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Key Moments from Vice Presidential Debate, Harris Calls Out Trump and Pence for Failures on COVID-19 and Defends Biden’s Climate Plan

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During last night’s vice presidential debate, California Senator Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence exchanged intense comments over issues of public health, the economy, climate, and racial justice.

Compared to the first presidential debate, Harris and Pence took a more subdued tone yet the debate was highly contentious with attacks and accusations from both sides. Harris held the Trump administration accountable for its failures regarding the pandemic, economy, and environment while Pence attempted to defend the President’s actions and pivot to Biden’s past records.

Here’s a look at key moments from the vice presidential debate:

Pence Put on the Defensive for Trump’s Mishandling of COVID-19

Sen. Kamala Harris started off the night by blasting the Trump-Pence administration for mishandling the pandemic.

“The American people have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country,” she said in her opening remarks.

Over 210,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus. Trump and his administration knew about the severity of the virus in January, as Harris pointed out, but they continued to downplay the virus.

“They knew what was happening and they didn’t tell you,” she said. “They knew and they covered it up.”

Pence repeated the line that “Trump has put the health of America first” yet Harris’ comments, and even the moderator’s questions, pointed out the severe the death toll in the country – the U.S. accounts for 4 percent of the world’s population but has 22 percent of confirmed COVID-19 deaths.

Pence himself bears responsibility for the enormous, and continuously rising, COVID-19 death toll. Pence was made the head of the White House’s coronavirus task force to coordinate the federal response to the pandemic.

Despite making lofty promises, Pence failed to deliver adequate COVID-19 tests and lack of access to proper testing continued for months. Pence also pushed states to reopen schools and businesses despite public health advice that accurately predicted a resurgence of cases if places reopened too soon.

While Pence alleged Biden and Harris are “playing politics with people’s lives,” the disproportionate death toll in the U.S. can be attributed to Trump’s misinformation about the virus, his administration’s rollback of funding to public health groups, and the failure to follow the advice given to Trump and Pence back in January.

In contrast to Pence’s claims, Trump and his administration have held political events, outdoors and indoors, without proper social distancing or mask procedures – now many people in Trump’s White House have tested positive COVID-19 due to their rejection of science.

Source: ABC News/YouTube

Harris Attacks Trump’s Lack of Transparency

In addition to covering up critical COVID-19 information, Sen. Harris attacked Trump over his failure to release his health records as well as his tax returns.

Last week, The New York Times reported that Trump had paid only $750 in federal income taxes during his first year in the White House and paid no income taxes at all in 10 of the previous 15 years.

“I literally said, you mean $750,000? And it was like, no, $750. We now know Donald Trump owes — and is in debt — for $400 million. And just so everyone is clear, when we say in debt, it means you owe money to somebody,” she said.

“And it’d be really good to know who the president of the United States — the commander in chief — owes money to, because the American people have a right to know what is influencing the president’s decisions,” she added.

Clashes on Climate

On the issue of climate, Pence spent most of his time falsely claiming that a Biden administration would ban fracking, which is something Biden has repeatedly said he will not do. Biden’s proposal includes an end to new fracking leases on federal lands, but not a national ban, as Harris pointed out.

Pence also spent a considerable time criticizing the Green New Deal although Biden already addressed the issue in the presidential debate stating “The Green New Deal is not my plan.” Pence also repeated the false claim that Biden’s climate plan would abolish fossil fuels which his plan does not do.

Harris defended Biden’s climate plan that would invest in renewable energy, upgrade our infrastructure to be more energy-efficient, and create millions of sustainable jobs.

Harris focused her attention to Trump’s abysmal record on the environment, citing his disregard for climate science on the topic of wildfires in California, her home state.

“Donald Trump, when asked about the wildfires in California, and the question was, the science is telling us this. You know what Donald Trump said? Science doesn’t know. So let’s talk about who is prepared to lead our country over the course of the next four years on what is an existential threat to us as human beings,” she said.

As mega-wildfires ravage the west coast and powerful hurricane hit Gulf states, scientists have continuously explained that Climate change will only make these extreme weather events more frequent and intense.

Although Pence said he was “very proud of our record on the environment and on Conservation,” the Trump administration has rolled back over 100 environmental protections since taking office.

Other Moments

While many were bothered by Pence’s interruptions and bickering with the moderator and Harris, viewers also took interest in the fly that landed on the Vice President’s head late in the debate.

On a more intense note, one of the final questions of the night asked both candidates how they would ensure a peaceful transfer of power. Trump has repeatedly refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if Biden and Harris win, and Pence followed his lead, sidestepping the question at the debate.

In contrast, Harris placed her trust in the American people and “in our democracy.”

“We have within our power in these next 27 days to make the decision about what will be the course of our country for the next four years,” she said, underlining the stakes of this election.