round, Final – France
Led by 29 points by Durant, Team USA won their fourth consecutive gold medal with an 87–82 win over France. The Americans led by 10 to begin the fourth quarter, but the French pulled to within three points twice, including with 10 seconds left in the game. Durant made two free throws to seal the game with eight seconds remaining. Tatum scored 19 points off the bench for the United States. France got 16 points each from Fournier and Gobert, who also had eight rebounds. Durant joined Carmelo Anthony as the only three-time gold medalists in U.S. men's Olympic basketball history.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play, Knockout round, Final – France
France took a 10–4 lead in the game's opening minutes. After the U.S. squad missed their first eight 3-pointers of the contest, Durant made one with 2:04 left in the first quarter, beginning a 21–8 stretch for the Americans for a 39–26 lead in the middle of the second. The French, however, used a 13–5 run to trail just 44–39 at halftime. They pulled to within two early in the third quarter. Team USA was momentarily up by 14, but Batum made a 3-pointer before the third-quarter buzzer to cut the U.S. lead to 71–63 entering the last quarter.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play, Knockout round, Final – France
After a Frank Ntilikina 3-pointer brought France to within 73–70 with 5:42 remaining, the United States went on a 9–2 spurt to lead by 10. Durant's free throws with 8.8 seconds left put the Americans ahead by five. He averaged 20.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists in the Olympics, and FIBA named him the tournament's MVP.


2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Olympic play, Knockout round, Final – France
France tried to leverage the 7-foot-1-inch (2.16 m) Gobert's size advantage, forcing Durant to switch onto him. Gobert drew nine fouls, three on Durant, but he shot just 6 of 13 on his free throws. In another stout performance on defense, Holiday had three steals and a block and helped limit Fournier to 5-of-15 shooting from the field. Holiday and Middleton became the fifth and sixth players to win an NBA championship and Olympic gold in the same year, joining Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kyrie Irving and LeBron James. France received the silver medal for the third time in the Olympics, all coming in gold-medal-game losses to the United States.


2020 United States presidential debates
The 2020 United States presidential debates between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the major candidates in the 2020 United States presidential election, were sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. The first debate took place on September 29, 2020. The next debate was scheduled to take place on October 15 but was later canceled due to Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis and refusal to appear remotely rather than in person. As a result, 2020 had the fewest debates since 1996. The final debate took place on October 22. Additionally, a debate between the vice presidential candidates Mike Pence and Kamala Harris took place on October 7.


2020 United States presidential debates, Background
On October 11, 2019, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) announced that it would host four debates; three of which would be between incumbent president Donald Trump, Democratic nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden, and any other participants that qualify, while one debate would be a vice presidential debate between incumbent vice president Mike Pence, Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris, and any third-party candidates that met the criteria.


2020 United States presidential debates, Background
In late 2019, Trump claimed that the 2016 debates were "biased." After meeting with his campaign manager, the commission co-chairman said that "the president wanted to debate, but they had concerns about whether or not to do it with the commission." While Trump did not press the issue further publicly, he also requested additional debates to the traditional three, which Biden's campaign declined. At the end of June, representatives of the Biden campaign confirmed that they had agreed to the original schedule.


2020 United States presidential debates, Background
In August, the CPD rejected a request by the Trump campaign to shift the debates to an earlier date, or to add a fourth debate in relation to mail-in voting.


2020 United States presidential debates, Background
On August 27, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi suggested that Biden should skip the debates, claiming that Trump will "probably act in a way that is beneath the dignity of the presidency". Biden responded by stating that he would go ahead and participate to "be a fact-checker on the floor while [...] debating [Trump]".


2020 United States presidential debates, Qualification of candidates
In order to qualify for the debates sponsored by the CPD, presidential candidates had to meet the following criteria; vice-presidential candidates qualify by being the running mate of a qualifying presidential candidate:


2020 United States presidential debates, Debate list
Three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate were initially scheduled:


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University)
The first debate was held on Tuesday, September 29, 2020, from 9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. EDT at the Samson Pavilion of the Health Education Campus (HEC), which is shared by Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland. Chris Wallace of Fox News moderated the debate.


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University)
The debate was originally scheduled to take place in the Phillip J. Purcell Pavilion located within the Edmund P. Joyce Center at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, but Notre Dame withdrew as a host site on July 27, 2020, due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University), Prelude
Entering into the debate, Biden had a significant and persistent lead in the polls. Biden's lead was compounded by a funding shortage in Trump's campaign, with Biden's campaign donations improving significantly.


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University), Prelude
Since Biden's successful nomination in the Democratic primaries, Trump had attempted to cast doubt over Biden's abilities, claiming that he was suffering from dementia and that he was taking performance-enhancing drugs in the primaries. Trump called for Biden to be drug tested before the debate. Biden mocked the idea. Trump also claimed that Biden would use a hidden electronic earpiece for the debate, demanding that Biden's ears be searched. Biden declined.


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University), Prelude
Running up to the debate, Trump made repeated claims that the election would be rigged by means of voter fraud, especially with regards to mail-in ballots. When asked if he would commit to a peaceful transition of power, Trump said, "we'll have to wait and see;" however, in a later press briefing, he said that he did believe in a peaceful transition of power. In several instances, Trump called for his supporters to vote twice—in order to test safeguards against voter fraud—even though voting more than once is a felony.


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University), Prelude
In the weeks leading up to the debate, Trump became part of various controversies. Bob Woodward released his second book on the Trump presidency, based on 19 recorded interviews with Trump. In one recording made in February 2020, Trump indicated that he understood the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic early on, which contrasted with Trump's attempts to publicly play down the virus. Trump confirmed that he downplayed the severity of the pandemic, saying that "I don't want to create a panic."


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University), Prelude
The New York Times published an investigation into Trump's federal tax returns, which found that Trump had paid no tax at all in 10 out of 15 years studied, and only $750 in federal income tax for 2016 and 2017. Additionally, they reported that his businesses lost money in most years. A few days before the debate, the US reached the milestone of 200,000 deaths from COVID-19. This number represented 20% of worldwide fatalities, despite the US having only 4% of the world's population.


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University), Prelude
Two weeks prior to the debate, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died from cancer. Ginsburg was one of four Supreme Court justices who are commonly considered liberal; the other five justices are commonly considered to be conservative. The day after Ginsberg's funeral, Trump nominated conservative Amy Coney Barrett. Senate Republicans, under the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, moved swiftly, promising to vote on her nomination before Election Day. The move was controversial, since the same Senate Republicans had refused to consider a Supreme Court nomination by President Barack Obama in an election year.


