On Oct. 7, Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., had their first and only vice-presidential debate for the upcoming 2020 election. Harris is noted for being the first woman of color to be nominated for national office by a political party.
This debate was set up differently than the Presidential debate that was previously held. Candidates were seated and had clear panels between them as precautions for COVID-19. The candidates did not interrupt each other compared to last week’s debate with President Donald Trump and previous Vice President Joe Biden. This debate was mainly focused on health care, the economy, and COVID-19.
Senator Kamala Harris did not let Vice President Pence interrupt her. From time to time, Harris said, “Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking,” so she could finish answering her question uninterrupted. Vice President Pence is the head of the coronavirus task force and discussed for most of the debate about how proud he is of how the Trump administration has handled the pandemic. During this debate, there were no follow-up questions asked when needed or rebuttals to the candidate’s answer.
One of the biggest worries for citizens today is how the pandemic will continue to affect them. Pence is proud of how President Trump suspended travel from China, but Harris claims that the people should have been informed on Jan. 28 when the President was informed that there was a novel virus afoot. Moderator Susan Page asks how the American people are supposed to continue to take precautions in light of the White House’s confirmed COVID cases and still hold large gatherings. During the debate, Pence says he trusts the American people to continue to protect themselves and those around them but didn’t directly answer the moderator’s question.
Vice President Pence brought up a conversation that has been up in the air for democrats for a while now. Pence asks Harris should Biden win the debate, will they pack the supreme court. Harris smiled and said, “The people have the right to vote,” but neither she nor former Vice President Biden directly answered this question.
The topic of abortion for people can bring out colors in them they did not know they had. During this debate, the conversation about abortion got heated up. Moderator Susan asked Kamala if she would make abortion more accessible for states like California. She states it is a women’s right to make her own decision. During the last few seconds of his allotted time, Vice President Mike Pence stated, “I am pro-life, don’t apologize for it.”
Vice President Pence failed to talk about a second term and how re-electing Trump is the right choice. Pence’s focus was on the economy and Harris’ focus was on COVID and Russia. The winner of this debate according to ABC news guest Matt Dowd is Harris: “Kamala won not by a lot, but when we see the polls in the coming days, I think it’s going to show she won the debate against Mike Pence.”
The next presidential debate was scheduled for Oct. 15. The debate would be held virtually; however, President Trump is not in favor of a virtual debate. The debate has since been canceled.
Stay informed about election updates through your local news channel and be sure to vote for this year’s election. Early in-voting has started as well as mailing in your absentee ballot. For more information about voting, you may visit https://iwillvote.com/ and visit your city website for information on hours for early voting polls in your area.
Jennifer Tellez
Reporter