The debate of candidates for the vice-presidency of the United States was called the most important in 40 years: what was discussed

In the city of Salt Lake City, Utah, the first and only debate during the election race was held between the candidates for the post of US Vice President Kamala Harris and Mike Pence, writes Air force.

Usually the discussion between the “second numbers” of the election campaign does not attract much attention, but this time political scientists in Washington called this event “the most important in US history over the past 40 years.”

The reason was the age of the contenders for the presidency - by the time of the inauguration in January next year, Joe Biden will be 78 years old, Donald Trump - 74. The current head of the White House is already sick with COVID-19, and his opponent had serious health problems back in the 1980s .

According to the 25th amendment to the US Constitution, if the president for some reason cannot fulfill his duties, then the power passes to the vice president of the country.

In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, the likelihood that 55-year-old Kamala Harris and 61-year-old Mike Pence can take the presidency in Washington is considered quite real.

Viral preparations

At the insistence of Harris' campaign headquarters, two Plexiglas screens separated the applicants on stage, and the debaters themselves were at a distance of almost four meters from each other. Pence's headquarters initially tried to object to this measure, but then agreed to the proposed terms.

On Wednesday, October 7, it became known that 34 employees of the White House, including senior advisers to the President of the United States and security personnel, passed positive tests for coronavirus. Six of the seven top generals on the Joint Chiefs of Staff were forced to quarantine.

Senator Harris called the pandemic situation in the United States “the biggest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country.”

She recalled that during the epidemic, 210 Americans died, more than 000 million people were infected, and more than 7 million people were forced to apply for unemployment benefits. Responsibility for this, in her opinion, should be assumed by the Trump administration.

“On January 28, the vice president and the president were informed about the dangers of the pandemic,” she said. “They knew about it, but chose to hide it. The President called the epidemic nonsense. They tried to minimize the danger."

In response, Mike Pence, who heads the White House task force to combat the epidemic, said that the plan to combat the disease that Joe Biden proposes “looks very much like plagiarism” and promised that an effective vaccine will appear in the United States next year.

“If Donald Trump tells us, they say, use this vaccine, then I don’t believe it,” retorted Kamala Harris, clarifying that she herself and Joe Biden prefer to follow the advice of experts, not officials.

In turn, Mike Pence did not comment on the version that the reason for the illness of the US President and numerous employees of his administration with COVID-19 was participation in the ceremony of introducing the candidate for the post of Supreme Court member Amy Coney Barrett. The event took place in the Rose Garden of the White House, and, as American media noted, almost none of the participants were wearing a mask.

“There’s too much speculation about this,” explained Michael Pence. “My wife and I felt honored to be there.” Many participants passed tests for coronavirus, and the event itself took place outdoors - this is exactly what scientists constantly advise. "President Trump and I believe that Americans can make their own decisions about their health."

On the subject: Coronavirus, taxes and two winners: how the first presidential debate went

War with China?

Both contenders chose not to answer the debate moderator's question about whether they consider China a "competitor, rival or adversary." Instead, Harris blamed the Trump administration for starting a trade war with Beijing that she said has already cost the United States "300 jobs."

All this, according to the senator, was just one episode of Trump’s “failed economic policy.”

Mike Pence echoed the statements of the incumbent head of the White House, who repeatedly reminded of the major economic victories of his administration, and noted that the Democratic candidate Joe Biden had already promised after his election victory to immediately raise taxes for all Americans.

“Not for working Americans and not for the middle class,” Kamala Harris hastened to clarify.

Terrorism and military

During the debate, Mike Pence recalled that among his invited guests in the hall were the parents of Kayla Mueller, who worked in one of the humanitarian organizations and was killed by Islamic State militants in Syria in 2015.

On Wednesday, October 7, the US Department of Justice announced that two gunmen involved in the murder of the Americans had been extradited to the United States and are awaiting trial.