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University), Format and debate
The debate was divided into six segments: "Trump's and Biden's records, the Supreme Court, the COVID-19 pandemic, race and violence in cities, election integrity, and the economy". Each was approximately 15 minutes in length; Wallace introduced each topic and gave each candidate two minutes to speak, followed by facilitated discussion between them. The allotted time was generally not upheld; Trump repeatedly interrupted and criticized Biden during Biden's answers to the initial questions as well as during the facilitated discussions, and was chastised by Wallace several times for doing so.


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University), Format and debate
On several occasions, Wallace pleaded with Trump to respect the rules and norms of the debate. At one point, Biden refused to answer a question given by Wallace, leading to Trump interrupting him. Biden then remarked to Trump, "Will you shut up, man?" Biden also said in response to allegations that he would implement "socialist medicine"  "The party is me. I am the Democratic Party right now. The Democratic platform is what I, in fact, approved of." Additionally, Biden called Trump a "clown" during the discussion about healthcare plans.


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University), Format and debate
At one point during the debate, Biden and Wallace pressed Trump to condemn white supremacy groups. When Trump replied "Give me a name...", Biden responded with "The Proud Boys". Trump then said "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by", a remark interpreted by some members of that far-right group, as well as others, as a call to arms. When asked about his position on police reform, Biden called for an increase in police funding, in opposition to left-wing rhetoric calling for a defunding of police. He explained such funds would be used to hire psychologists or psychiatrists who would accompany police officers during 9-1-1 calls in order to defuse potentially violent situations and reduce the use of force, and improve officer training.


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University), Format and debate
Fact checkers challenged many of Trump's statements. Trump falsely said that he "brought back (college) football"; as he had commented on his wish for the conferences to play, but took no official action. Trump also repeated the claim that he ''got back'' Seattle and Minneapolis from left-wing protesters, and continued to repeat conspiracy theories about voter fraud.


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University), Format and debate
He said, without evidence, that drug prices will fall "80 or 90 percent," in reference to his efforts to cut drug prices and exaggerated that he is making insulin at prices "so cheap, it's like water", despite insulin prices remaining fixed at about $300 per vial.


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University), Format and debate
Trump also misleadingly said that the U.S. economy before the pandemic was "the greatest economy in the history of our country"; although GDP growth was high in the first three years of the Trump Presidency, it was higher under Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Bill Clinton, and the unemployment rate was lower under Eisenhower. Nominal GDP was higher than at any point in US history, but this is generally expected to be the case.


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University), Format and debate
When Biden brought up Trump's March 2020 remarks about injecting disinfectant to treat COVID-19, Trump claimed that they had been made sarcastically. Trump then stated that he brought back 700,000 manufacturing jobs; a false figure given that the actual number was 487,000. Biden then made several false claims, claiming that under Trump, the trade deficit with China grew and violent crime went up (only the national murder rate increased).


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University), Format and debate
Trump criticized Biden's handling of the 2009 swine flu pandemic, a pandemic in which an estimated 60 million cases in the United States occurred, with an estimated death toll of about 12,000. When Biden mentioned that Trump should get "a lot smarter", Trump said, "Don't ever use the word smart with me, don't ever use that word [...] Because there's nothing smart about you, Joe," and incorrectly stated that Biden forgot where he went to college, referring to a video in which Biden talks about announcing his first Senate campaign on the campus of Delaware State University.


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University), Reception and aftermath
A post-debate CNN/SSRS poll found that 60% of debate-viewers thought that Biden had won and 28% thought Trump had, with a margin of error of six points. According to a CBS News poll taken following the debate, 48% of people thought Biden won, 41% of people thought Trump won, while 10% considered it a tie, with a margin of error of three points. In the same poll, 83% of the respondents believed the tone of the debate was negative, while 17% believed it was positive. The debate was largely seen negatively across the political spectrum.


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University), Reception and aftermath
The debate was widely criticized by commentators and journalists. It was called "a hot mess, inside a dumpster fire, inside a train wreck" and a "disgrace" (CNN's Jake Tapper); a "shitshow" (CNN's Dana Bash); "mud-wrestling" (ABC's Martha Raddatz); "the worst presidential debate I have ever seen in my life" (ABC's George Stephanopoulos); and "the single worst debate I have ever covered in my two decades of doing this job" (CNN's Chris Cillizza).


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University), Reception and aftermath
The New York Times editorial board called the debate "excruciating" and wrote: "After five years of conditioning, the president's ceaseless lies, insults and abuse were no less breath-taking to behold." The Washington Post editorial board called the debate "a disgrace" and demonstrated that "Trump's assault on democracy is escalating." ABC White House correspondent Jonathan Karl said that Trump "came across as a bully" in the debate. According to the Washington Examiner, some conservatives criticized Wallace for an alleged bias against Trump due to Wallace's frequent interruptions of Trump.


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University), Reception and aftermath
After moderating the debate, Wallace described his performance as moderator as "a terrible missed opportunity" and remarked that he had not been prepared for Trump's behavior. In response to the failure of the debate and subsequent criticism, the Commission on Presidential Debates indicated that it would modify future debates to encourage a more civilized and orderly discussion. While Biden said that he was open to changes, Trump rejected the idea, suggesting that changes would erode his advantage. Despite criticism of his moderation, the CPD defended Wallace's moderation ability, commending his "professionalism and skill".


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University), Reception and aftermath
Trump's "stand by" remarks received criticism. Rick Santorum, a former Republican senator, later said that it was a "huge mistake" by Trump not to condemn white supremacy properly during the debate. Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade criticized Trump for not condemning white supremacy, saying that Trump "ruined the biggest layup in the history of debates" by not doing so. Trump's team disagreed with these criticisms, arguing that Trump has "continuously denounced" white supremacists and did so twice during the debate.


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University), Reception and aftermath
The day after the debate, Trump said, "I don't know who Proud Boys are, but whoever they are, they have to stand down." On October 1, Trump said on Sean Hannity's show: "I've said it many times, and let me be clear again: I condemn the KKK. I condemn all white supremacists. I condemn the Proud Boys. I don't know much about the Proud Boys, almost nothing. But I condemn that." Researcher Rita Katz, executive director of SITE Intelligence Group, told The Washington Post that Proud Boys memberships on Telegram channels grew nearly 10 percent after the debate. Proud Boys merchandise featuring the phrases "stand back" and "stand by" appeared online after the debate and was subsequently banned from sites including Amazon Marketplace and Teespring; it remained available on eBay as of October 1.


