The highlights from Donald Trump and Joe Biden's final Presidential debate. Video / AP
The final debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden has wrapped up.
The Republican President and his Democratic rival went head to head for last time before Americans go to the polls on November 3.
The Thursday night debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee was far more orderly than the chaotic first outing last month.
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the second and final presidential debate. Photo / AP
While traditionally the third presidential debate has been wholly dedicated to foreign policy, the topics selected by moderator Kristen Welker were "Fighting COVID-19", "American Families", "Race in America", "Climate Change", "National Security" and "Leadership".
Trump had vowed to go off script and hammer Biden over revelations about his son Hunter Biden's overseas business dealings. While the issue did come up, there was less focus on it than some had expected.
In attendance as a special guest of the President was Tony Bobulinski, a former business associate of Hunter who this week released a bombshell statement implicating the former Vice President in his son's foreign deals.
Here's what the experts and pundits are saying about the debate.
Fox News host Chris Wallace, who moderated the first debate, said he was "jealous" and "would have liked to moderate that debate".
"I thought it was a good debate with two competing visions," he said.
"I thought Biden had many more specific plans, whether it came to dealing with Covid, climate change, healthcare. I thought the President's presentation was more fluid, there were clearly times when Joe Biden seemed to falter a little bit in making his point or finishing his sentence."
President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden participate in the final presidential debate at Belmont University. Photo / AP
Wallace said the topics "played more to Biden's advantage" and often put Trump on defence.
He said he was "struck" by Biden's response to the questions about his son, saying he was "very successful in countering it" by immediately attacking Trump on his Chinese bank account and failure to turn over his tax returns.
"In terms of key moments, the President talked a lot about, 'You've had all these years in Washington, you're all talk no action,'" Wallace said.
Trump speaks during the second and final presidential debate. Photo / AP
Biden speaks during the second and final presidential debate. Photo / AP
Moderator Kristen Welker of NBC News looks at papers as President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden participate in the final debate. Photo / AP
Wallace said Biden's strongest moment was hitting back at Trump's claim that he was the "least racist person in the room" who had done more for black Americans than any President since Abraham Lincoln.
Donna Brazile, former interim head of the Democratic National Committee and now Fox News commentator, conceded that "this was not the Twitter Donald Trump, okay, amen".
"The tone was different but it was still the Donald Trump that refuses to release his taxes, once again claiming he has an audit – what are you hiding?" she said.
"The second thing is he said he had a healthcare plan. Well, where is it? It's been 10 years. I think the most important thing Joe Biden said was 'I (couldn't) get it through Congress' – well, that's gridlock, whether you're a Republican or Democratic President, the American people are tired of gridlock."
Conservative commentator Brit Hume said Trump "gave his best debate performance perhaps ever, but I thought the Vice President fought him to at least a draw".
"Trump was most effective when he was demanding why Biden hadn't done all the great things he was promising to do," he said.
"Biden held up well, I think he did falter at times, but he didn't have a really bad moment."
Biden arrives with his sister Valerie Biden, second from left, to board his campaign plane at Nashville International Airport. Photo / AP
CNN host Jake Tapper mocked Trump's racism claim, saying he was "pretty sure Kristen Welker is less racist than Donald Trump".
Tapper argued Trump didn't speak enough about the economy and instead was "off in Breitbart land talking about laptops".
CNN political correspondent Abby Phillip said there was a "key moment that really encapsulates" that Trump doesn't understand how to talk about the coronavirus pandemic.
"He kept repeating that we're 'learning to live with it'," she said.
"And Joe Biden came back and said, 'Actually we're dying with it.' I think that was the key moment. The President only wants to focus on reopening, he doesn't want to acknowledge the sacrifices Americans have made."
Rick Santorum, a former Republican politician and now CNN commentator, argued Trump "completely skewered Joe Biden".
"You guys watched a very different debate, I think Trump was right on his game, I think he completely skewered Joe Biden," he said. "Here Biden is, just looking in the camera, being a typical politician."
Former Obama administration official Van Jones said Trump "did his best ever and his best was not good enough".
Trump gestures to supporters before boarding Air Force One at Nashville International Airport after participating in the presidential debate. Photo / AP
"It was the same stuff, just a little bit less volume on it, but no plan for the future," he said.
"A big apology for a bunch of failures and then smacking Joe Biden all the time. He sounded better, he looked better, but there was nothing there."
Jones said Trump "needed two things tonight", neither of which happened.
"Trump needed to not come across like a deranged madman, and he needed Joe Biden to completely bomb," he said.
Republican Senator Lindsay Graham said he had "never felt better about President Trump being re-elected than I do now".
"The President soared tonight, Biden struggled," he told Fox News host Sean Hannity.
"The stunning news to me tonight is Vice President Biden is going to destroy the oil and gas industry in the United States, that came out of his own mouth."
Hannity said Trump had "called out the left on lie after lie after lie".
