US President Donald Trump and his White House challenger Joe Biden clashed over Covid and race while trading corruption charges, in their final live TV debate.
On the pandemic, Mr Biden would not rule out more lockdowns, while Mr Trump insisted it was time to reopen the US.
Mr Trump cited unsubstantiated claims Mr Biden personally profited off his son’s business dealings. The Democrat brought up Mr Trump’s opaque taxes.
Mr Biden has a solid national lead with 11 days to go until the election.
But the margin is slimmer in the handful of states that could vote either way and ultimately decide the outcome.
More than 47 million people have already cast their ballots in a record-breaking voting surge driven by the pandemic.
What was the overall tone?
Thursday night’s primetime duel in Nashville, Tennessee, was a less acrimonious and more substantive affair than the pair’s previous showdown on 29 September, which devolved into insults and name-calling.
Following that political brawl, debate organisers this time muted microphones during the candidates’ opening statements on each topic to minimise disruption.
But the 90-minute debate, moderated by NBC’s Kristen Welker, saw plenty of personal attacks between the opponents, whose mutual dislike was palpable.
In their closing argument to voters, they offered starkly different visions for the nation on everything from shutting down the country to tackle coronavirus, to shutting down the fossil fuel industry to confront climate change.
What did they say about coronavirus?
Nowhere was the distinction between the two candidates more apparent than in their approach to the pandemic.
Asked about his support for more lockdowns if the scientists recommended it, Mr Biden, a Democrat, did not rule it out.
But Mr Trump, a Republican, said it was wrong to inflict further damage on the economy because of an infection from which most people recover.
“This is a massive country with a massive economy,” said the president. “People are losing their jobs, they’re committing suicide. There’s depression, alcohol, drugs at a level nobody’s ever seen before.”
Mr Trump, 74, declared that the virus is “going away” and that a vaccine would be ready by the end of the year, while Mr Biden warned the nation was heading towards “a dark winter”.
The president said: “We’re learning to live with it.” Mr Biden, 77, countered: “Come on. We’re dying with it.”
Mr Biden laid blame for the 220,000-plus American deaths from the pandemic at Mr Trump’s door.
“Anyone who’s responsible for that many deaths should not remain president of the United States of America,” he said.
