Harris and Pence face off in 2020 vice presidential debate
Vice President Mike Pence speaks as Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., listens during the vice presidential debate Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020, at Kingsbury Hall on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. (Justin Sullivan/Pool via AP)
California Sen. Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence squared off in the first and only 2020 vice presidential debate conducted on Wednesday night. USA Today’s Washington bureau chief Susan Page moderated the long-awaited 90-minute discussion at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City with the presence of plexiglass and social distancing.
COVID-19
The first question posed by Page focused on the best way to combat the COVID-19 crisis. Harris was the opening answer, citing the Biden administration will make sure a coronavirus vaccine will be “free for all.”
Harris began her answer by calling out the Trump administration for its response.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., makes a point during the vice presidential debate Vice President Mike Pence Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020, at Kingsbury Hall on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
“The American people have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country,” Harris said, “and here's the thing, on Jan. 28, the vice president and the president were informed about the nature of this pandemic, and they knew what was happening, and they didn’t tell you.”
Harris began describing a future plan conducted by the Biden administration, including contact tracing, testing and free vaccinations for the American people.
Page shifted to Pence, asking the current vice president why the death toll in the U.S. is higher than almost every other wealthy country. Pence said the president has had the public’s best interest in mind during the ongoing pandemic.
“Our nation has gone through a very challenging time this year, but I want the American people to know that from the very first day, President Donald Trump has put the health of America first,” Pence said.
Pence then threw jabs at former Vice President Joe Biden, saying his plan “looks a little bit like plagiarism” which he said Biden “knows a little bit about.”
The conversation transitioned to a discussion about the loosely enforced COVID-19 guidelines at the White House. This stems from the recent Rose Garden event in which attendees were photographed without masks or social distancing.
“That Rose Garden event. There’s been a great deal of speculation about it,” Pence said. “Many of the people who were at that event were tested for the coronavirus. It was an outdoor event, which all of our scientists regularly and routinely advise.”
Pence said he and Trump “trust the American people to make choices in the best interest of their health.”
According to an AP News fact check, this suggestion was false. The event was not entirely outdoors and flouted public-health safety recommendations in many ways.
Page shifted focus to the coronavirus vaccine, asking Harris if she would take a vaccine if it were approved by the Trump administration before the election.
Harris said she would only take the vaccine if approved by health officials.
“If the public health professionals, if Dr. [Anthony] Fauci, if the doctors tell us that we should take it, I will be the first in line to take it, absolutely,” Harris said. “But if Donald Trump tells us we should take it, I’m not taking it.”
The role of the vice president
Page brought up the topic of voter concern regarding Trump’s recent COVID-19 diagnosis and the age of the two candidates. She asked Pence if he has ever had a conversation with the president about safeguards or procedures that might come up due to “presidential disability.”
Pence sidelined the question in an attempt to revert back to the previous topic concerning a coronavirus vaccine.
“The reality is that we’re going to have a vaccine, Senator, in record time,” Pence said.
Harris was given the same question, which she dodged by instead talking about the day Biden asked her to be his running mate and her previous experience as a district attorney.
Trump
The nominees were asked whether U.S. voters should be given detailed health information about the presidential candidates.
Pence went on to applaud the health officials who aided Trump at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and acknowledged that Americans “have the right to know” about the president’s treatment for COVID-19.
“The care the president received at Walter Reed hospital and White House doctors was exceptional,” Pence said. “And the transparency that they practiced all along the way will continue. The American people have a right to know about the health and well-being of their president, and we’ll continue to do that.”
Harris answered the question by slamming Trump’s 2017 tax cuts released by The New York Times, saying the American people have the right to know “what’s influencing the president’s decisions.”
“Susan, I’m glad you asked about transparency because it has to be across the board,” Harris said.
Economy
Harris was asked if raising taxes on the wealthy would put the economy at risk.
“I think there couldn’t be a more fundamental difference between Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” Harris said. “Joe Biden believes you measure the health and the strength of America’s economy based on the health and strength of the American worker and the American family. On the other hand, you have Donald Trump who measures the strength of the economy based on how rich people are doing.”
Harris added that on “day one,” Biden will repeal Trump’s tax reform.
When asked about the economy, Pence took aim at Biden and Harris, saying their administration will raise taxes on “day one” if in office.
