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President Trump, in an extraordinary break from the norms of modern campaigning, said on Thursday that he would refuse to participate in the next presidential debate after organizers changed the event to a virtual format because of health concerns about the coronavirus.His withdrawal from the Oct. 15 event came shortly after the Commission on Presidential Debates, citing the “health and safety of all involved,” abandoned plans to stage the next in-person debate in Miami, saying that Mr. Trump and Joseph R. Biden Jr. would instead participate remotely from separate locations.But Mr. Trump, whose recent contraction of the coronavirus was a significant impetus for the commission to modify its plans, immediately dismissed the idea of a remote debate as “ridiculous” and accused the debate commission without evidence of seeking to protect his Democratic opponent.“No, I’m not going to waste my time on a virtual debate,” Mr. Trump told the Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo in a television interview. “That’s not what debating is all about. You sit behind a computer and do a debate — it’s ridiculous.”“That’s not acceptable to us,” Mr. Trump added.The debate commission decided to change to a virtual format after members of its production team objected to the safety risks of staging another in-person event at an indoor venue, according to a person familiar with its deliberations.Mr. Trump’s defiance may pose the most significant test to the debate commission’s legitimacy since the group was founded in 1987. There is no law that presidential candidates must debate. Traditions and norms govern the practice, and like many political institutions in recent years, the commission’s board now faces its own Trumpian stress test.The debate commission was already under pressure to reform its safety protocols after the first debate last week in Cleveland, where Mr. Trump’s family members and aides declined to wear masks in the debate hall, flouting regulations set by the organizers. Mr. Biden’s aides had also expressed concern about their candidate’s potential exposure next week to a president who could still be infectious.Mr. Biden’s team said on Thursday that he would agree to the virtual format. “Vice President Biden looks forward to speaking directly to the American people,” said Kate Bedingfield, a deputy campaign manager.But Mr. Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, issued a blistering attack on the debate commission, calling its members “swamp monsters” and describing the move to a virtual debate as “pathetic.”“The safety of all involved can easily be achieved without canceling a chance for voters to see both candidates go head-to-head,” Mr. Stepien said in a statement. “We’ll pass on this sad excuse to bail out Joe Biden and do a rally instead.” He also claimed that Mr. Trump “will have posted multiple negative tests prior to the debate,” although White House officials have repeatedly declined to give details about Mr. Trump’s current health status and the president has not yet tested negative for the virus.Mr. Trump, in the Fox Business interview, said he learned of the change to a virtual format on Thursday, and senior Trump campaign officials insisted that they had not been consulted about the decision ahead of the commission’s morning announcement. But there were indications that people in the president’s circle were aware on Wednesday of the debate commission’s thinking about a virtual debate.The president also sought repeatedly to undermine the integrity of the debate commission. He accused the moderator of the next debate, Steve Scully of C-SPAN, of being a “never Trumper,” without offering evidence for his claim. He said the moderator of the first debate, Chris Wallace of Fox News, “was a disaster” who favored Mr. Biden. And he said the commission’s plan for a remote debate was about “trying to protect Biden.”In fact, a presidential debate with candidates in different locations is not unprecedented.In 1960, the third debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon was held remotely. Kennedy debated from a television studio in New York; Nixon appeared from Los Angeles.A split-screen camera feed allowed viewers to watch both candidates simultaneously, with the men filmed on a pair of identical sets. The moderator of that debate, Bill Shadel of ABC News, conducted the proceedings from a third studio in Chicago.How to safely stage a pair of indoor, in-person debates between Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump, who tested positive for the coronavirus last week and spent three days at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, has been the subject of intense conversations among board members of the debate commission in recent days.Aides to Mr. Trump had privately discussed the notion of debates held outdoors, but people familiar with the commission’s deliberations said the Trump campaign had never formally proposed that idea.Organizers said the moderator, Mr. Scully, would still conduct the proceedings from Miami at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. The debate is to be held in a town-hall-style format with questions from South Florida voters, who would also be present at the venue.Both candidates have previously said they planned to participate in the Miami debate, with Mr. Trump insisting that he is “looking forward” to attending the event, despite the uncertainty over his health.Mr. Biden has said he is deferring to the debate commission and its health adviser, the Cleveland Clinic, to ensure a safe physical environment for the audience and participants.“If he still has Covid, we shouldn’t have a debate,” Mr. Biden told reporters on Tuesday night after a speech in Gettysburg, Pa. “I will be guided by the guidelines of the Cleveland Clinic and what the docs say is the right thing to do.” His aides have said the onus is on Mr. Trump to demonstrate that he would not be contagious onstage.The debate commission did not address the third debate in its statement on Thursday. That matchup is scheduled to be held at Belmont University in Nashville on Oct. 22, with Kristen Welker of NBC News as the moderator.The vice-presidential debate took place as planned on Wednesday in Salt Lake City, with Senator Kamala Harris of California and Vice President Mike Pence debating in person — albeit with plexiglass dividers between them.Patricia Mazzei contributed reporting. More
