LOCAL NEWS

Pence, Harris Spar Over COVID-19 In Vice Presidential Debate

Oct 7, 2020, 10:27 PM | Updated: Nov 20, 2023, 11:29 am

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Trading barbs through plexiglass shields, Republican Mike Pence and Democrat Kamala Harris turned the only vice presidential debate of 2020 into a dissection of the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with Harris labeling it “the greatest failure of any presidential administration.”

Pence, who leads the president’s coronavirus task force, acknowledged that “our nation’s gone through a very challenging time this year,” yet vigorously defended the administration’s overall response to a pandemic that has killed 210,000 Americans.

The meeting, which was far more civil than last week’s chaotic faceoff between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, unfolded against an outbreak of coronavirus now hitting the highest levels of the U.S. government. Trump spent three days at the hospital before returning to the White House on Monday, and more than a dozen White House and Pentagon officials are also infected, forcing even more into quarantine.

With less than four weeks before Election Day, the debate was one of the final opportunities for Trump and Pence to reset a contest that could be slipping away. They’re hoping to move the campaign’s focus away from the virus, but the president’s infection — and his downplaying of the consequences — are making that challenging.

Vice Presidential Debate In SLC

LIVE: The 2020 Vice Presidential Debate in Salt Lake City between VP Mike Pence (R) and Sen. Kamala Harris (D).

Posted by KSL 5 TV on Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Trump and Biden are scheduled to debate again on Oct. 15, though the status of that meeting is unclear. The president has said he wants to attend, but Biden says it shouldn’t move forward if Trump still has coronavirus.

Republicans desperately want to cast the race as a choice between two candidates fighting to move the country in vastly different directions. Biden and Harris, they say, would pursue a far-left agenda bordering on socialism; the Democrats say Trump’s administration will stoke racial and other divides, torpedo health care for people who aren’t wealthy and otherwise undercut national strength.

Harris, 55, made history by becoming the first Black woman to stand on a vice presidential debate stage. She condemned the police killings of Breonna Taylor in Kentucky and George Floyd in Minnesota and spoke about the protests against racial injustice in policing that followed, which Trump has portrayed as “riots” as he calls for law-and-order.

“We are never going to condone violence but we must always fight for the values that we hold dear,” Harris said. “I’m a former career prosecutor. I know what I’m talking about. Bad cops are bad for good cops.”

The final question of the 2020 vice presidential debate came from Brecklynn Brown, a student at Springville Junior High…

Posted by KSL 5 TV on Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Pence, 61, said his heart breaks for Taylor’s family but he trusts the U.S. justice system. He called it “remarkable” that Harris, as a former attorney general and prosecutor, would question the grand jury’s decision in the case not to charge an officer with killing her.

He also pushed back against the existence of systemic racism in police departments and rejected the idea that law enforcement officers have a bias against minorities.

“I want everyone to know who puts on the uniform of law enforcement every day, President Trump and I stand with you,” Pence said. “We don’t have to choose between supporting law enforcement, proving public safety and supporting our African American neighbors.”

The candidates also clashed on taxes — or specifically, Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns four years after repeatedly promising to do so. The New York Times reported last month that the president pays very little personal income tax but owes hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.

“It’d be really good to know who the president owes money to,” Harris said.

“The one thing we know about Joe, he puts it all out there. He is honest, he is forthright,” she added. “Donald Trump, on the other hand, has been about covering up everything.”

Pence defended Trump as a job creator who has paid more than his fair share of taxes and shifted toward Biden: “On Day One, Joe Biden’s going to raise your taxes.”

Both candidates sidestepped difficult questions at times.

Pence refused to say whether climate change was an existential threat or whether Trump would accept the election results should he lose, while Harris declined to say whether Biden would push to expand the number of justices on the Supreme Court.

But so long as the coronavirus is ravaging the White House and killing several hundred Americans each day, the campaign will almost certainly be a referendum on the Trump administration’s inability to control the pandemic, which Republicans have sought to downplay or ignore altogether for several months.

