I will skip over the usual commentary on the back and forth interruptions and name calling.  The statements made, and their truthfulness are listed below.  In some cases where a rating was not provided, but from the context, it was clear that the statement was false, I have labeled it so, followed by an asterisk.   Others might label some statements as misleading or taken out of context.  Statements are sometimes is included in congressional reports for political purpose.

On climate change, I will follow up with a summary on the differences between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.  One clear take away from the debate was that Joe Biden’s approach to climate change is not the “New Green Deal.”   It was too bad that Donald Trump seemed fully prepared to ridicule a plan that wasn’t Biden’s.

Trump “I brought back 700,000 jobs. (Obama and Biden) brought back nothing.”   FALSE

Trump is wrong about the job gains on his watch; the actual increase is about 450,000 prior to the pandemic.  As for Obama and Biden, they saw gains of 916,000 if you start counting with the recovery from the Great Recession, which is the fairest comparison if you also ignore the losses under Trump during the pandemic.

Trump [Joe Biden] “had 308,000 military people dying because you couldn’t provide them proper healthcare in the military.”  FALSE

Donald Trump falsely says 308,000 military people died waiting for care on Biden’s watch.  The number comes from a VA inspector general report that found the VA’s data “virtually unreliable.” The figure includes people who had been dead for many years, some before 1998.  It includes people who never applied for benefits.

Trump “You said you went to Delaware State but you forgot the name of your college.” FALSE

Biden once said that he got his “start” at at the school because he received support there when he announced his bid for Senate on the campus.  Trump is taking his comments out of context.

Trump “The mayor of Moscow, his wife, gave your son (Hunter Biden) three and a half-million dollars.”  FALSE *

This was not rated by Politifact, however in their summary they state:  “A Republican Senate committee report said a Russian widow sent $3.5 million to a partnership co-founded by Hunter Biden. Biden’s lawyer says he did not co-found the partnership and had no stake in it. Democrats say they reviewed the Republicans’ documentation but did not find a specific link to Hunter Biden.”  It has been labeled false because the Republicans were given an opportunity to support the link between Hunter Biden and the partnership by releasing the documents  and failed to do so.

Trump:  Numerous statements concerning potential fraud with mail-in balloting. FALSE *

Washington Post “As usual, Trump offered a baseless conspiracy theory that widespread use of mail ballots during an infectious-disease pandemic would lead to massive voter fraud. There is simply no evidence for these claims. The Department of Homeland Security says Russia is spreading the same kind of disinformation to sow doubts about mail balloting and the integrity of the U.S. election.”

Trump:  He falsely claimed that Biden supports the Medicare for All plan. He never did.  Reference: Factcheck.org FALSE *

Biden/Trump:  Trump said “I don’t think” Kellyanne Conway, his former White House counselor, said “riots and chaos and violence help his cause,” as Biden claimed.   I’m going to rule in favor of Trump on this one, and give Biden a FALSE.

Conway’s actual statement was, “The more chaos and anarchy and vandalism and violence reigns, the better it is for the very clear choice on who’s best on public safety and law and order.”  Conway is clearly saying that Trump’s handling of the existing situation shows he is the better leader.

Biden:  He said billionaires have gotten $300 to $400 billion wealthier during the pandemic, but he is referring to a study that ignored the financial losses by wealthy stockholders early in the pandemic.  Reference Factcheck.org FALSE *

Biden  “We have a higher deficit with China now than we did before.”  MOSTLY FALSE

The most inclusive measurement, for goods and services, shows that the U.S. trade deficit with China was smaller under Trump in 2019, the most recent full year, than it was in any of the final three years of the Obama administration.  Looking only at goods shows the trade deficit was generally higher under Trump than it was in the Obama years, but it declined in 2019 to around the level as the final year of the Obama administration.  [Note: Politifact presents a graph which does not show much difference between Trump and Biden on China trade deficits].

Biden: Biden got it wrong when he claimed there was “15% less violence” during his time in office than today. The violent crime rate dropped under Trump. FALSE *

Ref: Factcheck.org

Biden:  Biden falsely charged that the Trump administration did not try to send experts to Wuhan, China — where the novel coronavirus outbreak emerged late last year — during the early stages of the pandemic. (Ref Factcheck.org)  FALSE

It’s a pretty outrageously false statement, given HHS Azar’s statement.  On January 6, we offered to send a CDC team to China that could assist with these public health efforts,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said at a Jan. 28 press conference.   China made public the discovery of a new virus, and Azar within a week wanted to send CDC experts to Wuhan.    It was China that did not want CDC experts in Wuhan.

Stay tuned,

Dave