Harris- Pence, a monotonous debate without many incidents
The debates between the candidates for the vice presidency do not usually affect the course of the presidential campaign in the United States. Neither has the dialectical confrontation between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Mike Pence.
Both candidates engaged in a debate with mutual accusations and avoiding answering uncomfortable questions, but much more relaxed than that of their presidential candidates last week.
Despite good manners, Harris and Pence clashed on most of the issues discussed: the pandemic, the environmental crisis, racial justice and the looming economic crisis.
Trump is using his early recovery as an electoral weapon and Harris had the opportunity to ask whether Trump would get the vaccine he so strongly advocates, since, according to polls, 50% of Americans have no intention of doing so. "If Dr. Fauci, the top epidemiologist in the White House, if the doctors tell us we should get it, I'll be first in line to get it, absolutely. If Donald Trump tells us we should put it on, I won't," the senator said.
This response infuriated Pence who has led the White House's work against COVID-19 for months. Regarding COVID-19, moderator Susan Page, a journalist with the newspaper USA Today, asked the vice president: "How do you expect citizens to follow the recommendations if the White House does not," alluding to the events that have been taking place in the White House rose garden that seems to be the focus of contagion in the presidential mansion. Harris took advantage of this glove and made accusations to Pence about how the government is hiding information from the Americans since they became aware of the danger of the pandemic and the bad practices that the Trump government is having in dealing with COVID-19, which has already caused the death of 210,000 Americans.
Racial issues
On the issue of racial justice that has been at the forefront of American news in recent months, the Vice President said that "there is no excuse for what happened to George Floyd. Justice will be served, but there is also no excuse for the riots and looting that followed.
For his part, Harris, whom Pence criticised for insinuating that the grand jury in Taylor's case was wrong, said he would not be "lectured" by the Republican on racism and justice. Harris, an African-American Indian who was California's attorney general, cut the Republican short when he tried to lecture him on racism and justice.
"I'm not going to sit here and be lectured by the vice president about what it means to enforce our country's laws," Harris said after Pence said Democrats "insult" police officers when they claim there is systemic racism in the country and referred to the senator's experience as California's attorney general.
Mike Pence, avoided answering a question during the debate in front of his rival, Democrat Kamala Harris, on whether the country's president, Donald Trump, will accept the results of the November 3 elections if he loses.
"If we have a free and fair election, we know that we are going to have confidence, and I believe in my heart that President Trump will be re-elected for four more years," Pence said. On several occasions, the president has refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election.
Moreover, in what appeared to be a prepared strategy on the part of Harris, the Democrat took advantage of Pence's first interruption to claim his right to speak: "I am speaking". "If you don't mind," she added, "let me finish. Then we can have a conversation. The moderator of the debate tried to prevent such cuts from happening so that the same thing did not happen as in the face-to-face meeting last week between the President, Donald Trump, and the Democratic candidate for the White House, Joe Biden, marked by the countless interruptions of the first one, which made it impossible to touch in depth the issues of interest to the Americans.
The Republican vice president said that Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris are seeking taxpayer support for funding abortion, while the Democratic candidate supported women's right to choose.
To these words, Harris responded: "There is the issue of choice, I will always fight for women's right to decide about their own bodies. It should be their decision, not Donald Trump's or Mike Pence's".
"Biden and Kamala Harris support taxpayer funding of abortion, all the way up to birth, late-term abortions," said Pence, a Christian evangelist and outspoken opponent of abortion, during the debate in front of Harris.
Overall, it was ninety minutes of discord and disagreement, but without incident.