2020 United States presidential debates, September 29 presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University), Reception and aftermath
The debate had a total of at least 73.1 million viewers on television, according to Nielsen ratings. It was the third most watched debate in U.S. history, behind the first debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016 (84 million), and the only debate between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan in 1980 (80.6 million). The television viewership declined 13% compared to the debate for the first presidential debate of 2016, but an unknown number of people watched or listened to the debate via live-streaming or radio, so the total audience likely surpassed the 2016 record.


2020 United States presidential debates, Vice presidential debate (University of Utah)
The vice presidential debate was held on Wednesday, October 7, 2020, from 9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. EDT at Kingsbury Hall at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Susan Page of USA Today moderated the debate.


2020 United States presidential debates, Vice presidential debate (University of Utah), Changes due to COVID-19
After President Trump and a number of White House individuals tested positive for COVID-19, it was announced that Pence and Harris would stand 12 feet apart. On October 5, the Commission on Presidential Debates approved the use of plexiglass, but the next day, it said that the candidates and moderator would each be allowed to choose whether they wanted such a barrier near their own body. A commission member argued that Harris "is the one who wanted plexiglass... If [Pence] doesn't want plexiglass, that is up to him." Pence subsequently agreed to a plexiglass barrier, so there were two barriers; one by each candidate.


2020 United States presidential debates, Vice presidential debate (University of Utah), Format and debate
The debate was to be divided into nine 10-minute segments, although the moderator was only able to ask candidates about eight topics. The candidates were seated 12 feet and 3 inches apart.


2020 United States presidential debates, Vice presidential debate (University of Utah), Format and debate
During the debate, Pence echoed many of Trump's false or misleading claims, including on topics such as the COVID-19 pandemic (Pence inaccurately said that the administration had "always" been truthful about the pandemic), health care (Pence inaccurately claimed that he and Trump had a plan to "improve health care and to protect pre-existing conditions for every American," when no such plan has been put forth by the administration), and universal mail-in voting (Pence inaccurately claimed that this system would "create a massive opportunity for voter fraud," a claim contrary to numerous studies). Pence also misrepresented the findings of the Mueller investigation, as well as Biden's position on fracking and the Green New Deal. To a lesser degree, Harris also made statements that were misleading or lacked context, mostly relating to the U.S. economy.


2020 United States presidential debates, Vice presidential debate (University of Utah), Format and debate
During the debate, moderator Susan Page asked both vice presidential candidates whether they had discussed, or reached an agreement with their running mates, "about safeguards or procedures when it comes to presidential disability." The issue had come to prominence due to the age of both presidential candidates (both are in their 70s) and Trump's hospitalization with COVID-19 earlier that same month. Both Pence and Harris dodged the question and instead pivoted to other topics.


2020 United States presidential debates, Vice presidential debate (University of Utah), Format and debate
When Harris was asked if she would support an expansion of the number of justices on the Supreme Court if the Senate confirmed Trump's nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Court, she did not answer the question, instead mentioning how President Abraham Lincoln did not nominate a successor for Justice Roger B. Taney, as he had died 27 days before the 1864 presidential election. Toward the end of the debate, Pence refused to commit to accepting the results of the election, and ensuring a peaceful transition of power, if Trump and Pence lost. Pence's response echoed Trump's own repeated statements refusing to commit to honoring the results if he loses.


2020 United States presidential debates, Vice presidential debate (University of Utah), Format and debate
A fly landed on Pence's head during the debate and Pence's left eye appeared bloodshot, attracting commentary and spawning internet memes and a popular Halloween costume.


2020 United States presidential debates, Vice presidential debate (University of Utah), Format and debate
Shortly after the debate, the candidates' spouses joined them onstage. Harris's husband Douglas Emhoff wore a face mask, while Pence's wife Karen Pence did not, in apparent violation of a Commission on Presidential Debates rule requiring that every attendee, except the candidates and moderator, wear a mask while in the debate hall. Following a backlash, a spokesman for Karen Pence stated that she had "followed an agreement established between both campaigns prior to the debate."


2020 United States presidential debates, Vice presidential debate (University of Utah), Viewership
The debate had a total of 57.9 million viewers on TV and had the second-largest television audience of any U.S. vice presidential debate; it was watched by an estimated 22 million more people than the amount who watched the 2016 vice presidential debate, falling behind the only debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden in 2008.


2020 United States presidential debates, Canceled October 15 presidential debate (Arsht Center)
The second debate was scheduled to take place on Thursday, October 15, 2020, from 9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. EDT, at the Arsht Center in Miami. This debate had originally been scheduled to be held at the Crisler Center at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but the University of Michigan withdrew as a host on June 23, 2020, over public health concerns stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Steve Scully of C-SPAN was to have moderated the debate, which would have been in the town hall meeting format.


2020 United States presidential debates, Canceled October 15 presidential debate (Arsht Center), Trump contracts COVID-19
On the morning of October 2, the White House press office announced that the president had contracted COVID-19. One of his close advisers, Hope Hicks, had shown symptoms on the plane while returning from the first debate, and subsequently tested positive. Trump, along with First Lady Melania Trump, tested positive shortly afterwards and went into quarantine. The president was hospitalized for three days. The second debate would have been within the CDC's recommended quarantine period of two weeks. The Commission on Presidential Debates did not immediately specify if Trump's diagnosis would affect the second debate.


2020 United States presidential debates, Canceled October 15 presidential debate (Arsht Center), Change of format
On October 8, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced that, due to Trump's positive COVID diagnosis, the second debate would be held virtually, with the moderator in Miami and the candidates participating remotely. Biden agreed to participate in the debate, but Trump said he would not take part in a virtual debate and would instead hold a rally. A Biden campaign spokesperson stated, regarding Trump's declination to participate in a virtual debate, that "Biden would be happy to appear virtually, but said if the president declines to appear, the former vice president will hold a town hall elsewhere." The Biden campaign later scheduled a nationally televised town hall on ABC with George Stephanopoulos on October 15.


2020 United States presidential debates, Canceled October 15 presidential debate (Arsht Center), Change of format
Trump's physician Sean Conley said on October 8 that Trump's condition was stable and that he was "devoid of symptoms"; however, that evening Trump appeared by phone on Hannity and suffered several coughing fits. Conley said that he anticipated that Trump could have a "safe return to public engagements" by October 10, ten days after his diagnosis. According to the CDC, people with COVID-19 remain contagious for up to 20 days after their onset of symptoms, depending on the severity of the case; Trump's treatment using remdesivir and dexamethasone was typical of a severe case.


