What Time, and Everything to Know About the Mike Pence-Kamala Harris Vice Presidential Debate
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The sole 2020 vice presidential debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris will take place on Wednesday evening.
WHERE
The debate is taking place in Salt Lake City, UT, at the University of Utah, but will also be broadcast live on all major news networks.
WHEN
Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 9 p.m. ET.
WHO
Pence will face Harris in a debate moderated by USA Today Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page.
WHAT ELSE
As noted by the New York Times, the debate will “run for 90 minutes without commercial interruptions,” and “will be their only debate.”
“Mr. Pence, as the head of White House task force on the coronavirus, will presumably be pressed to account for the faltering White House response to a pandemic that has killed over 200,000 people in the United States,” the Times explained, adding that Pence “is also likely to be pressed to defend Mr. Trump’s actions since his illness was diagnosed.”
These include “leaving the hospital against the counsel of many medical professionals, minimizing the threat of the virus and dramatically removing his mask when he returned to the White House.”
Pence has had his eye on the debate since Harris was chosen by Biden as his running mate, declaring at the time, “My message to the Democratic nominee for vice president: congratulations. I’ll see you in Salt Lake City.”
After the chaotic and controversial first presidential debate between President Donald Trump and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, which was moderated by Fox News’ Chris Wallace, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced its intention to change debates going forward.
“The Commission on Presidential Debates sponsors televised debates for the benefit of the American electorate. Last night’s debate made clear that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues,” the Commission declared. “The CPD will be carefully considering the changes that it will adopt and will announce those measures shortly.”
“The Commission is grateful to Chris Wallace for the professionalism and skill he brought to last night’s debate and intends to ensure that additional tools to maintain order are in place for the remaining debates,” it concluded.
WHAT’S NEXT
Next Thursday, October 15, Trump is scheduled to face Biden for the second presidential debate in Miami, FL moderated by C-SPAN Political Editor and Senior Executive Producer Steve Scully.
The scheduled debate became more complicated, however, after Trump tested positive for Covid-19 last week.
Though Trump has stated his intentions to debate Biden next week, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said, “I don’t think it’s safe, not for him and anybody else, anywhere or anyone he interacts with,” if Trump still has the virus.
Biden himself also said, “I think if he still has covid, we shouldn’t have a debate.”
The final 2020 presidential debate between Trump and Biden is then set to take place on Thursday, October 22 in Nashville, TN, moderated by NBC News’ Kristen Welker.
