The last time Donald Trump and Joe Biden shared a debate stage, things got personal.
During the vicious 2020 debates, Biden told Trump to “shut up” after his frequent interruptions, and they traded accusations about their personalities and data.
In the polls, after a campaign disrupted by the pandemic, Trump called Biden “corrupt” and brought up the “laptop from hell.”
Thursday’s primetime matchup on CNN is sure to see more angry clashes, with Biden’s team already calling Trump a threat to democracy and Trump’s team claiming Biden is on drugs — even though the two sides have negotiated rules that will reduce some chances for drama. .
That could limit or at least modify some of the tense viral crosstalk moments.
President Donald Trump brought up the “laptop from hell” during the 2020 presidential debate in Nashville
One such explosion occurred when Trump and Biden met at the debate in Cleveland, when Biden was asked whether he wanted to end the filibuster or “pack the court” to push Democratic priorities through.
“Will you shut up man!” – Biden snaps at Trump’s interruptions
It was a move that some Democrats openly considered after Trump helped cement a conservative majority on the Supreme Court that would, within years, overturn Roe v. Wade.
“The problem is the American people need to speak,” Biden said, stepping aside and urging people to “get out and vote.”
“Are you going to occupy the court?” Trump intervened. “Are you going to occupy the court?” he repeated.
‘He doesn’t want to answer that question. Why don’t you answer that question,” Trump said, speaking about his rival and accusing him of trying to install “radical left” judges.
“Shut up man!” Biden finally exploded.
Things got so complicated that interviewer Chris Wallace decided to switch to a new segment. “That was a really productive segment, wasn’t it?” Biden added mockingly.
Trump calls himself the ‘least racist person’
Another came during the final debate, moderated by NBC’s Kirsten Welker, when Trump called Black Lives Matter a “terrible thing.”
“I think I have great relationships with all the people. “I am the least racist person in this room,” Trump said declaredduring an election season that has seen protests over the death of George Floyd and tense debates over Confederate monuments.
“It makes me sad,” Trump said, pointing to the criminal justice reforms he implemented and other issues.
‘I’m the least racist person. “I can’t even see the audience because it’s so dark, but I don’t care who’s in the audience, I’m the least racist person in this room.”
Trump filed suit during the first debate of 2020 in Cleveland, days before announcing he tested positive for Covid
The two sides agreed to hold two debates this year
Trump made Hunter Biden a staple of his 2020 campaign rallies
Trump referred to the “laptop from hell” and accused Biden of corruption
Biden responded with more sarcasm. “Abraham Lincoln here is one of the most racist presidents we’ve had in modern history. He’s adding fuel to every racist fire,” Biden said.
Trump used what was supposed to be the third debate of 2020 (the second was scrapped after Trump got COVID and turned down a video contest) to hammer Biden on his son Hunter with information linked to his infamous laptop.
His 2016 victory over Hillary Clinton, who went public with an article presenting her debate advice, came amid Russian hacking attempts and allegations about Russian connections among Trump, his campaign and associates.
“Joe got three and a half million dollars from Russia and that came through Putin because he was very friendly with the former mayor of Moscow, and it was the wife of the former mayor of Moscow,” Trump said. “You have three and a half million dollars; Your family got three and a half million dollars. One day you’ll have to explain.’
(Fact checkers called the accusation unproven).
Nashville debate brings Trump’s ‘laptop from hell’ attack
Trump was down in the polls during the third debate at Nashville’s Belmont University and tried to weaponize the bombshell Hunter Biden laptop story.
A major clash came over a question about race.
“If this is true about Russia, Ukraine, China, other countries, a wreck… If this is true, then he is a corrupt politician. So don’t tell me you’re an innocent baby. Joe, they call you a corrupt politician,” Trump told Biden.
“President Trump, I want to stay on the issue of race. We are talking about the issue,” moderator Kristin Welker, reporting from the Trump White House, scolded him.
‘It’s the laptop from hell. The laptop from hell,” Trump responded.
“I have to respond to that,” Biden interjected.
“Look, there are fifty former National Intelligence officials who have said that what he’s accusing me of is a Russian plot. They’ve said that this has all the hallmarks: four, five former heads of the CIA, both sides, say that what he’s saying is a bunch of nonsense. Nobody believes it except him, him and his good friend Rudy Giuliani.
“Are you saying the laptop is now another Russia, Russia, Russia hoax?” Trump scoffed. ‘Is this where you’re going? This is where he goes. The laptop is Russia, Russia, Russia?’
Biden’s reference to the letter from intelligence professionals touched on a topic that remains unresolved.
The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee is investigating the officers who signed up after the laptop was confirmed to be Hunter’s and was even cited by prosecutors in lawsuits against him.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that some ex-intelligence officials were actively being paid by the CIA on a contract basis when they signed the letter falsely claiming Hunter Biden’s laptop was “Russian disinformation.”