离计票还有不到两个月的时间，总统唐纳德·特朗普为他在美国处理种族关系的方式辩护，这场流行病对少数民族人口造成了不成比例的影响，并在美国城市造成了前所未有的社会动荡。
周二，一位未表态的选民在美国广播公司新闻的市政厅“总统和人民”，他为什么要“淡化一场众所周知的对低收入家庭和少数民族社区造成不成比例伤害的流行病”，特朗普否认曾低估这种疾病的威胁。
“是啊，好吧，我没有轻描淡写。实际上，在很多方面，我都夸大了，在行动方面。我的行动非常有力，”特朗普说。
特朗普援引了2月和3月对中国和欧洲实施的两项旅行禁令，以此证明他声称自己在行动上“夸大了疾病”。但在主持市政厅的美国广播公司首席新闻主播乔治·斯特凡诺普洛斯(George Stephanopoulos)关于大流行威胁的“他自己的话”的压力下，特朗普说，“当我们禁止这种做法时，我们做得非常、非常好。”
“无论你称之为‘天赋’还是‘运气’，这都非常重要，”特朗普继续说道，“所以当我们这么做的时候，我们救了很多人的命。”
总统在最近几天面临强烈反对他对记者鲍勃·伍德沃德的评论这似乎与他当时对该病毒不屑一顾的公众立场相冲突，根据疾病控制和预防中心的说法，该病毒已经不成比例地影响黑人和西班牙裔人口。
另一位未表态的选民质疑总统无处不在的竞选口号“让美国再次伟大”，因为长期以来，住房和刑事司法领域存在系统性种族主义。
2020年9月15日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)在前往费城参加市政厅活动的途中，走向白宫南草坪的海军陆战队一号(Marine One)。
“因为你又说了，我们需要看看那是什么时候‘伟大’的?因为这将我们推回到一个我们无法认同如此“伟大”的时代，”选民问道。“你已经说了关于窒息和其他一切的一切，但你还没有解决和承认这是美国的一个种族问题。”
“嗯，我希望没有种族问题，”特朗普说。“我可以告诉你，我一个也没有，因为我非常尊重所有种族——所有人。这个国家因为它而伟大。”
总统随后转向了他所说的“到目前为止黑人社区有史以来最好的失业数字”，这是在大流行的经济影响之前。
特朗普说:“这解决了很多问题，你知道还有什么——它把人们聚集在一起。”
周二，在美国广播公司新闻主持的市政厅活动中，总统在费城国家宪法中心面临着来自未表态选民的广泛问题。
美国广播公司新闻频道“20/20”活动的地点不仅具有历史意义，而且代表了一个州的一个关键城市，可能会改变选举团的平衡。在佛罗里达州之后，宾夕法尼亚州拥有战场州中第二高的选举票数，这使得它成为两位候选人竞选总统的重要垫脚石。
选举日的七周前，美国广播公司新闻将与唐纳德·特朗普总统和未表态的选民举行市政厅会议。美国广播公司新闻首席主播乔治·斯特凡诺普洛斯将主持这项活动，该活动将于2020年9月15日在费城国家宪法中心举行。
因此，特朗普和他的代理人最近几周在宾夕法尼亚州穿梭。但前副总统乔·拜登也是如此，他是斯克兰顿人，该州东北部工业城镇。两位领导人都通过参观尚克斯维尔一架被击落的喷气式飞机的遗址来纪念9.11恐怖袭击。
尽管特朗普在2016年以微弱优势赢得宾夕法尼亚州，但最近的民调显示，在2020年竞选的最后几周，特朗普面临着一场艰难的战斗。根据美国全国广播公司/马里斯特上周公布的一项民意调查，拜登在该州可能的选民中保持了9个百分点的健康缓冲。
美国广播公司新闻提出与拜登一起主持一个类似的市政厅会议，但双方未能找到一个双方都同意的日期。
“20/20”特别活动在美国东部时间晚上9点到10点30分和美国东部时间晚上8点到9点30分在美国广播公司播出。美国广播公司新闻直播也将有节目前后的报道，以获得更多的背景和分析。
Trump, pressed during ABC town hall on downplaying pandemic threat, says instead he 'up-played it'
With less than two months until ballots are tallied, PresidentDonald Trumpdefended his handling of race relations in the United States amid a pandemic that has disproportionately affected minority populations and unprecedented social unrest in American cities.
Asked Tuesday by an uncommitted voter atABC News' town hall, "The President and the People," why he would "downplay a pandemic that is known to disproportionately harm low-income families and minority communities," Trump denied ever understating the disease's threat.
"Yeah, well, I didn't downplay it. I actually, in many ways, I up-played it, in terms of action. My action was very strong," Trump said.
As evidence of his claim that he "up-played" the disease "in terms of action," Trump cited a pair of travel bans imposed against China and Europe in February and March. But pressed by ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos, who moderated the town hall, about "his own words" about the pandemic threat, Trump said, "We did a very, very good job when we put that ban on."
"Whether you call it 'talent' or 'luck,' it was very important," Trump continued, "so we saved a lot of lives when we did that."
The president has faced backlash in recent days aftercomments he made to journalist Bob Woodwardin March which appeared to conflict with his dismissive public stance on the virus at the time -- a virus that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hasdisproportionately affected Black and Hispanic populations.
Another uncommitted voter questioned the president about his ubiquitous campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again," in light of a long history of systemic racism in housing and criminal justice.
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Sept. 15, 2020, en route to participate in a town hall event in Philadelphia.
"Because you say again, we need to see when was that 'great'? Because that pushes us back to a time in which we cannot identify with such 'greatness,'" the voter asked. "You've said everything else about choking and everything else, but you have yet to address and acknowledge that it has been a race problem in America."
"Well, I hope there's not a race problem," Trump said. "I can tell you there's none with me because I have great respect for all races -- for everybody. This country is great because of it."
The president then turned to what he called "the best unemployment numbers they've ever had in the Black community, by far," prior to the economic fallout from the pandemic.
"And that was solving a lot of problems, and you know what else was -- it was bringing people together," Trump said.
The president faced a wide range of questions from uncommitted voters on Tuesday at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia during the town hall event hosted by ABC News.
The location of ABC News' "20/20" event is not only historically significant, but represents a key city in a state that could tilt the balance of the Electoral College. After Florida, Pennsylvania boasts the second-highest number of electoral votes at stake among battleground states, rendering it a crucial stepping stone in both candidates' paths to the presidency.
Seven weeks before Election Day, ABC News will host a town hall with President Donald Trump and uncommitted voters. ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos will anchor the event, which will take place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Sept. 15, 2020.
As such, Trump and his surrogates have crisscrossed Pennsylvania in recent weeks. But so has former Vice President Joe Biden, a native of Scranton, a town in the state's industrial northeast. Both leaders commemorated the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks by visiting the site of a downed jetliner in Shanksville.
Despite winning Pennsylvania by a slim margin in 2016, recent polling indicates that Trump has an uphill battle in the waning weeks of the 2020 campaign. According to an NBC/Marist poll released last week, Biden maintains a healthy nine-point buffer among likely voters in the state.
ABC News offered to host a similar town hall with Biden, but the two parties were not able to find a mutually agreeable date.
The "20/20" special event airs from 9 to 10:30 p.m. ET and 8 to 9:30 p.m. CT on ABC. ABC News Live will also have pre- and post-show coverage for more context and analysis.
