In a room full of masks, plexiglass and a lot of distance from each other are Vice President Mike Pence and running mate Kamala Harris of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in Salt Lake City started their debate just under four weeks before the US presidential election.
The debate immediately started a lot less messy than the first meeting between President Trump and his challenger Biden last week. After ten minutes, the two had already interrupted each other several times. Biden and Harris, both at desks, let each other finish.
At the most, they let each other know by shaking their heads or with an affable smile that they disagreed. Shortly before the start, the two even gave each other a friendly nod. It took some getting used to for the American TV viewer, who had seen a lot of polarization on TV in recent months.
It was also expected in the debate beforehand. Harris and Pence had one task: to appear as presidential as possible. US media described the single debate between the vice presidents – usually a snack between the presidential candidate clashes – as more important than ever.
Pence (61) and Harris (55) operate as co-drivers of candidates, whereby it cannot be ruled out that they could unexpectedly get hold of the wheel. 74-year-old Trump was hospitalized for three days in the past week because of his corona infection. Joe Biden, who turns 78 next month, could become the oldest US president ever at an inauguration.
So, while Harris referred passionately to her ‘Joe’ in the debate, she did not fail to answer a question about whether she had already discussed what to do with Biden when he is no longer able to hold the presidency. to mention her resume.
Pence did not answer the same question, posed by debate leader Susan Page (in daily life head of politics at the newspaper USA Today). He started talking about Biden’s inadequate behavior during the swine flu in 2009, after which Page didn’t ask him the same question again.
Pence, in turn, did his best to appear as presidential as possible, including by complimenting Harris on her position as running mate and by emphasizing that he is more experienced. “I know what honor it is, I remember the feeling from four years ago,” he said.
Harris started the debate fiercely, calling the Trump administration’s actions in the corona crisis “the greatest failure of any US administration ever”:
Correspondent Lucas Waagmeester found the first ten minutes of the debate nervous. “Harris in particular did not get off the starting blocks very quickly and Pence decided to tell his own story. He regularly did not answer the questions of the debate leader.”
After that the debate became more substantive; it was about jobs, a way out of the economic crisis, health insurance and climate change. Pence and Harris shared their plans and their disapproval of each other’s ideas. Waagmeester: “There is more rest and points are being completed. This makes this debate already a great contrast to last week’s.”