there is more to come. this is a pretty bad picture. >> half past the hour. we will remind you of the breaking news. donald trump announcing that israel and sudan have agreed to normalize relations. when this happens it will become the third ever nation to do such a deal. he held a phone call with israel's prime minister earlier. he told congress he was removing sedan -- sudan from the list. >> and sudan, they wanted to do a deal.

that was particular because they had been at war -- that have been particularly nice because they had been at war for a while with israel. it's been for many years. you have been officially at war with sudan. it's peace. that's official. that's nice. have at least five that want to come in. >> donald trump indicating for have -- the u.s. president, we have our correspondence in place right across the region on this story. we will be speaking to them. we will be joined by political analyst. we will leave you with the latest addition of inside story.

♪ >> they fought over coronavirus in their final debate. donald trump defends his handling of the pandemic. joe biden warns of dark days ahead. how is covid-19 shaping the -- the presidential race. this is inside story. ♪ >> hello welcome to the show. donald trump and joe biden have held their second and final

debate less than two weeks before the election. the threat of having their microphones muted largely deterred interruptions making for a less chaotic event than the first. they sparred about the coronavirus and accused each other of corruption. we will bring in our panel of guests to the -- to discuss this further. our report from our white house correspondent. >> it was a stark contrast from the first debate. fewer interruption and more substantive discussion. mostly respected the rules. the moderator even earned a complement from the u.s. president. the debate opened with a disagreement over the handling of the covid pandemic. left more than 223,000 people

dead in the united states. >> we can't lock ourselves in a basement like joe does. >> we are not learning to live with it. we are learning to die with it. >> scientists suggest it could be months. infections in the united states is surging. -- would hurt family and small businesses. -- took aim at the alleged foreign entanglement. and whether biden put policies in place that helped his son profit. >> i have not taking any -- i have not taken a penny from any foreign source. this president paid 50 times the tax in china, has a secret bank account in china. >> biden lashed back by accusing

trump with relationship with vladimir putin. >> it was a very dangerous. in my first three months before we sort of worked things out. they left us a mess. what has -- >> what has he done? he talks about his good buddy who was a thug. >> trump tried to portray biden policies as extreme and too little, too late considering his years in government. he alleged a biden president would bring socialism when it comes to health care. >> he was there for 47 years and he didn't do anything. >> trump attacked biden for his role in passing a 1994 crime bill that locked up a

disproportionate number of african-americans or possessing a small amount of drugs. >> he never did a thing except in 1994 when he did such harm to the black community and they were called, and he called them super predators. >> all 100 senators voted for it. it was a mistake. >> on climate change, trump defended his decision to withdraw the united states from the paris accord. he believed it was too costly for small business. when biden suggested they should move away from an economy based on oil, trump had this response. >> basically what he is saying is he is going to destroy the oil industry. >> the final presidential debate was supposed to be about policy and that is exactly what american voters got 47 million pallets cast, there's little time -- 47 million ballots cast,

there's little time. ♪ >> joining us our guest in washington dc, adolfo report -- adolfo franco. in salt lake city, rick wilson cofounder of the lincoln project and author of everything trump touches dies. in nashville, former north carolina senator and elected delegate to the national democratic convention. welcome all to the program. adolfo, as a republican i think the general mood yesterday was this was going to be a game changer for trump. this could be his last chance. do you think this was a wasted opportunity? >> i don't think it was a wasted opportunity. i was happy to see there was an opportunity to see the contrast

between two candidates. we can delve into the details and go back and forth on the points that were discussed during the debate. for the american people, it's an impression that is left. for my take on the impression is that at the end of the evening, you have donald trump is a non-politician, an outsider with results. that's what he was projecting. the other side, joe biden, is a person who has been in washington for nearly 50 years and in key positions in government, and insider, part of washington and the american people still want to continue with that course of action without, frankly, with without -- without results.