2020 United States presidential debates, Canceled October 15 presidential debate (Arsht Center), Change of format
The Trump campaign called for the second debate to be held in person as originally scheduled, saying there was "no medical reason" for the debate to be shifted to a virtual setting, postponed, or  otherwise changed "in any way." However, Fahrenkopf said that the commission would not reconsider its decision to make the event virtual so as to "protect the health and safety of all involved."


2020 United States presidential debates, Canceled October 15 presidential debate (Arsht Center), Cancellation
The commission announced on October 9 that the second debate had been canceled while the final debate would still proceed as originally planned, with Kristen Welker moderating. As a result of the debate cancellation, each candidate participated in separate town hall events televised at the same time (8:00 p.m. EDT). Biden's town hall was broadcast on ABC and Trump's town hall was broadcast on NBC. Biden's town hall was watched by 14.1 million people on ABC, while Trump's town hall was watched by 13.5 million people on NBC. More people watched Biden's town hall, broadcast solely on ABC, than Trump's town hall, broadcast on NBC and two of its cable channels, MSNBC and CNBC.


2020 United States presidential debates, Canceled October 15 presidential debate (Arsht Center), Cancellation
Columbia Journalism Review editor and publisher Kyle Pope characterized the duelling events as "a craven ratings stunt". During the 1968 United States presidential election, Richard Nixon refused to debate Hubert Humphrey, also resulting in separate late-night television events: fundraising telethons were scheduled for mostly-overlapping time slots with the Democratic candidate similarly appearing on ABC and the Republican candidate on NBC.


2020 United States presidential debates, October 22 presidential debate (Belmont University)
The final debate took place on Thursday, October 22, 2020, from 9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. EDT, at the Curb Event Center at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, with Kristen Welker of NBC moderating. This would have been the third debate, but became only the second, following the cancellation of the October 15 debate.


2020 United States presidential debates, October 22 presidential debate (Belmont University), Format and debate
In response to the interruptions that occurred during the first debate, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced on October 19 that each candidate's microphone would be muted during the other's initial two-minute response to each question. The announcement also stated that after each candidate gave his two-minute response, the microphones would not be muted. The muting was performed by production staff instead of the moderator.


2020 United States presidential debates, October 22 presidential debate (Belmont University), Format and debate
The debate was divided into six segments: "fighting COVID-19, American families, race in America, climate change, national security, and leadership". On the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump claimed that a vaccine would be released in the next few weeks, while Biden criticized Trump for his lack of action (along with the lack of a plan) to contain the virus. Referring to Trump, Biden said, "This is the same fellow who told you this was going to end by Easter last time. This is the same fellow who said, 'Don't worry, we're going to end it this by the summer.'


2020 United States presidential debates, October 22 presidential debate (Belmont University), Format and debate
We're about to go into a dark winter [...] and he has no clear plan." Biden also said that there was "no prospect" that a vaccine would be "available for the majority of the American people" before mid-2021. Trump responded by saying that Americans had to learn to live with the virus; Biden replied that, under Trump, Americans were "learning to die from" the virus. Asked whether he took responsibility for his actions, Trump said, "I take full responsibility. It's not my fault that it came here. It's China's fault." While Trump stated that he would re-open the country as soon as possible, Biden stated that he would do it with certain restrictions.


2020 United States presidential debates, October 22 presidential debate (Belmont University), Format and debate
On national security, the candidates were asked about the recently released Director of National Intelligence report about interference in the ongoing election by Russia and Iran. Biden described foreign electoral interference as an interference with American sovereignty, specifically referencing Russia, China, and Iran, and said that any country that interfered in U.S. elections would "pay a price." Biden also expressed concerns over Russian misinformation sent to Rudy Giuliani, whom he called a "Russian pawn". Dodging the question, Trump responded by falsely claiming that Biden had received money from the Mayor of Moscow.


2020 United States presidential debates, October 22 presidential debate (Belmont University), Format and debate
After Biden brought up newly reported information about Trump's tax returns, as well as Trump's secret bank account in China, Trump stated that he prepaid millions in taxes and complained that the IRS had treated him "very unfairly." Biden replied, "Release your tax returns, or stop talking about corruption." On the topic of North Korea, Trump said that he had a "good relationship" with Kim Jong-un and that because of that, "there's no war." On his turn, Biden stated that the nuclear weapons in North Korea were still a problem for the US and criticized Trump's friendship with Kim, whom Biden called a "thug".


2020 United States presidential debates, October 22 presidential debate (Belmont University), Format and debate
On healthcare and the Affordable Care Act (ACA or "Obamacare"), Trump said, "I would like to terminate Obamacare, come up with a brand new, beautiful health care" that would be "better" and reaffirmed his support for a lawsuit to invalidate the ACA. Trump offered no replacement plan. Biden said he would build on and improve the ACA, adding a public health insurance option in addition to existing private plans. Trump compared Biden's plan to that of Bernie Sanders, while falsely claiming that Biden's plan would be "socialized medicine".


2020 United States presidential debates, October 22 presidential debate (Belmont University), Format and debate
On proposals for a new round of coronavirus economic relief legislation, Trump blamed Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for the failure of relief legislation to pass, although Pelosi was in the midst of negotiating a relief bill with Trump's Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Biden reminded viewers that the Democratic-led House had passed a coronavirus relief months ago, and that the legislation was not taken up in the Republican-controlled Senate. Biden asked Trump why he was not conferring with his "Republican friends" about an agreement.


2020 United States presidential debates, October 22 presidential debate (Belmont University), Format and debate
(Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has urged the Trump White House not to make an agreement with Pelosi before the election.) Trump said that he opposed the bill passed by House Democrats in part because it included funds for Democratic-led local government. Trump called the House Democrats' bill "a big bailout for badly run Democratic cities and states." In response, Biden stressed unity, saying, "Look what he's doing. Blue states or red states — they're all the United States."


2020 United States presidential debates, October 22 presidential debate (Belmont University), Format and debate
Biden noted that every state was experiencing fiscal stress due to the economic downturn, saying that in the absence of relief, budget shortfalls would force the state governments, "whether red or blue," to "start laying off [...] cops, firefighters, first responders, teachers." Speaking after the debate, Biden said that, if elected, he would work with state and local leaders on a relief bill during the transition.