“The truth is that when Joe Biden was vice president, he had the opportunity to save Kayla Mueller,” Pence said, recalling that the Obama administration then attempted an unsuccessful operation to rescue Americans in Syria, but then abandoned further efforts. attempts.

Senator Harris, in response, noted that it was President Obama who made the decision to carry out the operation to destroy the leader of the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and stated that, according to publications in leading American media, President Trump has repeatedly spoken about the military, including those killed and missing during military clashes, as “losers and suckers.”

“This is typical of Donald Trump,” she emphasized, “He only thinks about his own personal interests.”

The US President himself has repeatedly denied such accusations. Mike Pence hastened to refute them, recalling that his son, with the rank of captain, serves in the US Marine Corps.

“The allegations against Donald Trump ... are absurd,” he said. “Donald Trump not only respects, but also idolizes (the military).”

Riots and pogroms

The US Vice President considered it necessary to recall that the events of last summer, when a wave of protests against police violence swept through the largest US cities, once again demonstrated that the Trump administration is an “administration of law and order.”

“We support law enforcement,” Pence said. “But we don’t have to choose between supporting the police or supporting our African-American or other minority neighbors.”

Who will Trump transfer power to?

The US vice president declined to answer the question of whether Trump would voluntarily surrender if he lost the election. The head of the White House himself has invariably avoided answering this question over the past six months.

“We'll see how the situation develops,” Trump said during a debate with Joe Biden last week.

“If the election is free and fair, if we have confidence in it, then I believe with all my heart that President Trump will be re-elected for another four years,” Mike Pence vaguely explained.

On the subject: What are the 'October surprises' and how they affect the outcome of the US elections

Body language as a sign of conflict

Several times during the debate, Harris paused, looked at Pence and told him to stop speaking in her place. USA Today.

"Mr. Vice President, I speak," Harris said decisively as they discussed the coronavirus pandemic. - I speak."

“Mr. Vice President, I'm speaking.” —@KamalaHarris #VPDebate pic.twitter.com/e2YD2fmVzP

- TODAY (@TODAYshow) October 8, 2020

These moments have become some of the biggest clashes between candidates, shown through their body language, including rolling eyes, shaking their heads and sly smiles.

At one point as the candidates were discussing the Supreme Court, Pence looked directly at Harris, turned to face her, and repeatedly asked if the Biden administration would add additional judges to the Supreme Court.

Harris smiled, flapped her hair, and placed her hands under her chin as Pence pointed out that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden had dodged an answer. When he finished, Pence looked at Harris and smiled slyly.

Pence: "Are you and Joe Biden gonna pack the court if Judge Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed?" pic.twitter.com/lUbOM3rSBQ

—DailyWire (@realDailyWire) October 8, 2020

In another phase of the debate, Harris turned to Trump, who dodged a call to condemn white supremacists in the first presidential debate. She nodded and waved her hands to underline Trump's words to the Proud Boys, a far-right group, that they should "step back and stand aside."

During his remarks, describing Trump's controversial comments over the years about white supremacy, Pence repeatedly shook his head and took notes. At one point, he muttered: "Not true."

Harris looked Pence in the eyes through the two sheets of plexiglass separating them and said, "This is part of Donald Trump's pattern." Pence raised his eyebrows and continued to listen. When Harris finished, Pence smiled and said that the president had repeatedly denounced such groups.

“I will not sit here and be lectured by the vice president on what it means to enforce the laws of our country,” Sen. Kamala Harris said after VP Pence spoke about criminal justice reform. https://t.co/xhTz1jFUMg pic.twitter.com/leQV9rXKn1

- Anderson Cooper 360 ° (@AC360) October 8, 2020

Fly and Twitter

According to many American TV viewers, the main character of the last debate was an ordinary fly, which perched on Vice President Pence's hair in the midst of the discussion.

The fly sat quietly in place for at least two minutes, and the vice president himself did not even try to drive the insect away.

“Everyone is jealous of me because I got the best seat at the debate this evening,” tweeted a Twitter fly immediately created by an unknown viewer with the hashtag @MikePenceFly.

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