How Trump, Biden compare on coronavirus, gun rights and other issues

President Donald Trump

Coronavirus and health care

— Signed $2 trillion CARES Act

— Created a Coronavirus Task Force to unify government response

— Signed economic relief and medical response packages

— Believes governors and mayors make decisions on measures to prevent spread

— Free tests

— Advocates in person classes at public schools

— Developed Operation Warp Speed for fast approval, manufacture and distribution of a vaccine

— Opposes a national mask mandate

— Promised a health care plan that still has not been released

Abortion

— In 1999, said he was “very pro-choice,” but by 2016, he proclaimed he was “pro-life” and pledged to nominate only “pro-life judges” to the U.S. Supreme Court

— In January, became the first president to address the March for Life in person

— Withheld federal funds from family planning organizations that provide or refer women to abortion clinics

— Reinstated the “global gag rule” that withholds foreign aid to organizations that offer abortion services

Guns

— Endorsed by NRA

— Signed Fix NICS Act law in 2018 that strengthened background check system

— Says there is no political appetite for an assault-weapons ban

— In wake of Oct. 1, 2017, shooting in Las Vegas, signed executive order banning bump stocks

Immigration

— Campaigned on pledge to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border; more than 300 miles built

— Vowed to end President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program that gave temporary legal status to qualified undocumented immigrants who came into the country as minors

— In September 2017, terminated DACA, but was overturned by the Supreme Court in July

— Opposes sanctuary cities, has threatened to withhold federal funding from them

— Imposed policy that denies green cards to non-citizens likely to become “public charges”

Foreign policy

— As a candidate, promised to avoid “endless wars” and withdraw U.S. troops from global hot spots

— Recognized Jerusalem as capital of Israel and moved U.S. embassy there

— Canceled the Trans Pacific Partnership

— Replaced North American Free Trade Agreement with USMCA (United States Mexico Canada Agreement)

— Withdrew from international peace pact with Iran

— Met with North Korean strongman Kim Jong Un in failed attempt to reach a peace deal

— Brokered establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and United Arab Emirates and Israel and Bahrain

Yucca Mountain

— First budget contained $120 million to restart licensing for Yucca Mountain; Congress rejected the idea

— Changed positions in July 2018, tweeting that “my Administration is committed to exploring innovative approaches — I’m confident we can get it done!”

Taxes

— Signed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that cut marginal personal tax rate and corporate taxes

— Signed order for a withholding tax holiday to boost economy during COVID; wants to make it permanent next year

— Would enact 10 percent middle-class tax cut

Climate change

— Calls climate change a “hoax”

— Withdrew from Paris Climate Accord

Criminal justice, violence in America and racial equity

— Signed First Step Act to reform federal sentencing terms and allow for the early release of thousands of federal inmates

— Criticized Biden for pushing crime bill that instituted harsh federal mandatory minimum sentences

— Said antifa and left-wing groups are bigger threat to public safety than white supremacists

— Said he does not see reparations for slavery happening

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Former Vice President Joe Biden

Coronavirus and health care

— Create Pandemic Testing Board to get more tests to Americans for free

— Create a National Contact Tracing Workforce at least 100,000 strong

— Governors and mayors make decisions on what opens

— Premium pay for health care workers and paid leave for those infected with COVID and their caregivers

— Provide resources to schools “to safely reopen”

— Called for three-month nationwide mask mandate in August, but said in September he wasn’t sure president had that authority

— Wants to build on Affordable Care Act by offering more choice and increase health insurance coverage to 97 percent of population

Abortion

— Supports abortion rights and taxpayer funding of abortion

— Would rescind “global gag rule” that withholds aid from international organizations that offer information on abortion

— Would restore Affordable Care Act’s designation of birth control as an essential service

Guns

— Opposed by NRA

— Supports an assault weapons ban

— Would require current owners of so-called assault weapons to sell their firearms to federal government or register them under National Firearms Act

— Proposes one gun per person per month purchase limit

Immigration

— In March, committed to halting deportations for 100 days and said his administration would deport only undocumented immigrants convicted of felonies

— Would end funding for Trump’s border wall and redirect that money to other border enforcement efforts

— Would reinstate DACA

— After opposing sanctuary cities as a presidential candidate in 2007, now supports local law enforcement not turning undocumented immigrants over to federal authorities

— Opposes family separation of undocumented migrants at the border

— Would reverse Trump’s “public charge” rule

Foreign policy

— Denounced Trump’s move of U.S. embassy to Jerusalem as “short-sighted and frivolous” but would not move it back to Tel Aviv

— Recently told CNN Trump’s USMCA was better than NAFTA

— Supports Iran nuclear deal that he argues would keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon

— Voted to authorize military force in Iraq in 2002, which he later said was a bad judgment call based on misplaced trust in then-President George W. Bush

Yucca Mountain

— Opposes Yucca Mountain nuclear storage facility

Taxes

— Would repeal Trump’s tax cuts for high income earners

— Would raise top tax rate to 39.6 percent for income of more than $400,000

— Would apply Social Security withholding taxes on wages up to $400,000

— Would increase corporate income tax to 28 percent

Climate change

— Would recommit United States to Paris Climate Accord

— Said Green New Deal is “not my plan” but his campaign website calls it an essential framework for greenhouse gas reduction

Criminal justice, violence in America and racial equity

— Driving force behind the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which instituted harsh mandatory minimum sentences

— During first debate, said antifa “is an idea not an organization”

— Told Washington Post he supports a commission or other mechanism to determine what form reparations could take

Contact Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com or at 202-662-7391. Follow @DebraJSaunders on Twitter.