2020 United States presidential debates, October 22 presidential debate (Belmont University), Format and debate
On proposals to raise the federal minimum wage from the current $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour, Biden reaffirmed his support for the increase, while Trump said that the minimum wage should be left to the states and that a federal minimum wage increase would hurt businesses.


2020 United States presidential debates, October 22 presidential debate (Belmont University), Format and debate
On immigration and the Trump administration policy of separating children from their parents at the border (a policy that the administration halted after an international outcry), Trump dodged the question, falsely claiming that his administration had inherited the policy that led to the separation of thousands of families from the Obama administration. An impassioned Biden condemned the Trump administration policy and said that it was "criminal" that 545 children separated under the policy have still not been reunited with their parents.


2020 United States presidential debates, October 22 presidential debate (Belmont University), Format and debate
On the topic of race in America, both candidates were asked to address Black parents about "the talk", in which Black parents talk to their children about racism in the United States. While Biden addressed the public, Trump asserted that Biden had caused harm to the African-American community during his time as a senator. Trump claimed that he had done more for the African-American community than any other president except possibly Abraham Lincoln, and that he was the "least racist person in this room", to which Biden mockingly said "Abraham Lincoln over here is one of the most racist Presidents in modern history".


2020 United States presidential debates, October 22 presidential debate (Belmont University), Format and debate
On climate change, Trump falsely claimed that the US had the lowest carbon emissions numbers since the 1990s, referring to the air in China, Russia, and India as "filthy". On his turn, Biden proposed a plan to combat global warming by transitioning the country from fossil fuels to renewable energy, saying this shift would create millions of jobs. In his response, Trump claimed that he knew more about wind energy than Biden and that "wind [turbines] kill all the birds."


2020 United States presidential debates, October 22 presidential debate (Belmont University), Format and debate
The moderator asked Trump, "Some people of color are much more likely to live near oil refineries and chemical plants in Texas. There are families who worry the plants near them are making them sick. Your administration has rolled back regulations on these kinds of facilities. Why should these families give you another four years in office?" This marked the first time that environmental justice issues were discussed in a general election debate. Trump replied that the plants give them good sources of employment, while Biden stressed expressed support for regulating pollutants that negatively affect fenceline communities. When both were asked about the future of energy, Trump emphasized economic priorities, while Biden stressed alternate forms of energy and said he wanted to "transition from the oil industry."


2020 United States presidential debates, October 22 presidential debate (Belmont University), Format and debate
In the final segment (on "leadership") both candidates were asked what they would say on their inauguration day to the Americans who did not vote for them. Trump focused on the state of the economy, while Biden said that he would promise to represent every American in the country, "choose science over fiction", create new jobs, and give Americans the even chance that they "haven't been getting for the last four years."


2020 United States presidential debates, October 22 presidential debate (Belmont University), Reception
A post-debate CNN/SSRS poll found that 53% of debate-viewers thought that Biden had won and 39% thought Trump had, with a margin of error of 5.7 points. The debate was generally praised for its less hostile nature and for the candidates being prompted to go into more detail about their proposals. FiveThirtyEight opined that the debate did not have a major impact on either candidate's favorability, polling numbers, or likelihood of winning.


2020 United States presidential debates, October 22 presidential debate (Belmont University), Reception
The second and final presidential debate was watched by 63 million people, an estimated 10 million fewer people than the amount who watched the first debate, and 8.6 million less than the amount who watched the final debate of 2016. This was due to the debate being broadcast concurrently with Thursday Night Football, which accumulated a total of 7 million viewers on FOX.


2020 United States presidential election
The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Harris defeated the incumbent Republican president Donald Trump and incumbent vice president Mike Pence. The election took place against the backdrop of the global COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 recession. It was the first election since 1992, and the fifth in the past century, in which the incumbent president failed to win a second term.


2020 United States presidential election
The election saw the highest voter turnout by percentage since 1900, with each of the two main tickets receiving more than 74 million votes, surpassing Barack Obama's record of 69.5 million votes from 2008. Biden received more than 81 million votes, the most votes ever cast for a candidate in a U.S. presidential election.


2020 United States presidential election
Biden secured the Democratic nomination over his closest rival, Senator Bernie Sanders, in a competitive primary that featured the largest field of candidates for any political party in the modern era of American politics. Biden's running mate, Senator Kamala Harris from California, became the first African-American, first Asian-American, and third female vice presidential nominee on a major party ticket. Jo Jorgensen secured the Libertarian nomination with Spike Cohen as her running mate, and Howie Hawkins secured the Green nomination with Angela Nicole Walker as his running mate.


2020 United States presidential election
Central issues of the election included the public health and economic impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; civil unrest in reaction to the police murder of George Floyd and others; the U.S. Supreme Court following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett; and the future of the Affordable Care Act.


2020 United States presidential election
The election saw a record number of ballots cast early and by mail due to the ongoing pandemic. Many more Democrats voted by mail than Republicans. As a result of a large number of mail-in ballots, some swing states saw delays in vote counting and reporting; this led to major news outlets delaying their projection of Biden and Harris as the president-elect and vice president-elect until the morning of November 7, three and a half days after the election. Major media networks project a state for a candidate once there is high statistical confidence that the outstanding vote would be unlikely to prevent the projected winner from ultimately winning that state.


2020 United States presidential election
Before, during, and after Election Day, Trump and numerous Republicans attempted to subvert the election and overturn the results, falsely alleging widespread voter fraud and trying to influence the vote counting process in swing states. Attorney General William Barr and officials in each of the 50 states found no evidence of widespread fraud or irregularities in the election. Federal agencies overseeing election security said it was the most secure in American history.


2020 United States presidential election
The Trump campaign and its allies, including Republican members of Congress, continued to engage in numerous attempts to overturn the results of the election by filing 63 lawsuits in several states (all of which were withdrawn or dismissed), spreading conspiracy theories alleging fraud, pressuring Republican state election officials and legislators to change results, pressuring the Department of Justice to declare the election "corrupt" and intervene, objecting to the Electoral College certification in Congress, and refusing to cooperate with the presidential transition of Joe Biden.


2020 United States presidential election
This culminated in a mob of Trump supporters attacking the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, and Trump being impeached for incitement of insurrection. Trump said repeatedly that he would never concede the election. However, on January 7, 2021, one day after the violent Capitol attack and two months after Biden's victory was declared, Trump acknowledged the incoming administration without mentioning Biden's name in a video posted to Twitter.