Pence’s effort to focus on other topics was undercut by the mere fact that the candidates and moderator were separated by plexiglass shields, seated more than 12 feet apart and facing a crowd of masked audience members who faced expulsion if they removed their face coverings. The candidates on stage revealed test results earlier in the day proving they were not infected.

While the audience was forced to wear face masks throughout, second lady Karen Pence removed her mask as she joined her husband on stage at the end of the debate.

Though the night was about Pence and Harris, the men at the top of the ticket also made their presence known.

Trump released a video just three hours before the debate calling his diagnosis “a blessing in disguise” because it shed light on an experimental antibody combination that he credited for his improved condition — though neither he nor his doctors have a way of knowing whether the drug had that effect.

He tweeted several times during the debate, offering this assessment at one point: “Mike Pence is doing GREAT! She is a gaffe machine.”

Biden too kept a stream of tweets going; he posted his plans for confronting the virus, shared clips from the debate exchanges and praised Harris, who he said “is showing the American people why I chose her as my running mate.”

___

Peoples reported from New York. Colvin reported from Washington.

KSL 5 TV Live

Local News

FILE — Utah Highway Patrol vehicle. (KSLTV.com)...

Carlysle Price

One in critical condition following head-on crash in Summit County

One person is in critical condition after two vehicles crashed head-on Wednesday night.

4 hours ago

FILE — A state panel has ruled in favor of transparency again, ordering the AG’s office to tur...

Annie Knox, Daniella Rivera and Courtney Johns, KSL TV

First glance at the AG’s calendar: What is — and isn’t — inside

As part of a settlement agreement, the Utah Attorney General’s Office released thousands of pages of Sean Reyes’ work calendar to KSL. The release of the records brings an end to a nearly two-year legal effort by Reyes and his office to conceal the records from the public.

4 hours ago

Fire crews conducted a controlled burn in Wellsville on Oct. 30, 2024, on two buildings ready for d...

Jacob Freeman

Fire crews use controlled burn to demolish Wellsville buildings

Fire departments in the Cache County Fire District conducted a controlled burn of two residential buildings in Mendon last week.

5 hours ago

FILE — President Joe Biden speaks from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, ...

KSL TV

Church leaders congratulate Trump, thank Harris and Biden

The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement after the United States presidential election.

6 hours ago

Bar-W Beef, pictured in Nephi on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, had its grand opening the previous week. ...

Alex Cabrero

Idea for new beef processing plant in Nephi began during covid meat shortages

There sure are a lot of cows in Utah. Farms with rich agricultural histories are located throughout the state.

6 hours ago

The Utah County Clerk is now responding to Tuesday's ballot issues, that led to long lines at the b...

Brian Carlson

Utah County Clerk responds to criticism over Election Day issues

The Utah County Clerk is now responding to Tuesday's ballot issues, that led to long lines at the ballot box and compelled the state to send a plane to pick up ballots during the middle of Election Day.

7 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

abstract vector digital social network technology background...

Les Olson

Protecting yourself against social engineering attacks

Learn more about the common types of social engineering to protect your online or offline assets from an attack.

family having fun at home...

Lighting Design

Discover the impact of lighting on your mood

From color temperature to lighting saturation, we tackle how different lighting design setups can impact your day-to-day mood.

Laptops in a modern technology store. Department of computers in the electronics store. Choosing a ...

PC Laptops

How to choose the best laptop for college students

Finding the right laptop for college students can be hard, but with this guide we break down what to look for so you can find the best one.

young male technician is repairing a printer at office...

Les Olson

Unraveling the dilemma between leasing and buying office technology

Carefully weigh these pros and cons to make an informed decision that best suits your business growth and day-to-day operation. 

A kitchen in a modern farmhouse....

Lighting Design

A room-by-room lighting guide for your home

Bookmark this room-by-room lighting guide whenever you decide to upgrade your lighting or style a new home.

Photo courtesy of Artists of Ballet West...

Ballet West

The rising demand for ballet tickets: why they’re harder to get

Ballet West’s box office is experiencing demand they’ve never seen before, leaving many interested patrons unable to secure tickets they want.

Pence, Harris Spar Over COVID-19 In Vice Presidential Debate