The vice presidential debate: The moments that mattered

Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris squared off in their first and only debate on Wednesday, sparring over the coronavirus pandemic, health care, racial-justice protests and other issues that have dominated the 2020 campaign with less than one month remaining until the November election.The candidates met in Salt Lake City, where they were separated by plexiglass after President Trump and a growing group of White House workers tested positive for coronavirus in the days after his debate last week with Democratic nominee Joe Biden.Unlike the chaotic first presidential debate, which saw Mr. Trump repeatedly interrupt both Mr. Biden and moderator Chris Wallace, the 90-minute encounter between Mr. Pence and Ms. Harris was calmer and more focused on policy differences.Mr. Trump’s diagnosis raised the stakes for the debate, underscoring the significance of the role of vice president and the lingering impact of a pandemic that has claimed more than 211,000 lives across the U.S.Here are the moments that stood out:Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemicWith the number of coronavirus infections reported in the U.S. since the start of the pandemic at about 7.5 million, the virus and its impact on American life immediately took center stage.Ms. Harris swiftly declared Mr. Trump’s response to the pandemic “the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country,” while seizing on the president’s comments that he played down the severity of the virus to avoid inciting panic.“They knew what was happening, and they didn’t tell you,” Ms. Harris said, looking directly into the camera, addressing viewers at home. “They knew and they covered it up.”Mr. Pence, who is the head of the White House coronavirus task force, defended the administration’s handling of the pandemic and said it was the responsibility of the public to follow social-distancing guidelines.“President Trump and I trust the American people to make choices in the best interests of their health,” Mr. Pence said. “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris consistently talk about mandates, and not just mandates with the coronavirus, but a government takeover of health care.”Mr. Pence addressed the Sept. 26 event at which Mr. Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to serve on the Supreme Court. After that gathering, the president and more than a dozen others tested positive for coronavirus. Mr. Pence said it was an outdoor event and many attendees were tested beforehand.He also accused Ms. Harris of undermining public confidence in a coronavirus vaccine, telling his opponent, “Stop playing politics with people’s lives.”Ms. Harris said she would be “the first in line” for the vaccine if public-health professionals, such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, approved of its safety and efficacy. “But if Donald Trump tells us that we should take it, I’m not taking it,” she said.Health-care clash: “They’re coming for you.”The issue of health care wasn’t restricted to the pandemic. With the Supreme Court poised to hear oral arguments in November over the health-care law signed into law by President Obama, Ms. Harris accused the Trump administration of seeking to strip coverage away from people.“If you have a pre-existing condition—heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer—they’re coming for you,” Ms. Harris said. “Literally in the midst of a public health pandemic…Donald Trump is at court right now trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act.”Mr. Pence shot back that he and Mr. Trump had “a plan to improve health care and protect pre-existing conditions for every American.”“Obamacare was a disaster,” Mr. Pence said. “The American people remember it well.”Pressed by moderator Susan Page on how the Trump administration would protect those with pre-existing conditions, Mr. Pence said such protections would continue under the president’s health plan but didn’t offer specifics. He then pivoted to the issue of the judiciary, suggesting that Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris would add seats to the Supreme Court if elected.In response, Ms. Harris spoke more broadly about issues she believed were at stake depending on the balance of the Supreme Court. But she didn’t say if she or Mr. Biden supported expanding the court.“I just want the record to reflect she never answered the question,” Mr. Pence said.Racial-justice protests and unrest in AmericaA national debate over race and policing returned to the spotlight last month after a grand jury indicted one of the Louisville police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor—but on charges related to endangering her neighbors, not charges linked to her death.The two candidates differed when asked if justice was served in the high-profile case, which kicked off a fresh wave of racial-justice protests across the country.“I don’t think so,” said Ms. Harris, a former prosecutor and the first Black woman on a major-party presidential ticket. “Her family deserves justice. Her life was unjustifiably taken.”Mr. Pence, by contrast, said he supported the grand jury’s decision, saying Ms. Taylor’s family “has our sympathies, but I trust our justice system, a grand jury that reviews the evidence.”Mr. Pence went on to criticize the violence that accompanied some of the protests, using it to push the “law and order” message that has been at the center of Mr. Trump’s re-election campaign. Appearing to address law enforcement, Mr. Pence said, “President Trump and I stand with you.”Mr. Pence also said America was not “systemically racist” and there was no implicit bias in law enforcement. Ms. Harris responded by criticizing Mr. Trump’s comments about white supremacists at the first presidential debate.At that debate, Mr. Trump was asked if he would condemn white-supremacist groups and urge them to stand down in clashes such as those in Kenosha, Wis., and Portland, Ore. Mr. Trump said: “Sure, I’m willing to do that, but I would say, I would say almost everything I see is from the left wing.” After Mr. Biden urged the president to denounce the far-right group Proud Boys, Mr. Trump said: “Proud Boys. Stand back, and stand by, but I’ll tell you what, I’ll tell you what: Somebody’s got to do something about antifa and the left.” He later said he didn’t know who the Proud Boys were.Ms. Harris rejected Mr. Pence’s characterization of the protests, pointing out that they were largely peaceful and that she participated in some. She also invoked her record as a prosecutor, saying she was the only candidate with direct experience on issues of criminal justice.“I will not sit here and be lectured by the vice president about what it means to enforce the laws of our country,” Ms. Harris said.Candidates try to sound more hawkish than each other on ChinaThe coronavirus pandemic created a fresh rift in U.S.-China relations, which for years have become more strained amid a combative economic climate and more assertive Chinese foreign policy.Asked if China was a friend, competitor, or enemy to the U.S., Mr. Pence vowed to hold Beijing accountable for the spread of the coronavirus.“China is to blame for the coronavirus, and President Trump is not happy about it,” Mr. Pence said. “He’s made that very clear.”Ms. Harris once again attacked the Trump administration’s record on the coronavirus, while also arguing that the president’s trade war with China had cost American jobs.“The Trump administration’s perspective and approach to China has resulted in the loss of American lives, American jobs and America’s standing,” Ms. Harris said. “You lost that trade war. You lost it.“That answer drew a rebuke from Mr. Pence, who retorted, “Lost the trade war with China? Joe Biden never fought it.”Write to Sabrina Siddiqui at Sabrina.Siddiqui@wsj.com

The vice presidential debate: The moments that mattered

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