Hi. Welcome to On Politics, your guide to the day in national politics. I’m Lisa Lerer, your host.Sign up here to get On Politics in your inbox every weekday.ImageNormal feels so strange right now.The vice-presidential debate last night was notable for many reasons: The largely useless plexiglass shields. The specter of a sitting president infected by a deadly virus. And the anxiety of a country still in the grips of a monthslong crisis.But what might have been the most striking part of the evening was just how, well, ordinary it all seemed.Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris battled over climate change and health care, foreign policy and the economy, abortion rights and the Supreme Court.As candidates have done for decades, they largely dodged the most interesting questions. When asked whether they had discussed safeguards or procedures “when it comes to the issue of presidential disability” — a topical question given the two septuagenarians topping the tickets — both avoided giving an answer.Mr. Pence refused to say whether he believed voters deserved more information about President Trump’s health, though he praised the “transparency” of his medical team, nor did he commit to a peaceful transfer of power. Ms. Harris refused to answer whether a future Biden administration would pack the Supreme Court as retaliation for Senate Republicans confirming a nominee to the bench — despite Mr. Pence’s best efforts.“Are you and Joe Biden going to pack the court if Judge Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed?” demanded Mr. Pence. “I’d like you to answer the question.”She did not.Vice-presidential debates rarely shift the dynamics of a race. It’s hard to see how this one will stray from the norm, particularly given how strongly held opinions are of Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden.Of course, there’s a third party competing for our attention in this election: the virus.On that score, Ms. Harris did better in last night’s debate, opening the evening with a devastating line.“The American people have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country,” she said.While she executed that attack effectively, Ms. Harris also benefited from having an easier argument to make. Americans know that hundreds of thousands of people have died of the coronavirus in this country. That their lives remain unrecognizable from seven months ago. And that so many are struggling to pay bills, educate children and care for loved ones during an unyielding pandemic.Mr. Pence essentially argued that voters should re-elect Mr. Trump because things could have been worse. That’s cold comfort to the many Americans who rate the current situation as already bad and likely to get worse. Polling shows that half of Americans believe the worst effects of the pandemic are still ahead. The virus has even infected Mr. Pence’s colleagues.The vice president cited the decade-old swine flu pandemic to try to convince viewers that Mr. Biden would have mishandled the coronavirus. There’s not enough data to support his largely hypothetical assertion that two million people would have died if that strain of flu had been as deadly as the coronavirus — nor is there much of a political argument. President Barack Obama’s approval ratings remained above water during the outbreak, so most Americans probably do not recall it as a devastating political failure, if they remember it at all.In his final remarks of the debate, Mr. Pence pleaded for comity, a hard-to-swallow pitch given that he serves under a president who thrives on inflaming the country’s divisions and coming after a debate in which he frequently interrupted Ms. Harris.Election 2020 More
Last week’s presidential debate was a unique moment in a deeply divided nation, when most Americans seemed to agree that whatever they were seeing, it wasn’t good for anyone — Republican, Democrat or otherwise.The vice-presidential debate on Wednesday night seemed to accomplish the opposite, driving people back into their partisan corners. And how you viewed the candidates depended mostly on your partisanship.In that sense, there was no clear winner or loser. There was just another televised airing of differences — often acrimoniously — over President Trump’s leadership and record, not that different from what Americans see on cable news every day. Republicans cheered Vice President Mike Pence; Democrats praised Senator Kamala Harris. And few minds were changed.“Partisans on both sides will like what their candidate did, dislike the other candidate, and no minds will change,” said Bruce Haynes, a Republican strategist, who doubted that the debate would have any effect on undecided voters.Jim Messina, the campaign manager for President Barack Obama’s re-election bid in 2012, agreed: “Nothing changed the race.”Vice President Mike PenceWhen Mr. Trump selected Mr. Pence as his running mate four years ago, the decision was in large part because of the differences between the two. More reserved in style and practiced in political speechmaking, Mr. Pence has always been skillful in smoothing out his boss’s rougher edges.“Trump should let Pence sub for him at the next debate,” said Rich Lowry, the editor of National Review.Ben Shapiro, the conservative writer and podcast host, said: “See, what Pence is doing tonight is what the Trump administration would look like without Twitter. And it is GOOD. VERY GOOD.”Ned Ryun, a conservative strategist, wrote of the vice president’s low-key style, “Man is shiving people left and right with a smile.”While many of the vice president’s critics expressed frustration that he had often ignored the questions from the moderator, Susan Page of USA Today, his supporters noted the same tendency to evade — and were impressed. “Susan, allow me not to answer your question,” said Guy Benson, a conservative writer and radio host.But Mr. Pence’s tendency to evade the truth on certain questions earned him scorn from some. “Why is it that Mike Pence doesn’t seem to have to answer any of the questions asked of him in this debate?” asked Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.Election 2020 More
Play Video
6:51
Mike Pence and Kamala Harris met in Utah for the only vice-presidential debate of the election, separated by Plexiglass barriers as a protection against coronavirus.
