Vice-President Mike Pence’s resolute and calm veneer is expected to be tested as America has never seen before by Senator Kamala Harris when the two face off tonight in a debate of the supporting cast.
Last week after President Donald Trump and Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden squared off in Cleveland, the event was widely pilloried largely due to Trump’s continuous heckling and interruptions of his opponent. Things may not be as disorganized as tonight at Kingsbury Hall in the University of Utah.
First, safety precautions will be improved in light of the revelation of Trump’s coronavirus infection a day after the event of September 29. Harris and Pence will be made to stand nearly four meters apart instead of the two meters in the presidential debate.
Each podium will be shielded by glass as well. Only 200 participants, fully cooperating with protocols, are expected in the hall when the event goes live at 2100 EST.
Performance Expectations and Issues At Hand
Harris has cultivated the reputation of a tough interrogator during her time in the United States Senate where she has left some respondents in memorably uncomfortable situations. The experience comes from years as an attorney in County, District and State Attorney offices in California.
The 55-year-old will be looking to go on the offensive against the vice-president on issues ranging from race relations to the economy and from the White House’s management of the coronavirus pandemic to immigration. The incumbent administration, after all, has to defend its performance and make the case as to how another four-year term is deserved.
Harris has already made history by being the first Black woman to have come this far in American politics. But being on the verge of another first – the first Black woman to become a vice-president – is sure to bring out of her a passionate performance tonight.
On his part, 61-year-old Pence will look to hold his own by defending his boss with whom he has tried to support every step of the way, even when it seems unpalatable. A truly devout Christian, the former Indiana governor comes across as a man who likes to stay on message every time he has to speak to the American public.
Pence is a conservative politician who has arguably a better understanding of the politics of the Republican Party than Trump. This is actually intriguing because the vice-president will now need to defend the policies of the Trump administration against a senator who has expended a great deal of political capital in order to be identified as a progressive.
For the vice-president, the Democrats represent not simply the political challenge that has to be overcome but also a threat to the country he would wish to see. He would count on a nearly four-decade-long political experience to stop Harris tonight and the Democrats at the ballot.
Those who looked forward to a critical policy debate during the presidential debate were left disappointed. However, the vice-presidential debate pits two individuals who will try to distinguish themselves significantly as more than catchment picks.
