"Beautiful" is how US political outsider Donald Trump described his shock presidential win against rival Hillary Clinton on the night of November 8, 2016.

The details were less clean-cut.

Former secretary of state Clinton had received nearly three million more votes than her Republican rival. But, by narrowly winning key battleground states, Trump surpassed the 270 Electoral College votes necessary to win the White House.

With just five weeks until the 2020 election featuring Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, the rules of this enigmatic -- some argue outmoded -- system are coming back into focus.

Well, we can be sure tonight’s debate will be sarcastic, insulting and lively – and a fact-checker’s heaven, starting with why Donald Trump hasn't paid any income taxes recently.

Donald Trump is reported to have spent his prep time coming up with one-line zingers particularly aimed at his opponent’s family and mental acuity, even as Joe Biden seeks to lay blame for coronavirus and economic problems on Trump. Still, the whole event sets up as a clash of cultures more than any debate about who stands where on issues, a showdown of sorts about what sort of country we want.