Coronavirus was the key theme, but Harris also warned of the threat to Obamacare as both candidates dodged questions
The vice-presidential debate on Wednesday was less openly hostile than the Donald Trump-Joe Biden debacle last week – but provided a further insight into the state of both campaigns ahead of November.
Kamala Harris and Mike Pence met in Utah for the only vice-presidential debate of the election, separated by Plexiglass barriers as a protection against coronavirus, and seeking to advance their boss’s cases.
As Biden continues to lead Trump in the polls, the pressure was particularly on for Pence to defend the administration’s record, just days after the president tested positive for Covid-19.
From the pandemic to healthcare to the supreme court to a fly, here are the key moments.
1. Harris hammers home criticism over coronavirus response
As expected, the first question was about coronavirus in a debate dominated by the pandemic. Pence’s staff had insisted the vice-president has tested negative for Covid-19, but the two Plexiglass barriers placed between Harris and Pence served as a constant reminder of the crisis.
Harris kept her point simple. She focused on the numbers dead, and the millions of people affected.
“Here are the facts: 210,000 dead people in our country in just the last seven months. Over 7 million who have contracted this disease,” Harris said.
“We’re looking at over 30 million people who in the last seven months had to file for unemployment.”
Harris pointed out, more than once, that Trump and Pence had known about the severity of coronavirus in January, and that Trump had sought to downplay the virus.
“The American people have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country,” Harris said. “This administration has forfeited their right to re-election.”
2. They’re coming for you
One of the most memorable moments of the night was on healthcare, when Harris issued a stark warning about the Trump administration’s intentions.
Trump is seeking to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, which prevents health companies turning away patients with pre-existing conditions – and Harris made sure viewers knew it.
“If you have a pre-existing condition, heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer, they’re coming for you. If you love someone who has a pre-existing condition, they’re coming for you.”
Pence responded by claiming the Trump administration has a plan to protect people with pre-existing conditions. Trump has spent years claiming he will release a comprehensive healthcare plan. We’re yet to see it.
3. Harris: ‘I’m speaking’
Donald Trump interrupted Joe Biden 71 times during the first presidential debate.
Pence cut in on Harris a lot less – perhaps because one of his early attempts was witheringly cut down by Harris.
“Mr Vice-President, I’m speaking. I’m speaking,” Harris said to Pence, as he tried to chirp in while she discussed Trump’s tax cuts.
Delivered with the tone a parent would reserve for a misbehaving child, the moment was widely shared on Twitter.
4. Pence eats up time
While the candidates didn’t interrupt each other with anything like the frequency of Trump in the presidential debate last week, this wasn’t a lesson in debate etiquette.
The phrase: “Thank you Vice-President Pence” chimed out over and over again during the entire encounter, as the moderator from USA Today, Susan Page, sought to stop Pence from taking longer than his allotted time.
It didn’t work, and just as the Fox News host Chris Wallace was criticized for his handling of the Trump-Biden debate, the sense was Page could have been stronger in forcing Pence to stick to his time limit.
5. Both candidates dodge questions
The debate topics were not released ahead of Wednesday night – but neither candidate was caught out.
Both Harris and Pence were guilty of refusing to answer some of Page’s questions – in some cases barely acknowledging questions before launching into prepared answers.
Neither candidate answered a question about whether they had discussed potentially stepping in for Trump, 74, or Biden, 77, respectively, if they were to fall ill – a question made more pressing by the president’s Covid-19 diagnosis last week.
Harris was asked if she and Biden would seek to add seats to the supreme court to increase the number of liberal justices – a move which some Democrats, including former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg have touted – but did not answer.
Pence, asked why the number of deaths per capita in the US is worse than the majority of other countries, never came close to answering.
More troublingly, Pence refused to say he would accept the results of the election – Trump did the same in the presidential debate.
5. Questions raised over Pence’s appearance
During her debate prep Harris and her team were aware of the double standard women in power are subjected to compared with men – including increased scrutiny over how women look.
Instead it was Pence whose appearance raised eyebrows.
Towards the end of the debate a fly landed on Pence’s head, where it remained for two minutes.
Around the same time, “pink eye” began trending online, as numerous viewers spotted that Pence’s left eye had a distinctly pinky-red tone.
Pink eye, or conjunctivitis, can be a symptom of coronavirus.