2020 United States presidential election
The election results in each state and the District of Columbia were certified by December 9. The presidential electors formally cast their votes for president and vice president on December 14, and their votes were officially counted by Congress from January 6–7, 2021, before and after the attack on the Capitol by pro-Trump insurrectionists. Biden and Harris were inaugurated on January 20, 2021.


2020 United States presidential election, Background, Procedure
Article Two of the United States Constitution states that for a person to serve as president, the individual must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, be at least 35 years old, and have been a United States resident for at least 14 years. Candidates for the presidency typically seek the nomination of one of the various political parties of the United States. Each party develops a method (such as a primary election) to choose the candidate the party deems best suited to run for the position.


2020 United States presidential election, Background, Procedure
The primary elections are usually indirect elections where voters cast ballots for a slate of party delegates pledged to a particular candidate. The party's delegates then officially nominate a candidate to run on the party's behalf. The presidential nominee typically chooses a vice presidential running mate to form that party's ticket, which is then ratified by the delegates at the party's convention (with the exception of the Libertarian Party, which nominates its vice-presidential candidate by delegate vote regardless of the presidential nominee's preference).


2020 United States presidential election, Background, Procedure
The general election in November is also an indirect election, in which voters cast ballots for a slate of members of the Electoral College; these electors then directly elect the president and vice president. If no candidate receives the minimum 270 electoral votes needed to win the election, the United States House of Representatives will select the president from the three candidates who received the most electoral votes, and the United States Senate will select the vice president from the candidates who received the two highest totals. The presidential election occurred simultaneously alongside elections for the House of Representatives, Senate, and various state and local-level elections.


2020 United States presidential election, Background, Procedure
The Maine Legislature passed a bill in August 2019 adopting ranked-choice voting (RCV) both for presidential primaries and for the general election. Governor Janet Mills allowed the bill to become law without her signature, which delayed it from taking effect until after the 2020 Democratic primary in March, but made Maine the first state to use RCV for a presidential general election. The Maine Republican Party filed signatures for a veto referendum and preclude the use of RCV for the 2020 election, but Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap found there were insufficient valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.


2020 United States presidential election, Background, Procedure
A challenge in Maine Superior Court was successful for the Maine Republican Party, but the Maine Supreme Judicial Court stayed the ruling pending appeal on September 8, 2020. Nevertheless, ballots began being printed later that day without the veto referendum and including RCV for the presidential election, and the Court ruled in favor of the Secretary of State on September 22, allowing RCV to be used. An emergency appeal to the Supreme Court was denied on October 6.


2020 United States presidential election, Background, Procedure
Implementation of RCV could potentially delay the projection of the winner(s) of Maine's electoral votes for days after election day and may complicate interpretation of the national popular vote. The law continues the use of the congressional district method for the allocation of Maine's electors (Nebraska is the only other state that apportions its electoral votes this way).


2020 United States presidential election, Background, Procedure
On December 14, 2020, pledged electors for each candidate, known collectively as the United States Electoral College, gathered in their states' capitols to cast their official votes. Pursuant to the processes laid out by the Electoral Count Act of 1887, certificates of ascertainment listing the names of the electors and separate certificates recording their votes are distributed to various officials across the branches of government. The newly elected Congress, with the Vice President in his role as Senate President presiding, met in joint session to formally open the certificates and count the votes, which began on January 6, 2021, was interrupted by the storming of the Capitol building, and finished the following day.


2020 United States presidential election, Background, Simultaneous elections
The presidential election occurred simultaneously with elections to the Senate and the House of Representatives. Gubernatorial and legislative elections were also held in several states. For the subsequent election, the United States House will redistribute the seats among the 50 states based on the results of the 2020 United States Census, and the states will conduct a redistricting of Congressional and state legislative districts. In most states, the governor and the state legislature conduct the redistricting, although some states have redistricting commissions.


2020 United States presidential election, Background, Simultaneous elections
Often, a party that wins a presidential election experiences a coattail effect that also helps other candidates of that party win elections. Therefore, the party that wins the 2020 presidential election could also win a significant advantage in drawing new congressional and state legislative districts which would stay in effect until 2032.


2020 United States presidential election, Nominations, Democratic Party
Joe Biden became the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party on June 5, 2020, when he secured enough delegates to ensure his nomination at the national convention. He was formally nominated at the convention on August 18.


2020 United States presidential election, Nominations, Republican Party
Every incumbent president seeking another term has been renominated by their party since 1884. Donald Trump and his running mate, Mike Pence, were able to secure the nomination easily after receiving enough delegates in the 2020 Republican presidential primaries.


2020 United States presidential election, Nominations, Libertarian Party
Jo Jorgensen, who was the running mate of author Harry Browne in 1996, received the Libertarian nomination at the national convention on May 23, 2020. She achieved ballot access in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.


