A Wednesday In Salt Lake City: Vice Presidential Debate Live Blog

The 2020 vice presidential debate will take place at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City Wednesday evening. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The country has reached a political tipping point. This month, the nation’s capital is experiencing an unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak. With the President and several of his top staffers recovering from the virus, many are left wondering what the next month will look like. Questions regarding election security continue to loom and many of the nation’s major cities are dealing with issues of police violence. It’s safe to say that the next month will not only determine the presidential election, but also the future of the country. All of that and more will be on display in Salt Lake City as Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris at the election cycle’s only vice presidential debate.

Opening Remarks: COVID-19, Transparency & Tax Returns

Question: What would a Biden administration do to control coronavirus that a Trump Administration wouldn’t?

Response: Sen. Harris gets things going by taking aim at the Trump’s administration handling of COVID-19. She criticizes the White House’s response having known the virus could be a threat since January of this year.

Question: Why is the U.S. death toll high than any other wealthy country?

Response: Vice President pushes back on criticisms of the White House’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He praises his President Donald Trump’s actions and cites his actions as the leader of the COVID-19 Task Force. Pence also argues that former Vice President Biden’s response to the COVID-19 would be similar to him. He also states that Biden may have plagiarized legislature in the past.

Question: How can you expect Americans to follow safety guidelines when they weren’t followed at the White House?

Response: Vice President alludes to the White House’s recent Rose Garden event that moderator Susan Page described as a “superspreader” event. He claims that attendees were tested before the event and references he and his wife’s negative tests following the event.

Question: Would you take a vaccine if it is approved before the end of the year?

Response: Sen. Harris states that she would take a COVID-19 vaccine if it was approved by Dr. Anthony Fauci and other respected health officials. However, she would be unwilling to take the vaccine if President Donald Trump approved it. In response, Vice President Mike Pence pushes back and says that she should “stop undermining” the public’s confidence in a vaccine. He goes on to claim that if former Vice President Joe Biden was the U.S. President during the pandemic, the country would have lost 2 million lives.

Question: Is detailed information about the President’s health something voters deserve to know?

Response: Regardless of who is elected, President Donald Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden will be the oldest President in U.S. history. Concerns regarding their health have existed for more than a year. When moving from the pandemic, the discussion was supposed to turn towards the health of both candidates. However, the conversation turned toward the topic of overall transparency. The two discussed President Donald Trump’s alleged tax returns and Sen. Harris raised concerns over who Donald Trump may owe.

Second Quarter: Economy, Climate Change, American-Chinese Relations

Question: Should Americans be braced for an economic comeback that will take a year or more?

Response: Vice President Mike Pence believes that under Trump’s leadership the COVID-19 economic comeback will take less than a year. However, he argues that former Vice President Joe Biden would stall economic recovery by approving the Green New Deal, repeal Trump tax cuts and raise taxes. Sen. Harris argues that Biden’s record has shown that he will bring back the economy much faster than Donald Trump. She also accuses the Trump administration of riding the coattails of the Obama-Biden administration.

Question: How will your administration tackle the issue of climate change?

Response: Vice President Mike Pence moves to chastise Sen. Harris and Biden’s support of the Green New Deal and the Paris Climate Accord. He then praises Trump’s actions during his term and claims that the President will always listen to science when it comes to the topic of climate change. Sen. Harris pushes back against that claim and points to wildfires in her home state of California as an example of Trump’s failure to protect the country’s environment.

Question: How would you describe the country’s fundamental relationship with China?

Response: The two candidates go toe-to-toe regarding the country’s relationship with China. Vice President Mike Pence claims that the current administration’s relationship with China has boosted the economy. Meanwhile, Sen. Harris claims that the administration’s current handling of China has resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Third Quarter: U.S. Supreme Court, Roe V. Wade, Police Reform

Question: How should the country move forward with the current U.S. Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett?

Response: Sen. Kamala Harris argued that the next U.S. Supreme Court Justice should not be nominated or confirmed until after November’s election. Vice President Mike Pence responded by supporting Amy Coney Barrett and pointing towards previous cases in which U.S. Supreme Court Justices were nominated during an election year. He then shifted the conversation towards “packing the court” and adding seats to the U.S. Supreme Court. Harris refused to answer the question directly, but did point to President Donald Trump’s record or lack thereof when nominating Black judges.

Question: In the case of Breonna Taylor, was justice done?

Response: Sen. Harris begins by sending her prayers to the families of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. She then criticized the indictment or lack thereof brought down in the Breonna Taylor case. She does not feel that justice has been served in the case of Breonna Taylor and feels that there are major reforms that need to be made in policing and criminal justice systems throughout the country. Vice President Mike Pence responded by saying that he respects the decision made by the grand jurors in the Breonna Taylor case. He also noted that he hopes justice will be brought in the case of George Floyd. Pence later criticized the senator’s record as a district attorney.

Closing: Bipartisanship

Question: How will politicians work in a bipartisanship manner to better the country?

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