President Donald Trump Spreads Misinformation At Last Night's Town Hall; Joe Biden Performs Clear Position On "Court Packing" By Election Day
KING: Joe Biden was live in Philadelphia. President Trump live in Miami. It was supposed to be debate night. But instead, it was competing televised town halls. There was some news and some old habits. Democrat Biden, for example, went longer than long sometimes in defending past positions and walking through policy options. President Trump also defaulted quite a bit to his trademark, saying things that are nowhere close to true.</s>TRUMP: But just the other day, they came out with a statement that 85 percent of the people that wear masks catch it. We're always protecting people with pre-existing conditions. And I can't say that more strongly. We are going to take care of DACA. We're going to take care of Dreamers. It is working right now.</s>KING: Joining me now, Laura Barron-Lopez, with POLITICO and Julie Pace with "The Associated Press". Laura, let me start with you. The president says we're always taking care of pre-existing conditions.</s>KING: He is going to argue a case before the Supreme Court in a matter of days really, couple of weeks, saying get rid of Obamacare, get rid of their protections that help people with pre-existing conditions. And he says there are talks ongoing on DACA. No. That would be a surprise to me. Are there?</s>LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, POLITICO: And not so far as I know, John. I mean, that is not something that law makers be at it on the Democrat or Republican side have said anything about in terms of actually moving DACA legislation to protect Dreamers. And again what was interesting in President Trump's answer last night was that, when he was asked why he hadn't moved to protect Dreamers, the DACA program, which is a program that his administration has repeatedly tried to end or curtail? He turned to the Coronavirus saying that immigration issues changed because of the Coronavirus. He also referenced ending catch and release. So not answering directly at all why his administration repeatedly has tried to end that program?</s>KING: Right. If they wanted to act on health care or immigration, they had three years before the Coronavirus. Number one, two of those three years, they had a Republican Congress to go along with their Republican President they did nothing on either issue. They were unsuccessful. Julie Pace another thing that is always interesting, I use a polite word when you watch this president is he has access to more information than anybody on the planet, right? He is the President of the United States, he has as much access at least maybe some other world leaders come close to it, but he completely misstates the numbers on Coronavirus, repeatedly. He is either lying or not doing his homework. And then there's this issue of QAnon, the president has called the Republican Congressional Candidate who is a QAnon believer, this is a conspiracy theory that believes there are satanic worshippers and pedophiles in a deep state running the United States government. He has praised them, he has been asked about it repeatedly. Comes out last night, and he says, I don't know. Listen.</s>TRUMP: Let me just tell you what I do hear about it is they are very strongly against pedophilia, and I agree with that. I mean, I do agree with that.</s>SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, NBC NEWS ANCHOR: OK. But there's not a satanic pedophilia --.</s>TRUMP: I have no idea. I know nothing about it.</s>GUTHRIE: You don't know that? Just this week you retweeted to your 87 million followers a conspiracy theory that Joe Biden orchestrated to have SEAL Team Six, the Navy SEAL Team Six killed to cover up the fake death of Bin Laden. Now why would you send a lot of your followers? You retweeted it.</s>TRUMP: I know nothing about it. That was a re-tweet. That was an opinion of somebody and that was a retweet. I will put it out there. People can decide for themselves.</s>GUTHRIE: I don't get that--</s>KING: Savannah Guthrie, Julie Pace was wise enough to say you're the President of the United States, not somebody's crazy uncle. But whether it's QAnon, whether it's other whack job conspiracy theories, the president thinks it's OK that he is just putting it out there.</s>JULIE PACE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, ASSOCIATED PRESS: He absolutely does. He does not see the difference between an average American spreading something like that and the President of the United States doing that. When the president puts something out there, that is the backing of the office. That sends a signal to not just to his millions of followers, but to so many Americans around the world that there's legitimacy to what he is spreading. And you know he bristles sometimes when he gets asked about this, but there's a reason that this is important. He just has this real power behind that megaphone and he does not seem to sometimes recognize that there is risk in spreading conspiracy theories. And when it comes to QAnon in particular, he has had multiple opportunities now, particularly since this congressional candidate that you mentioned won her primary, he's had multiple opportunities to disavow this conspiracy theory and he won't do it. He claims ignorance at times or he kind of cozies up to that, but he will not condemn, or call them what they are, which is a conspiracy theory.</s>KING: Right, a conspiracy theory. And Laura, Joe Biden got a question last night about court backing, he has been asked this before. Will you try to expand the number of members on the Supreme Court if you win the election? He has punted before, he punted again. But this time he added a promise. Listen.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they vote before the election, you are open to expanding the court?</s>BIDEN: I am open to considering what happens from that point on.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But don't voters have a right to know what you think?</s>BIDEN: They have a right to know where I stand; I have the right to know where I stand before they vote.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, you'll come out with a clear position before Election Day?</s>BIDEN: Yes, depending on how they handle this.</s>KING: There was a yes; there was a comma after the yes. But Joe Biden now he essentially put himself in a box, didn't he?</s>BARRON-LOPEZ: Yes, Biden is saying that if the senate moves through with Barrett's confirmation and all indication is that they will end up confirming her before November 3rd, and then he is telling voters that he will have an answer for them on whether or not he wants to expand the court.</s>BARRON-LOPEZ: And that's something that if he says yes, that could ultimately yet rally members of the base behind him because the progressive wing certainly supports that. We've heard that more and more from progressives. But again, there are a number of moderate voters who wouldn't necessarily like it if he said that, that's something he would do. I will just add though, that when I am talking to voters in states like Arizona and in Pennsylvania, so far, a lot of them do not have the Supreme Court on their mind. They say they aren't paying attention to the Barrett hearings, and we haven't really seen any indication that this SCOTUS nomination is actually impacting the presidential race.</s>KING: That's a key point. I think that Biden believes that's more of a Washington conversation than American conversation right now. Julie Pace, I have been at this awhile. And there's a time-tested bipartisan tradition. If you're asked by a reporter on the campaign trail or in a debate, what will the lesson be if you lose, the answer is, I'm not going to lose. Not Joe Biden. Listen.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Vice President, if you lose, what will that say to you about where America is today?</s>BIDEN: Well, could say I'm a lousy candidate and I didn't do a good job. But I think, I hope that it doesn't say that we are as racially, ethnically and religiously at odds with one another as it appears the president wants us to be.</s>KING: Is that refreshing or is that Joe Biden wasting his time essentially by answering the question, he should just pivot and talk about something else?</s>PACE: Look, I find it refreshing when candidates actually answer that type of question because of course they're considering what happens if they lose. They don't often publicly say that, but of course that's the reality of the situation. And I do think that Biden did give voice to what a lot of Americans who are planning to vote for him are wondering about what it will mean for the country? If he did lose, what it says about who we are as a nation? And what we are willing to accept given how much we know about President Trump and how much his politics are tied to stirring up divisions across race, across gender at times? And he's put that very front and center, Americans have a clear eyed about that. And yet of course, there's a very good chance that he could still win this election knowing all of that.</s>KING: And we start counting them in 18 days, I don't know for no on the 18th day who the winner is? But we start counting them then. Julie Pace, Laura Barron-Lopez, grateful for the reporting and the insights. Busy two weeks plus ahead for us. Up next, Coronavirus front and center, including the New Mexico Governor urging residents to stay at home as cases there spike.