2020 United States presidential election, Nominations, Green Party
Howie Hawkins became the presumptive nominee of the Green Party on June 21, 2020, and was officially nominated by the party on July 11, 2020. Hawkins secured ballot access in 29 states and the District of Columbia, representing 381 electoral votes, and write-in access in 16 more states representing 130 electoral votes.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Party conventions
The 2020 Democratic National Convention was originally scheduled for July 13–16 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but was delayed to August 17–20 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 24, 2020, it was announced that the convention would be held in a mixed online-in person format, with most delegates attending remotely but a few still attending the physical convention site. On August 5, the in-person portion of the convention was scaled down even further, with major speeches including Biden's being switched to a virtual format.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Party conventions
The 2020 Republican National Convention took place from August 24–27 in Charlotte, North Carolina and various remote locations. Originally, a three-day convention was planned to be held in North Carolina, but due to North Carolina's insistence that the convention follow COVID-19 social distancing rules, the speeches and celebrations were moved to Jacksonville, Florida (official convention business was still contractually obligated to be conducted in Charlotte). However, due to the worsening situation with regards to COVID-19 in Florida, the plans there were cancelled, and the convention was moved back to Charlotte in a scaled-down capacity.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Party conventions
The 2020 Libertarian National Convention was originally scheduled to be held in Austin, Texas, over Memorial Day weekend from May 22 to 25, but all reservations at the JW Marriott Downtown Austin for the convention were cancelled on April 26 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Libertarian National Committee eventually decided the party would hold two conventions, one online from May 22–24 to select the presidential and vice-presidential nominees and one at a physical convention in Orlando, Florida, from July 8–12 for other business.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Party conventions
The 2020 Green National Convention was originally to be held in Detroit, Michigan, from July 9 to 12. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the convention was instead held online, without a change in date.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Impeachment
The House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump on two counts on December 18, 2019. The trial in the Senate began on January 21, 2020, and ended on February 5, resulting in acquittal by the United States Senate.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Impeachment
This is the second time a president has been impeached during his first term while running for a second term. Trump continued to hold campaign rallies during the impeachment. This is also the first time since the modern presidential primaries were established in 1911 that a president has been subjected to impeachment while the primary season was underway. The impeachment process overlapped with the primary campaigns, forcing senators running for the Democratic nomination to remain in Washington for the trial in the days before and after the Iowa caucuses.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
Several events related to the 2020 presidential election were altered or postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the country and its effects such as the stay-at-home order and social distancing guidelines by local governments. On March 10, following primary elections in six states, Democratic candidates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders cancelled planned campaign night events and further in-person campaigning and campaign rallies. On March 12, Trump also stated his intent to postpone further campaign rallies. The 11th Democratic debate was held on March 15 without an audience at the CNN studios in Washington, D.C.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
Several states also postponed their primaries to a later date, including Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, and Maryland. As of March 24, 2020, all major-party presidential candidates had halted in-person campaigning and campaign rallies over COVID-19 concerns. Political analysts speculated at the time that the moratorium on traditional campaigning coupled with the effects of the pandemic on the nation could have unpredictable effects on the voting populace and possibly, how the election will be conducted.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
Some presidential primary elections were severely disrupted by COVID-19-related issues, including long lines at polling places, greatly increased requests for absentee ballots, and technology issues. The number of polling places was often greatly reduced due to a shortage of election workers able or willing to work during the pandemic. Most states expanded or encouraged voting by mail as an alternative, but many voters complained that they never received the absentee ballots they had requested.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
The March 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act included money for states to increase mail-in voting. By May, Trump and his campaign strongly opposed mail-in voting, claiming that it would cause widespread voter fraud, a belief which has been debunked by a number of media organizations. Government response to the impact of the pandemic from the Trump administration, coupled to the differing positions taken by congressional Democrats and Republicans regarding economic stimulus became a major campaign issue for both parties.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
On April 6, the Supreme Court and Republicans in the State Legislature of Wisconsin rebuffed Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers's request to move the state's spring elections to June. As a result, the elections, which included a presidential primary, went ahead on April 7 as planned. At least seven new cases of COVID-19 were traced to this election. Voting-rights advocates expressed fear of similar chaos on a nationwide scale in November, recommending states to move to expand vote-by-mail options.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
On June 20, 2020, Trump's campaign held an in-person rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the event could go ahead despite continuing concerns over COVID-19. Attendance at the rally was far lower than expected, being described as a "flop", with it leading to a significant worsening of relations between Trump and his campaign manager Brad Parscale. 7.7 million people watched the event on Fox News, a Saturday audience record for that channel. Three weeks after the rally, the Oklahoma State Department of Health recorded record numbers of cases of COVID-19, and former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain died of the virus, although it was not confirmed that he caught the disease due to his attendance at the rally.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
On October 2, 2020, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 following a positive test from his senior adviser Hope Hicks, as part of larger COVID-19 outbreak among White House personnel. Both the president and first lady immediately entered quarantine, which prevented Trump from further campaigning, notably at campaign rallies. Later that day, the President was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center with a low grade fever, where he was reported to have received an experimental antibody treatment. Trump's diagnosis came only two days after he had shared the stage with Joe Biden at the first presidential debate. This led to the concern that Biden may have contracted the virus from Trump; however, Biden tested negative. Trump was discharged from the hospital on October 5.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
Trump being diagnosed with COVID-19 was widely seen as having a negative effect on his campaign and shifted the attention of the public back onto COVID-19, an issue which is generally seen as a liability for Trump, due to his response to the COVID-19 pandemic suffering from low approval ratings. Being in quarantine also meant Trump was unable to attend rallies, which were a major part of his campaign. As a result of Trump contracting COVID-19, Biden continued campaigning but temporarily ceased running attack ads against him.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
Trump resumed in-person rallies on October 12, one week after his discharge from the hospital. Trump continued to travel to battleground states and hold mass rallies, sometimes two or three in a day. His rallies have been criticized for their lack of social distancing or mask wearing, and some polls suggest that voters see him less favorably for potentially endangering attendees.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Foreign interference
U.S. officials have accused Russia, China and Iran of trying to influence the 2020 United States elections. On October 4, 2019, Microsoft announced that "Phosphorus", a group of hackers linked to the Iranian government, had attempted to compromise e-mail accounts belonging to journalists, U.S. government officials and the campaign of a U.S. presidential candidate. The Voice of America reported in April 2020 that "Internet security researchers say there have already been signs that China-allied hackers have engaged in so-called 'spear-phishing' attacks on American political targets ahead of the 2020 vote." Chinese spokesman Geng Shuang denied the allegations and said he would "hope the people of the U.S. not drag China into its electoral politics".