From the pandemic to healthcare and race to the supreme court, via a fly, here are some of the key moments
Pence-Harris vice-presidential debate: six key takeaways
Battle for the suburbs: can Joe Biden flip Texas? – video
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US elections 2020
Mike Pence
Kamala Harris
Donald Trump
Joe Biden
Coronavirus outbreak
US healthcare More
We need to talk about that fly.It was a fly, wasn’t it? If not, it was a bug doing an ace interpretation of a fly, and about two-thirds of the way through the debate in Salt Lake City on Wednesday night, it took up residence in Vice President Mike Pence’s hair, a smudge of black against a shock of white, where it lingered for a few minutes before undoubtedly realizing that there was warmer, more demonstrably human real estate to be had.Off it flew, and on Pence droned. He never exhibited any awareness — not the subtlest glance upward, not the slightest flinch or twitch — that his head had been colonized. I first found this strange and then realized it was everything. Pence’s years of obsequiousness to Donald Trump had beaten all sensitivity and capacity for revulsion out of him.How could he be expected to register or exile an itty-bitty pest when he routinely puts up with a great big one? That fly was some crazy combo of metaphor, visitation and karmic joke.At this point, Pence is the poster boy for unflappability, an automaton of reflexive kudos for Trump in the key of smarmy. He’s bloodless. He’s ice. Add that constipated half-smile of his and he’s weirdly riveting.Fortunately for Joe Biden and Democrats in general, Senator Kamala Harris is plenty steely herself, while also exhibiting a discernible pulse. I think she had a very good night. She was too scripted, yes, and painfully evasive when it came to a question about whether Biden would or should pack the Supreme Court.But she pushed back forcefully whenever Pence tried to paint her and Biden as radical leftists. She kept returning to the subject of Covid-19. She repeatedly reminded Americans of the Trump administration’s sustained effort to abolish Obamacare, at one point staring directly into the camera to explain what that means.“If you have a pre-existing condition — heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer — they’re coming for you,” she said. “If you love someone who has a pre-existing condition, they’re coming for you. If you are under the age of 26 on your parents’ coverage, they’re coming for you.”She assailed Trump’s character on all the right fronts and with all the right passion, so that Pence’s assurances of the president’s integrity seemed as pallid as the rest of him. Was Pence marble or man? The bug, I’m confident, shared my bafflement.And his evasions were the rival of hers. He never did offer any explanation of how the United States ended up the world leader in recorded deaths related to the coronavirus. He instead tried to suggest that Harris, in calling out the country’s failures on that score, was insulting Americans.No, Vice President Pence. She was insulting you and your boss.It was a memorable debate even apart from the insect. (Now there’s a sentence I never imagined writing.) It was historic: Harris is the first woman of color on the presidential ticket of one of America’s two major parties. Her status as a trailblazer was openly acknowledged, and it informed — and gave extra force to — her disapproval of Pence when he wouldn’t acknowledge implicit racial bias in policing.She and Pence were separated not only by 12 feet but by plexiglass shields, which called to mind sneeze guards, conjured thoughts of salad bars and prompted me to wonder which ingredient each of the candidates represented. (I’m going with cottage cheese for Pence.)The Pence camp had resisted these droplet dams — which, truth be told, many public health experts said were of questionable use — but given how freely the coronavirus had been permitted to rampage through the White House, the Harris camp would have been justified in demanding that Pence debate from the inside of a giant Ziploc bag.Harris and Pence were squaring off little more than a week after Trump and Biden had, and one overarching question was how far they’d depart from and how fully they’d redeem that fiasco. The answer: very far and almost fully. In the context of the Trump-Biden debate, which had all the calm, dignity and exalted purpose of a fraternity hazing, this was practically a poetry reading.That’s not to say it was polite. On the subject of the pandemic, Harris unsparingly attacked Trump and Pence, the head of the administration’s coronavirus task force, saying, “The American people have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country.”And Pence kept talking over the moderator, Susan Page of USA Today, ignoring her alerts that his two minutes were up so that he could commandeer more time than Harris got. Page was left to sputter endlessly, “Thank you, Vice President Pence. Thank you, Vice President Pence. Thank you, Vice President Pence.” But more than a thanking he needed a spanking.Bullying comes in many different forms: red-faced and furious like Trump’s; chalk-faced and funereal like Pence’s. Shamelessness, too. Pence’s boasts and lies may not be as gilded and rococo as the president’s, but they’re fanciful all the same.He would not fess up to humankind’s role in climate change but said, preposterously, “President Trump has made it clear that we’re going to continue to listen to the science.” Continue? Science? Is this before or after the bleach injections?