bob gates, who was the secretary of defense for vice president biden and president obama, said in his book that joe biden was wrong on every decision in his entire career. you had a candidate and trump hit him hard on this. i'm going to, i'm going to, i'm going to. why haven't you done it? >> in the next 12 days, it will be important for americans to see if they agree with that particular characterization. do you think it can change the trajectory of the race? >> i think it's late in the game. i think trump needed a knockout blow and he didn't get it. joe biden just needed to survive the fight and he did. the idea that donald trump can change himself as a person is something we as americans

learned is not a possibility. we have also learned that the vectors of this campaign and swing states are moving away from donald trump, not toward him. right now, he is tied in texas. he is beginning to lose ground in kansas. he's still ahead in one of the most red states in the country. americans are exhausted by the incompetence of trump and the malfeasance of trump and they are looking at a different set of choices on november 3. i think it's very difficult to change the game at this point. >> clark, the handling of the people -- of the pandemic was a key part of the debate. do you think that biden aggressive action, they were talking about that she was talking about the dark winter, -- was talking about the dark

winter. >> biden made a great start -- great statement when he said i want to shut down the virus, not shut down the country. donald trump is the president of the united states. what has happened in covid-19 in the pandemic ultimately his responsibility of donald trump. you cannot walk away from the fact that 220 million people have died. a thousand people are dying every single day. donald trump had to do two things last night. he had to show the american people that he had a plan to deal with the pandemic, which he did not. he had to hope that joe biden would fall on his face. joe biden is sitting on a lead, but he d not sit on that lead last night. he went on the attack. he show the american people the change here that is wanted is someone with the direction to

decide what to do with the pandemic, how to handle global warning -- global warming, how to deal with the racial issues. >> 70% of the voters essay health care is going to be an important thing for them. compounded with the outbreak of covid-19, trump comes to the podium and says that he is determined to ask -- two a -- to axe obamacare. >> the latest gallup poll shows the president's approval rating and preferences for him handling the economy rose one point. obamacare has been something

that, although he was on a trump supporter but also -- the republican party as a whole has been against obamacare you meant -- obamacare from the beginning. that message came through. i want to make a couple of observations. 220 million americans have not died. it's 220,000. secondly, it's always hard to prove a negative. the president made a very good point. had his actions not taken quickly against the advice of dr. fauci and others, shutting entry from china, the death toll would have been much higher. this is a global pandemic.

the mortality rate in this country, which nobody is -- which nobody wants to talk about, is going down. the president has handled the pandemic. when canada -- when date -- when a candidate talks about darkness , that usually doesn't play well. president trump is talking about optimism. i started in washington in the 1970's and he was always about optimism. the president is optimistic and that is the president's role. the president has handled the coronavirus quickly. we will see how kansas votes and texas votes. i think it's going to cost him in pennsylvania. i think it's going to cost him in key states, ohio included. >> rick? he saying handling of the

covid-19 was example by the president. >> the american people have already made up their minds about the president's handling of covid and every serve -- and every survey, they say it's a disaster. 220,000 americans who have died. if we have the same death rate as germany where there was a competent leadership who directed people early in the process, if they didn't have someone like donald trump who lied to americans for three months knowing what he knew about this virus, we would have a different outcome. there were probably be 50,000 fewer dead americans. i will say this. the polling judgment is quite clear. the fact that donald trump a seven to try to compete in states that he one last time like texas and kansas, of all places, is a disaster for this president. it's also another thing that was

mentioned the more people talk about darkness, it doesn't work well. donald trump is a fundamentally pessimistic candidate. he is always talking about caravans, all these imagined villains in the his head that he's always per train as an immediate thread -- immediate threat. this is a guy who's primarily a dark, pessimistic message. i think that shows through. last night, donald train -- donald trump needed a knockout and he didn't get it. >> these are extraordinary times in the u.s. and biden hinting that if the supreme court were to scrap the affordable care act he would go ahead and own it as biden care. is this something that could be another tough moment for biden

if the supreme court decides to ask -- to axe the affordable care act. >> -- if you are looking at politics that have been played, look at what mitch mcconnell and the republicans have done under the leadership of donald trump. completely different from what they did four years ago when president obama had announced his candidate. that was not taken up. this time they are rushing through someone, and the idea is if you go back to the constitution there is nothing in the constitution that says we have to have nine justices. that is a historical development. we've had six, we had five, we've had nine. let's have a nonpartisan or bipartisan group look at that issue and decide if this is the best way to go forward or not. on the obamacare, what joe biden has said is that is a first

