Trump & Biden prepare for last big chance to make their pitch; Feds: Iran & Russia interfered in 2020 election; U.S. reports 1,000+ daily deaths for first time in over a month; Republicans pave way for full Senate vote Monday on Trump’s Supreme Court nominee; Still no deal between GOP, Dems on economic relief;
The Lead with Jake Tapper
CNN
3.5 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 22 October 2020
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Tonight: Trump & Biden face off in final presidential debate; Trump advisers plead for president to take less combative approach; Trump says he “may” change strategy from last debate; WH: Trump tests negative for COVID-19 ahead of final debate; Campaign: Biden will appeal directly to voters, say we can get through this crisis together; Biden on tonight’s debate: Hopefully Trump plays “by the rules”; Biden preparing for Trump to attack his son Hunter; Biden punts on expanding Supreme Court, says he will create a bipartisan group to study the idea; Report: Faulty U.S. COVID-19 response led to between 130,000 and 210,000 avoidable deaths; Hospitalization rate rising as 31 states see increase in cases; Remdesivir receives FDA approval to treat hospitalized patients; Chris Christie: I was wrong, I should have worn a mask; Republicans advance Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett despite boycott from Democrats; Republican Sen. Murkowski won’t commit to vote in favor of Trump’s Supreme Court nominee next week; Speaker Pelosi does not rule out stimulus deal before election day, says “it’s close”; Sen. Appropriations Chair on stimulus: “A lot of talk, no action”; Concerns of in-person voter intimidation; “Fun… Joyous” family man dies after three weeks in hospital;
To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the lead I'm Jake Tapper and we begin this hour with the |
| 0:03.7 | 2020 lead the final presidential debate will kick off in just a few hours and |
| 0:07.6 | with just 12 days until the election it is likely that neither president |
| 0:12.2 | Donald Trump nor Democratic nominee Joe Biden will have another |
| 0:15.5 | chance to make their final pitches to as many voters as tonight will offer. |
| 0:21.0 | Tonight there are new adjustments. |
| 0:22.7 | The nonpartisan debate commission has announced new enforcement of the rules by muting |
| 0:27.7 | candidates mics during some portions of the debate and there will also be plexiglass barriers separating the candidates |
| 0:34.2 | following the president's coronavirus infection. First Lady Malania |
| 0:38.3 | Trump is making her first public appearance today following her coronavirus |
| 0:41.9 | battle as well. |
| 0:42.8 | Trump advisors have been, we're told, pleading with the president |
| 0:46.5 | to try a different strategy than his frequent interruptions |
| 0:50.1 | during the first debate. |
| 0:51.1 | And Trump sources tell CNN they want him to stay on |
| 0:53.8 | message touting his accomplishments and avoiding attacking Dr Anthony |
| 0:58.1 | Fauchy as the president has been doing in recent days. Team Biden meantime is |
| 1:01.8 | preparing the Democratic nominee for the |
| 1:03.9 | president's personal attacks on his son Hunter Biden. We have our |
| 1:07.3 | correspondence covering both Trump and Biden's debate preps. First, CNN's |
| 1:11.7 | Jeremy Diamond filed this report on the advice that |
| 1:14.4 | President Trump is getting. Before the final presidential debate, President |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from CNN, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of CNN and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.