Six takeaways from Trump and Biden's dueling town halls | TheHill

The QAnon exchange will provide cable news fodder on Friday, and raise new questions about Trump’s tendency to fan the flames around fringe beliefs and movements.Ironically, his comments about QAnon came right after he sought to put another controversy to bed, when he unambiguously denounced white supremacists.Biden evasive on court packing but keeps the door open For weeks now, Biden has refused to give a straight answer on whether he’d be open to adding justices to the Supreme Court if Republicans confirm Trump’s nominee Amy Coney BarrettAmy Coney BarrettSix takeaways from Trump and Biden's dueling town halls Biden draws sharp contrast with Trump in low-key town hall Trump fields questions on coronavirus, conspiracy theories in combative town hall MORE.Biden was evasive once again on Thursday night with George StephanopoulosGeorge Robert StephanopoulosSix takeaways from Trump and Biden's dueling town halls Biden draws sharp contrast with Trump in low-key town hall Biden leaves door open to adding Supreme Court justices MORE, who pushed the nominee to “level” with the voters before Election Day.Biden reiterated that he’s not a fan of “court packing.” But he left the door open, saying his final decision would depend on how quickly Republicans push to confirm Barrett. Biden’s response about his support for the 1994 crime bill was far more muddled.The Democratic nominee appeared to say that it was a mistake to support that bill, although he deflected blame for what he described as the elements of the law that contributed to mass incarceration of people of color.A campaign staffer later went on Twitter to say that Biden was not expressing regret for the 1994 crime bill, but was instead disavowing a 1986 crime bill that included mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses.Trump fumbles on masks and COVID-19The president gets poor marks from the public on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and he did not help himself at his town hall.Part of the problem is Trump’s tangled and unclear position on mask-wearing. And he said that his lungs had been “perhaps infected.” When Guthrie asked what the infection was, Trump responded, “I don’t know.”There was no single disastrous sound bite on COVID-19, but Trump’s responses were far from sure-footed.Biden escapes with no game-changing momentsWhile Trump’s town hall drew incendiary headlines about the coronavirus and QAnon, Biden’s event was a relatively staid and traditional 90-minute affair that is likely to be overshadowed by the president’s new controversies.Biden’s answers were not always crisp or clear.