step. more health care for more people. the american people deserve that. that's who joe biden was talking to last night. he looked directly into the camera and i think that will resonate. >> adolfo said the economy was strict just -- was trance strength. >> all the stuff about trailing and we are behind is news to me. i'm on the campaign. we are competing in texas and kansas. this program could have been a program that we could be having four years ago. my friends on the panel remember this. on television on election night,

predicted it was a 92% probability that hillary clinton would win the election. i think it's a very different scenario that's being painted. it sounds great to try to frighten people that somehow this election is over. the biden campaign has issued that they are worried about over competence -- overconfidence. one of the key states is pennsylvania. vice president hurt himself yesterday on oil, that's my view . and on fracking. the election is very tight in those states and the other states that are traditionally red and blue, it's pretty much decided. i don't buy that. it's a nice talking point. that's just not it. too bad the guests aren't on

here to talk about its been, it when it's not going their way they want to have a larger court. if it were on the other shoe, it would be different. there is nothing rushed about this process. it is constitutional and appropriate. note how they don't want to talk about amy coney barrett anymore. her performance was spectacular. i hope they bring up court packing if they want to change our system. (202) 748-8000 -- many republicans now and spending with the grant in favor of joe biden. which of the states do you think could be the decider? >> i'm a florida guy from the

beginning and florida is always going to be close. biden is maintaining a small but meaningful lead there. it is going to be a tight race no matter what. wisconsin and michigan seem to have safely drifted out of trump's orbit. pennsylvania is similarly moving toward biden. we see enormous numbers of counties around philadelphia. ohio will also be close. the swing states are that for a reason. arizona, which is formally republican, seems safely out of trump's grasp. there is a highly competitive atmosphere in the state of texas. more people have voted in taxes this year so far then voted for trump in 2016. the turn out demographics in texas are very favorable for joe

biden. i'm not saying texas is going to go blue, but it shouldn't even be a problem. the other thing we've seen is that donald trump's campaign is off the air in many of the swing states. advertising program only in florida and north carolina. they have been dark or largely dark for weeks before that. there is a lot going on right now. most importantly, hillary clinton was a deeply unpopular figure and joe biden is not in the same category in the minds of republican voters as demonic, 30 year menaces they face. it's going to be close. it's not going to be a landslide. we would like for it to be a landslide.

this is a race where donald trump should have had. he had a billion dollars. a billion with a b. there is something that has gone badly wrong. we are going to see how it shakes down. >> i see the optimism has been expressed by democrats over the last few weeks. at this stage, you seem to be quite confident that it is going to be an historic moment for the americans. do you have anything to say about voter suppression? >> let me address the first part. having been on the ballot, i never agreed to let our guard down until all the votes have been counted. we've seen this before and we have an electoral college that makes a decision. those crucial states are going to be so important.

there's a huge difference between 2020 and 2016. donald trump could run as an its outer -- as an outsider. now he is the president of the united states. the buck stops here. all the things that we've been discussing, he has ultimate responsibility for that. he cannot joke that she cannot blame joe biden who has not been in office for the last four years. it is donald trump. >> adolfo, what do you think would happen in the upcoming days until the day of the election. what are the chances for donald trump to tilt the ground in his favor? >> i think it's in his favor. the president has been on the campaign trail, unlike the other candidate.

holed up in his bunker in delaware and a basement. you know why? because he can't have crowds. on the ground and it's going to be hitting the states. i do think this is an important point for the viewers to hear. now they are whistling a different tune. in 2000 16, known was saying that donald trump -- in 2016 -- you can't have it both ways. it's going to be a close election, which it will be. it's close in texas and kansas. it is going to be a close race. donald trump will win the race. you can't have it both ways to say it's a runaway and then say it's a close race.

wisconsin and michigan and pennsylvania are still very much in play and very much within the president's grasp. >> unfortunately, we are running out of time. i really appreciate your contributions and insight. thank you. and thank you for watching. you can visit our website for further discussion. go to our facebook page. you can also join the conversation on twitter. for the entire team here, bye-bye for now. ♪