Coronavirus at the forefront of a civil showdown: 5 takeaways from the Pence-Harris VP debate
Kamala Harris called the response of President Donald Trump’s administration to the coronavirus “the greatest failure” of any White House in U.S. history.
But Mike Pence came prepared, accusing Harris of “continuously undermining confidence” in a potential vaccine for COVID-19 that could become available by the end of this year.
Separated by sheets of plexiglass, the two running mates sparred for 90 minutes during the sole vice presidential debate on Wednesday in Salt Lake City, an event that took on heightened importance due to the unclear health of the president — still recovering from his own coronavirus infection— and the age of the 77-year-old Joe Biden, who, if elected would become the oldest president in U.S. history.
While they occasionally dodged tough questions and ignored others, both the 61-year-old Pence and the 55-year-old Harris avoided any memorable errors in what was a relatively conventional debate that avoided any harm. The showdown is unlikely to change the trajectory of a race increasingly favoring the Democrats with less than four weeks until Election Day.
Here are five takeaways from the debate:
Pence holds his own on the pandemic, but took some hits
As head of the White House coronavirus task force, Pence knew he was entering Wednesday’s debate vulnerable to attacks – and to sharp questions from the moderator – on the administration’s widely criticized pandemic response.
He came prepared, noting half of all jobs lost since the outbreak began in February have now returned and defending the nation’s devastating death toll by claiming that millions more could have died if not for the president’s policies.
Responding to Harris’ assertion that the Trump administration had “failed” in its response, Pence had a response ready: “that’s a great disservice to the sacrifices that the American people have made,” the vice president said.
But Harris repeatedly hammered the Trump administration for supporting a case before the Supreme Court next month that could strike down the Affordable Care Act – ”literally, in the midst of a public health pandemic,” she said.
The hardest blows inflicted on Pence’s coronavirus record came not from Harris, but from the moderator, Susan Page.
Page asked Pence to explain why the United States has the highest death rate of the world’s wealthy nations. He did not answer.
She then asked him what kind of example the White House had set for the American people by hosting an event for Trump’s Supreme Court nominee that had no social distancing and where no one wore masks. The event has been linked to an outbreak of coronavirus among senior administration officials and lawmakers.
Pence demurred, noting that the event was entirely outdoors. That claim was false.
A temporary return to normalcy
Unlike last week’s face-off between Trump and Biden -- which was dominated by repeated interruptions and boorish name-calling, Pence and Harris largely conducted their debate within the normal confines of political warfare.
While Democrats complained that the moderator allowed Pence to interrupt Harris too often, and frequently deflected her questions, the crosstalk and brief interrogations were nothing out of the ordinary.
Pence did, however, frustrate Page enough that at one point, she called him out.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Vice President, you’ve had more time than she’d had,” Page said. “I did not create the rules for tonight.”
Both chose to blow past several substantive questions, retreating to pre-produced attack lines accompanied by grimaces on their faces to express disapproval while listening to their rival. These are all trademarks of conventional politicians in high-stakes debates throughout history.
Pence, a traditional Republican with a temperament opposite of Trump’s, attempted to bring some much-needed calm to the campaign, if only temporarily, by litigating a forceful case against Biden on issues from fracking to trade with China.
Harris, a former prosecutor, largely stuck to her script of laying the country’s health and economic crisis’ at the feet of the Trump administration.
Playing dodgeball on thorny issues
Both candidates also chose to divert away from issues they were least comfortable with addressing.
While Pence claimed that Trump had a plan to protect pre-existing conditions that were installed as part of Obamacare, he never got to explaining what it was.
When pressed by Page, he instead chose to tout himself as unapologetically anti-abortion.
For Harris, it was the thorny question of whether a President Biden would push to add Supreme Court justices to the bench to even out a conservative majority. Biden has repeatedly declined to answer the question, remarkably acknowledging it would knock him off his preferred message.
Harris stuck to that script, with Pence interrupting her before she could deflect herself.
“If you haven’t figured it out yet, the straight answer: They are going to pack the Supreme Court if they somehow win this election,” Pence charged.
Pence appeals to a fractured base of faith voters
Faced with diminishing support among white evangelical and Catholic voters in critical battleground states, Pence repeatedly highlighted his faith and the Trump administration’s record on priorities of the religious right.
When Harris criticized the Trump administration for abandoning its allies around the world, Pence highlighted Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and relocation of the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv. He emphasized his opposition to abortion and warned voters who share his views that the prospect of a conservative Supreme Court majority could be imperiled by a Biden victory.
And he attacked Harris, and other Democratic lawmakers, for going after judicial nominees over their faith-based positions during confirmation hearings — a preview of the fight to come next week when Harris will grill Trump’s high court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett.
“We particularly hope that we don’t see the sort of attacks on her Christian faith that we saw before,” Pence said, referencing a fight over Barrett’s previous writings on balancing her Catholic faith with her jurisprudence.
Harris pushed back, noting that Biden would only be the second Catholic ever elected president.
“Joe Biden and I are both people of faith,” Harris responded, “and it’s insulting to suggest that we would knock anyone over their faith.”
A 2024 preview?
Regardless of the outcome of the 2020 election next month, both Harris and Pence are seen as likely aspirants in the next presidential race.
If the 77-year-old Biden wins and chooses to serve only a single term, Harris would be his natural heir, and Pence would begin as one of the best-known Republican contenders in a wide open primary, simply due to his association with Trump.
While Harris’ primary campaign fizzled due to muddled messaging and staff friction, as vice president, she would be bolstered by a first-rate political apparatus and unrivaled fundraising network.
Perhaps the most significant result of the debate is that it produced 90 minutes of archival footage for each party to study when Pence and Harris mount their own future presidential runs.
This story was originally published October 7, 2020 at 10:54 PM.
