Trump, Biden head into first debate with presidency on the line

What the 90-minute clash will have is a chance for Americans finally to see Trump, 74, and Biden, 77, go head to head.

There will be no handshake, but venom to spare when President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden meet in Cleveland on Tuesday for the first of three televised debates that could shake up an already volatile race for the White House.

What the 90-minute clash will have is a chance for Americans finally to see Trump, 74, and Biden, 77, go head to head.

With Trump claiming Biden is virtually brain dead -- "Biden doesn't know he's alive" -- and Biden branding the president "a toxic presence," it won't be for the faint hearted.

Significantly behind in the polls, Trump is in fighting mode, embarking on an endurance-testing schedule of rallies in key battlegrounds several times a week.

Biden's deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield responded in kind, saying that if Trump wants the debate to be conducted through "urine" samples, "he can.".

If Barrett is quickly confirmed, as the Republican-led Senate expects, Trump will have managed to tilt the highest court firmly to the right for years to come.

Biden will instead aim to keep his sights trained on the coronavirus pandemic, which polls show about two thirds of Americans say Trump handled badly.