Why the Pence-Harris VP debate has unprecedented significance
- Kamala Harris and US Vice-President Mike Pence set to debate as virus spreads at the White House
- The oft-forgotten vice presidential debate could be the highest-stakes running mate match-up in years
The vice presidential debate has taken on an outsize and perhaps unprecedented significance, with questions about President Donald Trump’s health now looming over the US election less than a month away.
US Vice-President Mike Pence’s face-off against Senator Kamala Harris, Democrat Joe Biden’s running mate, on Wednesday (Thursday morning Hong Kong time) in Salt Lake City comes as the Trump campaign continues to reel from a Covid-19 outbreak that has infected the Republican president and a growing number of people in his inner circle.
The pressure on Pence, who often toils in Trump’s deep shadow, is great. Trump trails Biden by 10 percentage points nationally, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, with voters faulting what they viewed as the president’s carelessness about the dangers of the new coronavirus.
Pence needs to show the public he is ready to step in as president if the situation requires, while also defending the Trump administration’s handling of a 7-month-old health crisis that has killed more than 210,000 Americans.
For her part, Harris, who has largely stayed out of the spotlight in recent weeks as Biden ramped up campaign travel, must demonstrate to voters that she, too, could assume the presidency if needed at some point in the 77-year-old Biden’s tenure should they win on November 3.
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Trump returns to the White House after only three days in hospital for Covid-19 treatment
Traditionally, the vice presidential debate is considered an afterthought to the three presidential debates, watched by fewer voters and viewed as almost irrelevant in terms of shifting public opinion.
“This debate is different,” said Christopher Devine, an expert on the vice presidency at the University of Dayton. “Some people may be worrying about Mike Pence and how he may perform if called upon. And there are questions about Joe Biden’s ability to stay healthy.”