Advertisement
New Zealand markets close in 2 hours 35 minutes

  • NZX 50

    11,766.04
    -70.00 (-0.59%)
     

  • NZD/USD

    0.5857
    -0.0049 (-0.83%)
     

  • NZD/EUR

    0.5513
    -0.0031 (-0.57%)
     

  • ALL ORDS

    7,777.60
    -121.30 (-1.54%)
     

  • ASX 200

    7,524.50
    -117.60 (-1.54%)
     

  • OIL

    85.68
    +2.95 (+3.57%)
     

  • GOLD

    2,427.00
    +29.00 (+1.21%)
     

  • NASDAQ

    17,394.31
    -99.31 (-0.57%)
     

  • FTSE

    7,877.05
    +29.06 (+0.37%)
     

  • Dow Jones

    37,775.38
    +22.07 (+0.06%)
     

  • DAX

    17,837.40
    +67.38 (+0.38%)
     

  • Hang Seng

    16,185.95
    -199.92 (-1.22%)
     

  • NIKKEI 225

    36,891.86
    -1,187.84 (-3.12%)
     

  • NZD/JPY

    90.0200
    -1.2340 (-1.35%)
     

Trump, Biden face off in first 2020 debate

Reuters Videos
Updated

President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will meet face to face in Cleveland, Ohio, for the first presidential debate of the 2020 election on Tuesday (September 29).

With five weeks to go until Nov. 3, the stakes are high and Reuters Political Correspondent James Oliphant says Tuesday night's debate will be the most important one of the three that are scheduled.

"I think the first debate really is the one that matters the most for a couple of reasons. One: interest is going to be at an all-time high. People are going to want to tune in, see how Biden acts, see how Trump acts, get a feeling for the race and the dynamic between the two of them. The other thing is that a lot of people are voting and they're going to be voting more in October as these debates go on. So for whatever small group of Americans who are making up their minds, that group is going to get smaller as these debates go on. So this might be the prime opportunity for Trump certainly to change the dynamic of the race. It may not help if he has his best debate in a month."

Trump this week said he was eager to face his opponent.

ADVERTISEMENT

TRUMP: "I am looking very forward to the debate."

When asked by reporters, Biden said he knew what he had to do to be successful.

BIDEN: "Just tell the truth."

OLIPHANT: "You know, the debate is going to be moderated by Chris Wallace of Fox News, and he is somebody who has a lot of respect on both sides. But Wallace has said he not going to stop the debate and try and fact-check Trump. And so the question is does Joe Biden spend his time saying that's not true, that's not true over and over again and basically step away from his own message or just let some of them go."

Organizers of the first debate said it will cover six topics, including the Supreme Court, the coronavirus, and the economy. Chris Wallace said those topics are subject to change based on news developments.

Two days before the debate, the New York Times published an explosive report, saying Trump didn't pay taxes for years.

OLIPHANT: "The tax story certainly does not change everything. It does give Biden just another avenue to attack Trump and he'll be able to say, 'I paid my taxes.'"

Trump and Biden are set to debate two more times, on Oct. 15 and the 22nd.