“You just heard Sen. Harris say, on day one, Joe Biden is going to raise your taxes,” Pence said.
Harris rebutted, saying taxes would not go up for individuals earning less than $400,000.
According to an AP News fact check, this statement was false. Biden’s platform does not promise to repeal the tax cuts. Additionally, if Biden were to repeal the tax cuts, he would be breaking his word not to raise taxes for individuals earning less than $400,000.
Climate Change
“I’m very proud of our record on the environment and on conservation,” Pence began. “According to all of the best estimates, our air and land are cleaner than any time ever recorded. Our water is among the cleanest in the world.”
Citing the Outdoors Act signed by Trump in August, Pence said the president has made a “commitment of conservation in the environment.”
Pence threw jabs at the Green New Deal, saying the Biden administration seeks to sink the economy with the inclusion of the $2 trillion-dollar proposal.
“They want to bury our economy under a $2 trillion Green New Deal,” Pence said. “[They] want to abolish fossil fuels and ban fracking, which would cost hundreds of thousands of American jobs all across the heartland.”
Harris denied these claims, saying Biden will not ban fracking and will expand the job market with seven million more jobs — part of them dealing with clean and renewable energy.
Foreign Policy
Both Pence and Harris were asked about their views on the relations between the U.S. and China. Pence jumped into the topic by associating the country with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“First and foremost, China is to blame for the coronavirus, and President Trump is not happy about it,” Pence said.
Pence commended the president for his travel ban and said Biden has been China’s “cheerleader.”
“He suspended all travel from China, the second-largest economy in the world,” Pence said. “Joe Biden opposed that decision, he said it was xenophobic and hysterical.”
According to an AP News fact check, this claim is misleading. Trump’s order did not ban all travel to China. Travel was restricted and only applied to foreign citizens, allowing 40,000 people to travel from China to the U.S. from Jan. 31 to April.
Additionally, Biden never branded the decision “xenophobic.
Vice President Mike Pence makes a point during the vice presidential debate with Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020, at Kingsbury Hall on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Page shifted focus to Harris, asking her what she believes the U.S.’s fundamental relationship is with the country and if she views it as an adversary, a competitor or an enemy.
Harris described the U.S. foreign policy as being about relationships, saying “you’ve got to be loyal to your friends.” She took a shot at Trump saying he has “betrayed our friends” and “embraced dictators.”
“You lost that trade war,” Harris said. “Because of a so-called trade war with China, America lost 300,000 manufacturing jobs. Farmers have experienced bankruptcy because of it. We are in a manufacturing recession because of it.”
This started a heated discussion with Pence, as he fired back with, “Lost the trade war with China? Joe Biden never fought it,” he said, adding, “Joe Biden has been a cheerleader for communist China over the last several decades.”
Health Care
On the topic of health care, Harris shared her disapproval of the Trump administration’s role in challenging the Affordable Care Act.
“If you have a pre-existing condition — heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer — they’re coming for you,” Harris said. “If you are under the age of 26 on your parents’ coverage, they’re coming for you.”
Pence responded with jabs at Obamacare, saying it was a “disaster” and the American people “remember it well.” He promised that the Trump administration plans to cover people with pre-existing conditions.
Election
The debate came to a close with a question from an 8th grader in Utah who asked how American citizens are supposed to get along if elected leaders cannot.
Pence answered first, originally saying that people should not “assume that what you’re seeing on your local news networks is synonymous with the American people,” before shifting to an answer highlighting unity.
“Here in America, we can disagree, we can debate vigorously as Senator Harris and I have on this stage tonight, but when the debate is over, we come together as Americans,” Pence said. “That's what people do in big cities and small towns all across this country.”
Harris used this time to urge viewers to vote, mentioning she believes the future is bright.
“When you think about the future, I do believe the future is bright, and it will be because of your leadership and it will be because we fight for each person’s voice through their vote and we get engaged in this election,” Harris said.
Page wrapped up the debate by reminding viewers of the second presidential debate taking place on Oct. 15. However, the fate of the second presidential debate is uncertain following the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates’ decision today to hold the event virtually.
“I’m not going to do a virtual debate,” Trump told Fox Business, adding that the idea of a virtual debate was a “joke.”
With less than four weeks until the election, tensions are running high — making the next presidential debate essential for the candidates.
To watch the vice presidential debate, click here.
