Just the Facts on the Vice Presidential Debate

Vice President Mike Pence and his opponent California Sen. Kamala Harris will face each other for a debate providing their contrary visions for the escalating crises in the US.

The Wednesday debate will take place in Salt Lake City and is considered the most anticipated vice-presidential meeting in recent election cycles. 

The debate will be held while the US president Donald Trump is still recovering from COVID-19, which adds more pressure on Mike Pence’s defense of the handling of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the debate is Kamala Harris’s greatest opportunity to praise Joe Biden’s plan for stabilizing the US by resolving the pandemic and racial injustice. Besides, given her former position as a prosecutor, now Harris will get the opportunity to share her opinion on law enforcement.

At the same time, the debate will help the US voters to decide whether Pence and Harris can step into the presidency at a moment’s notice. 

Mike Pence and Kamala Harris will be positioned on stage 3.7 meters apart and separated by plexiglass barriers. The small audience should be wearing face masks. 

Since Pence tested positive with COVID-19, he was asked if he should be present at the debate at all. Nevertheless, the vice president has repeatedly tested negative, and his doctors concluded he does not need to quarantine.

According to Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, there is a “zero risk” of the vice president pulling out of the debate over the "plexiglass spat” and that “The hesitancy seems to be on another side.”

In response to Pence’s team, the spokesperson for Harris, Sabrina Singh, said the senator “will be at the debate, respecting all the Cleveland Clinic’s protections."

Some Democrats have high expectations for the debate, while Harris and her allies have been keeping them low. 

It is still not clear how aggressive the candidates will be with each other.