The next presidential debate was scheduled to take place on October 15 but was later canceled due to Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis and refusal to appear remotely rather than in person.

"[7] While Trump did not press the issue further publicly, in June 2020, he requested additional debates to the traditional three, which Biden's campaign declined.

[10] Later that month, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi suggested that Biden should skip the debates, claiming that Trump will "probably act in a way that is beneath the dignity of the presidency".

[23][24] Running up to the debate, Trump made repeated claims that the election would be rigged by means of voter fraud, especially with regards to mail-in ballots.

[36] The move was controversial, since the same Senate Republicans had refused to consider a Supreme Court nomination of Merrick Garland by then-President Barack Obama in an election year.

[37] The debate was divided into six segments: "Trump's and Biden's records, the Supreme Court, the COVID-19 pandemic, race and violence in cities, election integrity, and the economy".

[59][60][61][62][63][64] The New York Times editorial board called the debate "excruciating" and wrote: "After five years of conditioning, the president's ceaseless lies, insults and abuse were no less breath-taking to behold.

"[65] The Washington Post editorial board called the debate "a disgrace" and demonstrated that "Trump's assault on democracy is escalating.

[73][74] Rick Santorum, a former Republican senator, later said that it was a "huge mistake" by Trump not to condemn white supremacy properly during the debate.

"[79][80][81] Researcher Rita Katz, executive director of SITE Intelligence Group, told The Washington Post that Proud Boys memberships on Telegram channels grew nearly 10 percent after the debate.

[18] After President Trump and a number of White House individuals tested positive for COVID-19, it was announced that Pence and Harris would stand 12 feet apart.

[90] On October 5, the Commission on Presidential Debates approved the use of plexiglass,[91] but the next day, it said that the candidates and moderator would each be allowed to choose whether they wanted such a barrier near their own body.

[97][98][99] When Harris was asked if she would support an expansion of the number of justices on the Supreme Court if the Senate confirmed Trump's nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Court, she did not answer the question, instead mentioning how President Abraham Lincoln did not nominate a successor for Justice Roger B. Taney, as he had died 27 days before the 1864 presidential election.

[112] FiveThirtyEight reported the debate didn't appear to move the needle for either presidential ticket nor did it shift who people thought would win the election, but a slight increase in enthusiasm was observed among the supporters of both campaigns.

[127] The New York Times reported that the fly "ruined" Pence's image and undermined his perceived competence as somebody that could become United States president.

[128] Additionally, The Washington Post drew comparisons between the event and the symbolism of flies in Western art, pointing out that they represent death, rot, decay, and corruption, potentially mirroring common perceptions of the Trump–Pence 2020 campaign as a whole.

One of his close advisers, Hope Hicks, had shown symptoms on the plane while returning from the first debate, and subsequently tested positive.

[144] He later reiterated these comments in a tweet saying "Steve Scully, the second Debate Moderator, is a Never Trumper, just like the son of the great Mike Wallace.

[147] As a result of the debate cancelation, each candidate participated in separate town hall events televised at the same time (8:00 p.m. EDT).

[150] Columbia Journalism Review editor and publisher Kyle Pope characterized the duelling events as "a craven ratings stunt".

[151] During the 1968 United States presidential election, Richard Nixon refused to debate Hubert Humphrey, also resulting in separate late-night television events: fundraising telethons were scheduled for mostly-overlapping time slots with the Democratic candidate similarly appearing on ABC and the Republican candidate on NBC.

[155] The debate was divided into six segments: "fighting COVID-19, American families, race in America, climate change, national security, and leadership".

Biden said he would build on and improve the ACA, adding a public health insurance option in addition to existing private plans.

Biden reminded viewers that the Democratic-led House had passed a coronavirus relief months ago, and that the legislation was not taken up in the Republican-controlled Senate.

(Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has urged the Trump White House not to make an agreement with Pelosi before the election.

[171]) Trump said that he opposed the bill passed by House Democrats in part because it included funds for Democratic-led local government.

[182] On climate change, Trump pointed to the fact that the US had the lowest carbon emissions numbers since the 1990s and claimed that the air in China, Russia, and India was "filthy".

[183] On his turn, Biden proposed a plan to combat global warming by transitioning the country from fossil fuels to renewable energy, saying this shift would create millions of jobs.

[188] Trump replied that the plants give them good sources of employment,[189] while Biden stressed expressed support for regulating pollutants that negatively affect fenceline communities.

This was likely due to the debate being broadcast concurrently with Thursday Night Football, which accumulated a total of 7 million viewers on FOX.