“This is a president who respects and cherishes all of the American people,” Pence said, making me wonder if I’d spaced out and missed an antecedent and he was talking about someone other than Trump.Pence also said: “Senator Harris, you are entitled to your own opinion but you are not entitled to your own facts.” This confused me, because Trump gets to have his own facts and Pence just beams at him.But I was most impressed by his audacity in addressing Trump’s anticipatory claims of voter fraud and refusal to say he’d accept the election results and participate in a peaceful transfer of power.He turned the situation completely around, suggesting Biden was the one to worry about and bringing Hillary Clinton — who has said that Biden shouldn’t concede too quickly, given Trump’s shenanigans — into the discussion.Hear that for what it was: a tacit admission that Trump, Pence and their supporters have utterly failed to make Biden as scary to voters as they did Clinton. The solution? Tug her back into the fray, even though she’s not really anywhere near it.Pence followed his orders when they were ludicrous, stuck to the script when it was laughable and never betrayed an iota of discomfort, because he never really betrays anything — except the supposed principles he once had.I invite you to sign up for my free weekly email newsletter. You can follow me on Twitter (@FrankBruni). More
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2:27
Separated from vice-president Mike Pence by plexiglass barriers, Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris called the Trump administration’s response to the growing coronavirus pandemic ‘the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country’.
Speaking directly to the camera, Harris said, ‘They knew what was happening, and they didn’t tell you.’
Kamala Harris and Mike Pence clash over coronavirus response in vice-presidential debate
What you need to know about the first and only vice-presidential debate
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Kamala Harris
Joe Biden
Mike Pence
Donald Trump
US elections 2020 More
Pre-existing conditions are brought up as a sticking point
Harris: ‘Americans have witnessed the greatest failure of any president’
The coronavirus pandemic has already affected the staging and format
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Kamala Harris and Mike Pence face off in the vice-presidential debate – watch live
Key events
Show
9.43pm EDT21:43
Harris to Americans with pre-existing conditions: ‘They’re coming for you’
9.10pm EDT21:10
First volley: Harris attacks Pence over coronavirus response
9.06pm EDT21:06
Vice presidential candidates take the stage
8.49pm EDT20:49
How Harris and Pence have prepped
8.20pm EDT20:20
Pence and Harris set to debate for first – and only – time
Live feed
Show
11.21pm EDT23:21
On climate change, I wanted to quickly circle back to something Pence said: That there were no more hurricanes than there were 100 years ago. The vice president made this point as evidence that Democrats were exaggerating the impacts of climate change – and it was a bit misleading.
My colleague Oliver Milman addressed this during last year’s hurricane season:
While the overall number of hurricanes has remained roughly the same in recent decades, there is evidence they are intensifying more quickly, resulting in a greater number of the most severe category four and five storms.
The proportion of tropical storms that rapidly strengthen into powerful hurricanes has tripled over the past 30 years, according to recent research. A swift increase in pace over a 24-hour period makes hurricanes less predictable, despite improving hurricane forecasting systems, and more likely to cause widespread damage.
The devastation unleashed by recent hurricanes has led to warnings that premiums may rise as insurers face ballooning claims. A record $135bn was paid out by insurers in North America in 2017, mostly as a result of hurricane damages. “We have a new normal,” says Ernst Rauch, a senior executive at insurance company Munich Re. “We must have on our radar the trend of new magnitudes.”
