The United States is reeling after the first 2020 election debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.
The 90-minute debate quickly descended into a sparring match as each candidate interrupted one another over questions about the coronavirus pandemic, the Supreme Court and mail-in voting.
At several points, both camps descended to personal insults, which were lambasted by the American media and the wider public on social media.
Here are the highlights.
Trump refuses to condemn white supremacy
Mr Trump was asked point-blank whether he was "willing to condemn white supremacists and militia groups".
Fox News host Chris Wallace, who moderated the debate, asked him whether he would tell the far-right groups to "stand down" and not add to the violence in major American cities.
"Sure, I'm willing to do that," said Mr Trump.
But when pressed for a firm statement, the President would not condemn the groups for their actions.
"I would say almost everything I see is from the left wing, not the right wing," said Mr Trump. "I'm willing to do anything. I want to see peace.
"What do you want to call it? Give me a name.
"The Proud Boys stand back and stand by, but I'll tell you what - someone's gotta do something about Antifa and the left, because this is not a right-wing problem, this is a left wing problem."
Mr Trump's words were interpreted as a marching order, with the far-right Proud Boys group issuing a direct response on social media after the debate.
Writing on Parler, another microblogging service, Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio wrote: “I will stand down sir!!! Standing by sir. So Proud of my guys right now.”
The group also changed its logo on Telegram, another social media network popular with right far-right figures, to include the words 'STAND BACK AND STAND BY'.
Biden raises Trump's tax returns
It was widely anticipated that Mr Trump would be asked to respond to the controversy surrounding his tax returns.
Earlier this week, a New York Times investigation found the President had paid just $US750 in taxes in 2016 and 2017.
Mr Biden first raised the issue while answering a question about how to recover the country's economy after the pandemic.
"The difference is millionaires and billionaires like him, in the middle of the COVID crisis, have done very well. Billionaires have made another $300 billion because of his prolific tax policy. He only paid $750 in taxes. But you folks at home, you in Cleveland, and Scranton and all the working class suburbs in America, how are you doing?" Mr Biden said.
The moderator then directly asked Mr Trump to confirm the tax story.
"I know that you pay a lot of other taxes but I'm asking you the specific question: Is it true that you paid $750 in federal income taxes, each of those two years?" Mr Wallace asked.
"I paid millions of dollars in taxes, millions of dollars of income tax, and, let me just tell you, there was a story in one of the papers," Mr Trump responded.
Mr Biden then repeatedly pushed the President to release his most recent tax returns.
"You'll see it as soon as it's finished," Mr Trump replied.
The 2019 tax return from Mr Biden and his wife, Jill, shows taxable income of $US944,737 and a federal tax bill of $US299,346.
President Donald Trump was called on to release his most recent tax returns. Source: AAP
Trump complains election will be 'rigged'
Donald Trump used the debate to once again suggest his legal team could refuse to concede the election if he loses, saying it's a "rigged election".
"This is going to be a fraud like you've never seen," he said. "November 3, you're watching and you will see who won the election and I think we'll do well because people are happy with the job we've done.
"But you know what, we might not know for months because these ballots are going to be all over the place. Take look at what happened in Virginia, they're losing 30 and 40 per cent.
"It is a fraud and it's a shame. And can you imagine where they say, 'You have to have your ballot in by November 10th'. November 10th, that's seven days after the election. In theory, should have been announced. OK, we have major states with that, all run by Democrats. It is is a rigged election."
Mr Trump with his comment that he might not honour the results of the election or treat mail-in ballots as legitimate.
Asked at a White House press conference whether if he is committed to the peaceful handover of power if he is defeated, Mr Trump replied: "Well, we're going to have to see what happens."
"You know that I've been complaining very strongly about the ballots, and the ballots are a disaster," he said.
The debate got extremely personal
The debate was heavily marred by personal insults being traded between each candidate.
On a question from Wallace about the Supreme Court nominations, Mr Biden was interrupted by Mr Trump while explaining whether he would pack the Supreme Court.
Mr Biden interjected: "Will you shut up man? This is so unpresidential."
He later added: "That was really a productive segment, wasn't it? Keep yappin', man."
Mr Trump later launched an attack on Mr Biden's son Hunter over his consulting business.
“China ate your lunch, Joe. No wonder, your son goes in and he takes out billions of dollars to manage. He makes millions of dollars,” Mr Trump said.
“That’s simply not true,” responded Mr Biden.
“Why is it, just out of curiosity, the mayor of Moscow’s wife gave your son $3.5 million?” the President continued.
“None of that is true,” Mr Biden said again.
Mr Biden then hit back by attacking Mr Trump's family, accusing them of being unethical.
“Here’s the deal. You want to talk about families and ethics? I don’t want to do that. His family, we can talk about all night,” Mr Biden said, referring to Trump’s adult children.
“My family lost a fortune coming down and helping with government,” Mr Trump replied. “Every single one of them.”
Later, Mr Trump said Mr Biden's son got "thrown out" of military.
At one point, Mr Biden offered a blunt statement: "You are the worst president America has ever had."
Americans watched in horror as the first debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump descended into chaos. Source: AAP
Showdown over the coronavirus pandemic
The candidates were asked about America's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, and how to balance reopening the country with health concerns.
Mr Biden lashed Mr Trump's performance on the pandemic, saying he doesn't have a plan going forward.
"The President has no plan. He hasn't laid out anything. He knew all the way back in February how serious this crisis was. He knew it was a deadly disease," the Democratic candidate said.
"What did he do? He's on tape as acknowledging he knew it. He said he didn't tell us or give people a warning of it because he didn't want to panic the American people. You don't panic. He panicked.
"How many of you got up this morning and had an empty chair at the kitchen table because someone died of COVID? How many were in a situation where you lost your mum or dad and you couldn't even speak to them, you had a nurse holding the phone so you could say goodbye?"
Mr Biden also accused Mr Trump of only caring about the pandemic when it hit the stock market.
“He panicked, or just looked at the stock market, one of the two,” Mr Biden said.
“Because guess what? A lot of people died and a lot more are going to die unless he gets a lot smarter or a lot quicker.”
