Pence, Harris Square Off in Only Vice Presidential Debate of Campaign

The two candidates vying for the job of vice president of the United States went head to head Wednesday night in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Though they landed punches, by all accounts it was a much more civil exchange than we saw last week when their bosses took to the debate stage.

One hallmark of this debate: dodged questions.

“We have witnessed the biggest failure of any presidential administration in the history of this country,” said Sen. Kamala Harris, D- Calif. “They still don’t have a plan.”

The debate began on the topic of the coronavirus, and what the Trump White House did to navigate the pandemic which has claimed more than 200,000 American lives.

“President Trump did what no other president would do. He closed the borders to China, one of the most powerful economies in the world,” Vice President Mike Pence said. “There’s not a day that’s gone by that I haven’t thought of every American family that’s lost a loved one.”

Harris insisted the president was not honest with the American people from the outset about the deadly potential of the virus

And when asked if she herself would take an approved vaccine, she replied, “If the public health professionals, if Dr. Fauci, if the doctors tell us that we should take it, I’ll be the first in line to take it—absolutely. But if Donald Trump tells us that we should take it, I’m not taking it.”

The dodging began when neither candidate answered whether internal discussions had taken place on a succession plan given the ages of those at the top of both tickets.

Pence refused to say how a Trump health plan would help those with preexisting conditions or if there would be a peaceful exchange of power if Trump loses.

Harris would not speak directly to the Biden’s support of the left-leaning Green New Deal and would not say if a Biden administration would seek to pack the Supreme Court by adding another justice if Judge Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed.

The two did spar over the conservative Barrett nomination which hangs in the balance less than a month away from Election Day.

“We particularly hope that we don’t see the kind of attacks on her Christian faith that we saw before,” Pence said.

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