11.19pm EDT23:19
Max Benwell
Over on CNN, former US senator Rick Santorum just delivered a masterclass in proving someone else’s point, interrupting his fellow commentator Gloria Borger just as she was talking about Kamala Harris getting interrupted by Mike Pence. She was literally in the middle of saying how common an experience it is for women.
Matt Shuham
(@mattshuham)
Hall of Fame interruption by @RickSantorum, who cuts off @GloriaBorger to argue that Pence didn’t interrupt Harris. pic.twitter.com/OwZ50YJxWU
October 8, 2020
JackiSchechner
(@JackiSchechner)
.@RickSantorum cutting off @GloriaBorger while she’s in the middle of explaining how women are going to hate how @VP kept cutting off @KamalaHarris could not be more meta.
October 8, 2020
Patrick Radden Keefe
(@praddenkeefe)
Amazing moment just now on CNN where Gloria Borger, the sole woman on a panel with 4 men, starts to explain what it was like for women to watch Kamala get repeatedly interrupted but can’t finish because the men on the panel interrupt her. And she says “Mr Santorum, I’m talking.”
October 8, 2020
Josh Schwerin
(@JoshSchwerin)
Meanwhile on CNN Santorum interrupts Gloria Borger to push back on point about Pence interrupting Harris too much not going over well with women watching…
October 8, 2020
Updated
at 11.21pm EDT
11.17pm EDT23:17
Pence – in contrast to Donald Trump – delivered his message in a calm, measured tone. But he repeated many of the false claims made by the president.
Most notably, he misconstrued and overplayed the impact of travel restrictions on the US’ coronavirus case count, and misleading Americans on the administration’s stance on healthcare protections for people with preexisting protections.
In other cases, Pence declined to correct Trump’s record. Asked if Pence would accept the results if Republicans lose the presidential election, Pence dodged.
“First and foremost, I think we’re going to win this election,” he said. “When you talk about accepting the outcome of the election, I must tell you, Senator, your party has spent the last three and a half years trying to overturn the results of the last election. It’s amazing.”
Harris didn’t directly respond when asked what she and Biden would do if Pence and Trump refused to step aside, Harris urged: “Please vote. Vote early, come up with a plan to vote.”
11.07pm EDT23:07
When discussion turned to the police and the nationwide protests against police brutality, Pence broached Harris’ record as attorney general of California and her prosecutorial record.
It’s an issue that often came up during the Democratic primaries, and took on new relevance after the police killing of George Floyd triggered protests across the nation. As the Guardian has reported before, while Harris has sought to present herself as a “progressive prosecutor”, her record is more complicated. Her approach to sex work, police reform, prisoners’ rights and truancy have drawn criticism from activists in her home state.
Though she initially disregarded calls to investigate a series of police shootings in San Francisco after the 2014 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, she did begin to evolve by the end of her tenure as attorney general – and in 2016 suggested some reforms to increase her office’s power to investigate police.
But these criticisms are odd coming from Pence – and Trump, who has brought them up before – given the administration’s harsh “law and order” rhetoric.
Updated
at 11.11pm EDT
10.55pm EDT22:55
The fly on Mike Pence’s head seems to be the breakout star of this debate.
Both vice-presidential candidates, meanwhile, swatted away direct questions – pivoting to topics they wanted to discuss rather than what was actually asked. The 90 minutes flew by, as the candidates buzzed over the moderator’s pleas to stick to time limits.
Sorry … (not sorry)
Updated
at 11.11pm EDT
10.45pm EDT22:45
Max Benwell
The debate has now ended, with the final question coming from an eighth grader on what can be done to bring people together.
Mike Pence and Kamala Harris answered hopefully about what can be done. But with just over a week to go until the next presidential debate with Donald Trump and Joe Biden, it seems likely that the problem will only be laid bare once again.
10.43pm EDT22:43
Pence dodged a question about what he’d do if Trump loses, and refuses to accept the results.
Watching the debate tonight, we’re reminded of something Trump once said about the vice president after Pence dodged a journalist’s question about healthcare earlier this year: “I think that’s one of the greatest answers I’ve ever heard because Mike was able to speak for five minutes and not even touch your question.”
Updated
at 11.05pm EDT
10.30pm EDT22:30
Pence, muttered “Not true,” when Harris referenced Trump’s comments on the Proud Boys.