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Foreign interference
On February 13, 2020, American intelligence officials advised members of the House Intelligence Committee that Russia was interfering in the 2020 election in an effort to get Trump re-elected. The briefing was delivered by Shelby Pierson, the intelligence community's top election security official and an aide to acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire. On February 21, The Washington Post reported that, according to unnamed U.S. officials, Russia was interfering in the Democratic primary in an effort to support the nomination of Senator Bernie Sanders.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Foreign interference
Sanders issued a statement after the news report, saying in part, "I don't care, frankly, who Putin wants to be president. My message to Putin is clear: stay out of American elections, and as president, I will make sure that you do." Sanders acknowledged that his campaign was briefed about Russia's alleged efforts about a month prior.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Foreign interference
In a February 2020 briefing to the House Intelligence Committee, U.S. intelligence officials warned Congress that Russia was interfering in the 2020 campaign to support Trump's reelection campaign; Trump was angered that Congress had been informed of the threat, and the day after the briefing castigated the acting director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire, for allowing the briefing to go forward. China and some government-linked Chinese individuals have been accused of interfering in the election to support the candidacy of both Biden and Trump, though whether it is actually doing so is disputed among the intelligence community.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Foreign interference
On October 21, threatening emails were sent to Democrats in at least four states. The emails warned, "You will vote for Trump on Election Day or we will come after you." Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe announced that evening that the emails, using a spoofed return address, had been sent by Iran.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Foreign interference
He added that both Iran and Russia are known to have obtained American voter registration data, possibly from publicly available information, and "This data can be used by foreign actors to attempt to communicate false information to registered voters that they hope will cause confusion, sow chaos and undermine your confidence in American democracy." A spokesman for Iran denied the allegation. In his announcement Ratcliffe said Iran's intent had been "to intimidate voters, incite social unrest, and damage President Trump", raising questions as to how ordering Democrats to vote for Trump would be damaging to Trump. It was later reported that the reference to Trump had not been in Ratcliffe's prepared remarks as signed off by the other officials on the stage; he had added it on his own.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Foreign interference
Throughout the election period, several Colombian lawmakers and the Colombian ambassador to the United States issued statements supporting the Donald Trump campaign, which has been viewed as potentially harmful to Colombia–United States relations. On October 26, the U.S. Ambassador to Colombia, Philip Goldberg, requested that Colombian politicians abstain from getting involved in the elections.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Foreign interference
The Department of Justice is investigating whether the Trump Victory Committee took a $100,000 donation from Malaysian businessman and international fugitive Jho Low, who is accused of being the mastermind behind the multibillion-dollar 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal involving a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Foreign interference
Government officials and American corporate security officers braced for a repeat of 2016's election infrastructure hacking and similar twenty-first century attacks, and in fact conducted what were characterized as pre-emptive counter-strikes on botnet infrastructure which might be used in large-scale coordination of hacking, and some incidents earlier in the year appeared to foreshadow such possibilities.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Foreign interference
Nonetheless, after his dismissal, in a December 2020 interview Chris Krebs, the Trump administration's director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), described monitoring Election Day from CISA's joint command center along with representatives from the military's United States Cyber Command, the National Security Agency (NSA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the United States Secret Service (USSS), the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), representatives of vendors of voting machine equipment, and representatives of state and local governments, as well as his agency's analysis preceding and after that day, saying, "It was quiet.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Foreign interference
There was no indication or evidence that there was any sort of hacking or compromise of election systems on, before, or after November third." Responding to spurious claims of foreign outsourcing of vote counting as a rationale behind litigation attempting to stop official vote-counting in some areas, Krebs also affirmed that, "All votes in the United States of America are counted in the United States of America."


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Foreign interference
Acts of foreign interference included Russian state-directed application of computational propaganda approaches, more conventional state-sponsored Internet propaganda, smaller-scale disinformation efforts, "information laundering" and "trading up the chain" propaganda tactics employing some government officials, Trump affiliates, and US media outlets.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Trump's potential rejection of election results
During the campaign, Trump indicated in Twitter posts, interviews, and speeches that he might refuse to recognize the outcome of the election if he was defeated; Trump falsely suggested that the election would be rigged against him. In July 2020, Trump declined to answer whether he would accept the results, just as he did in the 2016 presidential election, telling Fox News anchor Chris Wallace that "I have to see. No, I'm not going to just say yes. I'm not going to say no."


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Trump's potential rejection of election results
Trump repeatedly claimed that "the only way" he could lose would be if the election was "rigged" and repeatedly refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power after the election. Trump also attacked mail-in voting throughout the campaign, falsely claiming that the practice contains high rates of fraud; at one point, Trump said, "We'll see what happens ... Get rid of the ballots and you'll have a very peaceful – there won't be a transfer, frankly. There will be a continuation." Trump's statements have been described as a threat "to upend the constitutional order". In September 2020, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, who was appointed by Trump, testified under oath that the FBI has "not seen, historically, any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether it's by mail or otherwise".


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Trump's potential rejection of election results
A number of congressional Republicans insisted they were committed to an orderly and peaceful transition of power, but declined to criticize Trump for his comments. On September 24, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution affirming the Senate's commitment to a peaceful transfer of power. Trump has also stated he expected the Supreme Court to decide the election and that he wanted a conservative majority in case of an election dispute, reiterating his commitment to quickly install a ninth justice following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Election delay suggestion
In April 2020, Biden suggested that Trump might try to delay the election, saying he "is gonna try to kick back the election somehow, come up with some rationale why it can't be held". On July 30, Trump tweeted that "With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history" and asked if it should be delayed until people can safely cast ballots in person. Experts have indicated that, for the election to be legally delayed, such a decision must be undertaken by Congress. And the Constitution sets the end of the presidential and vice-presidential terms at January 20, a hard deadline which cannot be altered by Congress except by constitutional amendment.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Postal voting
Postal voting in the United States has become increasingly common, with 25% of voters mailing their ballots in 2016 and 2018. By June 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was predicted to cause a large increase in mail voting because of the possible danger of congregating at polling places. An August 2020 state-by-state analysis concluded that 76% of Americans were eligible to vote by mail in 2020, a record number. The analysis predicted that 80 million ballots could be cast by mail in 2020 – more than double the number in 2016.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Postal voting
The Postal Service sent a letter to multiple states in July 2020, warning that the service would not be able to meet the state's deadlines for requesting and casting last-minute absentee ballots. In addition to the anticipated high volume of mailed ballots, the prediction was due in part to numerous measures taken by Louis DeJoy, the newly installed United States Postmaster General, including banning overtime and extra trips to deliver mail, which caused delays in delivering mail, and dismantling and removing hundreds of high-speed mail sorting machines from postal centers.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Postal voting
On August 18, after the House of Representatives had been recalled from its August break to vote on a bill reversing the changes, DeJoy announced that he would roll back all the changes until after the November election. He said he would reinstate overtime hours, roll back service reductions, and halt the removal of mail-sorting machines and collection boxes.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Postal voting
The House of Representatives voted an emergency grant of $25 billion to the post office to facilitate the predicted flood of mail ballots. However, Trump has repeatedly denounced mail voting, even though he himself votes by mail in Florida. In August 2020, Trump conceded that the post office would need additional funds to handle the additional mail-in voting, but said he would block any additional funding for the post office to prevent any increase in balloting by mail.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Postal voting
The Trump campaign filed lawsuits seeking to block the use of official ballot dropboxes in Pennsylvania in locations other than an election office, and also sought to "block election officials from counting mail-in ballots if a voter forgets to put their mail-in ballot in a secrecy sleeve within the ballot return-envelope". The Trump campaign and the Republican Party both failed to produce any evidence of vote-by-mail fraud after being ordered by a federal judge to do so.


2020 United States presidential election, General election campaigns, Issues unique to the election, Postal voting
On Election Day a judge ordered mail inspectors to search "mail facilities in .... key battleground states" for ballots. The agency refused to comply with the order and nearly 7% of ballots in USPS facilities on Election Day were not processed in time.