Biden town hall: Covid vaccine, Supreme Court and Black America – what you missed while watching Trump

As US reaches 8 million confirmed infections, Democratic presidential candidate digs into pandemic’s impact, as well as his past failures and policy vision

Joe Biden – beginning a study in contrast to Donald Trump on Thursday – said the president “missed enormous opportunities” to combat the coronavirus as the Democratic presidential candidate reminded a limited crowd in Pennsylvania that he had assembled several plans for the public health crisis as the White House downplayed its severity.

During a last-minute event after a planned second debate between the two men, the town hall gave the former vice president 90 uninterrupted minutes to dig into several issues, policy visions and past failures, without the president commanding the stage.

Instead, the pandemic remained in focus. On Thursday, confirmed infections from the coronavirus surpassed 8 million, as health officials feared a third “surge” in cases following a deadly spring and spikes in cases this summer as quarantine measures expired.

As lawmakers and the White House negotiate relief legislation for millions of out-of-work Americans, who have lost jobs as well as healthcare in the economic fallout, America’s poor has grown by more than 8 million since May, according to research from Columbia University, first reported by The New York Times.

Asked whether he would take a vaccine before the end of the year, or mandate one for all Americans, Mr Biden said he would if scientists and medical experts have approved one. Several vaccine candidates are in trial phases.

“If the body of scientists say that this is what is ready to be done and it’s been tested, they’ve gone through the three phases, then yes, I would take it, and I’d encourage people to take it," he said.

He admitted that he cannot make a vaccine mandatory, just as he would not be able to enforce a national mask mandate, but he said he would “get governors in a room” as well as mayors and local leaders to encourage them to get the word out to Americans.

“It matters what we say,” Mr Biden said, pointing to the president’s dismissive remarks about the pandemic and wearing face coverings.

He said: "When a president doesn’t wear a mask or makes fun of folks like me when I was wearing a mask for a long time, then, you know, people say, ‘Well, it must not be that important.’”

The town hall – aired from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on ABC at the same time as a town hall featuring Mr Trump on NBC – was largely focussed on policy, with lengthy responses to questions from Republican, Democrat and undecided voters in the audience.

Even as the cameras pulled away and the microphones were turned off, Mr Biden continued to answer questions.

Asked what he will say if he loses, he said: “You could say I’m a lousy candidate and didn’t do a good job … But I hope that it doesn't say that we are as racially, ethnically and religiously at odds with one another as … what the president wants us to be."

A young progressive Black voter asked Mr Biden about his vision for Black Americans beyond his controversial statement that “you ain’t Black” if people don’t vote for him, and what he would do to encourage their participation “in a system that fails to protect them”.

It struck at a chasm between young voters and the former vice president, but his lengthy response – mentioning proposals to increase funding for low-income schools and Black colleges and universities to assistance for first-time homebuyers – pointed to institutional failures that have prevented young people of colour from gaining a foothold as America’s wealthy dominates politics and power.

“If young Black women and men vote, you can determine the outcome of this election,” he said.

Mr Biden has since apologised for the remark from May during a radio interview.

He also was asked about his support for controversial 1994 legislation that has been criticised for its role in mass incarceration over the last three decades, resulting in harsh penalties and sentencing guidelines that have disproportionately impacted Black people.

He said things have "changed drastically" in the wake of the so-called crime bill, though he touted its support from Black lawmakers at the time and passage of the landmark Violence Against Women Act.

During the town hall, he called for rehabilitation efforts and to scrub marijuana offences from people’s records.

He also stressed that, despite attacks from Trump and his allies, he’s not calling to “defund the police” – he said funding should target de-escalation tactics and other so-called “community policing” efforts, relying on input from Black communities.

Asked by a woman with a transgender child what he his administration would do, if elected, to support transgender Americans, Mr Biden plainly said he could “eliminate” executive orders and other Trump policies that have undermined protections for LGBT people.

“There should be zero discrimination,” he said. “There is no reason to suggest that there should be any right denied to your daughter."

He also referenced the murders of transgender women of colour, a frightening issue that has not occupied any time within the presidential race but struck a chord in Mr Biden on Thursday’s stage. At least 28 transgender people in the US were killed within the first seven months of 2020, outpacing the number of murders in all of 2019.

Meanwhile – as some Democrats have called for the US Supreme Court to expand the number of seats on the court, and Republicans have aggressively sought to fill the limited seats with conservative justices while confirming conservative judicial appointments across the US – Mr Biden refused to answer whether he supports so-called “court packing.”

While Senate Republicans push through Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation in the days before Election Day, Mr Biden said voters “have a right to know where I stand.”

He said he plans to respond after her likely confirmation by the end of October.