Harris’ assertion was true – and witnessed by everyone watching on TV. Pence has repeatedly questioned Harris’ grasp of the facts tonight – even as he has continued to make false and misleading statements.
10.27pm EDT22:27
Max Benwell
Meanwhile, over on Mike Pence’s head… a fly just set up shop, and for a decent amount of time too.
In an otherwise very serious debate, it’s provided some light relief:
Josh Marshall
(@joshtpm)
BREAKING: Fly lands on VP Pence’s head. pic.twitter.com/e8eoeMXRnH
October 8, 2020
Ana Navarro-Cárdenas
(@ananavarro)
Oh my God.He’s so full of crap, a fly has landed on his head. pic.twitter.com/f61K9oIvKa
October 8, 2020
Liz Plank
(@feministabulous)
can someone get the fly a covid test
October 8, 2020
Patton Oswalt
(@pattonoswalt)
EWWWWWWWWW that fly has Mike Pence on his stomach. #VPDebate
October 8, 2020
nate dern
(@natedern)
A fly landing on Pence’s head while he’s saying “systemic racism isn’t real” is the universe’s way of saying “this is bullshit.” pic.twitter.com/25dBH2t5zr
October 8, 2020
10.26pm EDT22:26
Asked if Breonna Taylor was denied justice, Pence responded: “I trust our justice system,” Pence said.
“This idea that America is systemically racist, that there’s implicit bias in law enforcement,” Pence said, “is a great insult to the men and women who work in law enforcement.”
Harris hit back: “I am the only one on this stage who has personally prosecuted” a range of crimes, she said. She then attacked Trump’s refusal to condemn white supremacists. The president told Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” during the first presidential debate. “This is part of a pattern,” Harris said, pointing to the president’s racist rhetoric about Mexicans, and his response to white supremacists marching in Charlottesville.
Updated
at 10.33pm EDT
10.18pm EDT22:18
Harris twice avoided answering whether a Biden administration would pack the supreme court.
Biden has taken a similar approach, largely avoiding a straight answer on whether he’d support adding seats to the supreme court if Trump’s nominee Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed.
Updated
at 10.24pm EDT
10.16pm EDT22:16
Asked what they would do in their states if Roe v Wade is overturned by the supreme court, Pence completely evaded the question, and Harris pivoted to healthcare.
Pence began by responding to a previous topic and then accused Democrats of attacking supreme court nominee Amy Coney Barrett – a conservative who is expected to overturn American’s women’s right to abortion – based on her faith.
Harris said she will “always fight for a woman’s right to make choices about her body”. She then pointed out that abortion isn’t the only issue that could be decided by Barrett – the future of the ACA is currently being challenged in the supreme court.
Neither directly said what they’d do in Indiana and California, respectively.
Updated
at 10.25pm EDT
10.04pm EDT22:04
Susan Page gave Pence a talking to, after he repeatedly rolled through her warnings that his time to speak was up.
The Hill
(@thehill)
Susan Page stops VP Pence as he goes past time limit: “I did not create the rules for tonight… I’m here to enforce them.”#VPDebate pic.twitter.com/FL5qAhC0Zj
October 8, 2020
“You have 15 seconds,” Page warned Pence.
“I gotta have more than that,” he insisted.
Through the night, Page has tried to interrupt, ineffectively, with “thank you, Vice-president Pence” – even as she’s talked over.
Updated
at 10.16pm EDT
10.02pm EDT22:02
Max Benwell
Meanwhile, in China … viewers of the debate are reportedly not getting to find out what Kamala Harris and Mike Pence are saying about China.
This was just shared by the Globe and Mail’s Beijing correspondent (and later updated once the China section was over here):
Nathan VanderKlippe
(@nvanderklippe)
The CNN feed in China the moment debate turned to China. pic.twitter.com/GuhqTDaEda
October 8, 2020
Updated
at 10.16pm EDT
10.02pm EDT22:02
On foreign policy, Harris says Trump has “ embraced dictators around the world,” and sided with Russia over American intelligence. “America’s intelligence community told us Russia interfered in the election in 2016,” she said. “But Donald Trump prefers to take the word of Vladimir Putin over word of the U.S. intelligence community”
9.57pm EDT21:57
Max Benwell
This was the memorable moment Kamala Harris spoke directly to viewers about Trump’s plans for their healthcare:
Pod Save America
(@PodSaveAmerica)
“If you have a pre-existing condition, heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer — they’re coming for you.” @KamalaHarris pic.twitter.com/072m1n6Cnw
October 8, 2020 More
