Not trying to be difficult, but technically Trump didn't say Covid was a hoax. He said that the Democrats stating that his handling of the pandemic was a hoax, meaning that it was politically motivated and that he in fact he believed that he did do a good job with the pandemic. Just a bit of nuance that I'm sure your father didn't latch onto, nor cares too.

With that said, I found the debates to be the breaking point for me. While I had pledged to vote third party, Trump's behavior did it for me. He could not be president. Being that Biden is what I consider "conservative light" he would actually be a good option for Republicans who want to take the party back to the Bush years.

I didn't see the debate with my father, but he was there when we saw the VP debate. He is voting for Trump, and so my sister and I simply spoke about Pence's lies in front of him. He interjected a few times, I would essentially do an "I agree, but.." or appeal to an issue that I knew that he cared about. I guess it was unfair for my father because my sister and I tag teamed him. Overall, my father is not a "hardcore trumpist" he's just conservative and probably doesn't pay attention all that much to antics.

And yea, he believed the virus was a hoax or that there were some natural cures to it in the beginning. When I showed him a message from my friend who works at Elmhurst hospital, which was the epicenter of the pandemic, he changed his mind and started wearing a mask and gloves.