Vice presidential debate who is winning

Harris responded by noting that both she and Biden are people of faith—and that if elected, Biden would be the second practicing Catholic to hold that office. But Harris also spent the majority of her time reiterating the main line of attack Senate Democrats have been employing against Barrett: that, as a justice, she would help to overturn the Affordable Care Act. Even before being asked, Pence sought to tie Biden to the Green New Deal, a congressional resolution introduced in that calls for bold public spending to address climate change and other social ills, and claimed that Biden would ban fracking.

Fracking and the Green New Deal have become hot-button issues in the election, particularly in the swing state of Pennsylvania where fracking is a significant source of employment. Harris adamantly denied the claim that the Biden administration would ban fracking while sidestepping any in-depth discussion of the Green New Deal. Biden has praised the congressional Green New Deal and embraced its principles but has offered a distinct plan.

Pointing to both the age of the presidential candidates and the dangers of coronavirus, Page asked two consecutive questions about the health of the candidates at the top of their respective tickets. Both Harris and Pence dodged. When asked whether she would take a coronavirus vaccine, Harris said she would—but only if doctors and scientists approved of its release. Pence replied that Harris was undermining public trust in the vaccine. The administration needs to act with urgency on the economy and that urgency was not articulated in the debate or prior to it.

Optically, the contrasts could not have been sharper. Senator Harris and Vice President Pence were visually very representative of their respective political parties. Harris exemplified the Democratic party — ethnically diverse, youthful, more gender balanced, and, importantly, willing to take on older white males on topics of systemic racism, law and order, and climate change.

So while the debate did not have a lot of fireworks, and likely, many viewers were relieved that it did not, the overall impression that it left for viewers who are not in the D.

And those contrasts did not reflect well on a Trump campaign that is increasingly looking like it will need a miracle to turn the tide of public opinion.

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Dodging questions and interruptions: While the VP debate was more civil, there were still moments of tension.

A very different tone from last week. Image source, Reuters. Harris fails to exploit virus weakness. Pence defends handling of 'super-spreader' Rose Garden event. The defining moment of the Trump presidency Trump says not to fear Covid Do Americans agree? Both sides uncomfortable on climate. Harris on healthcare: 'If you have a pre-existing condition, they're coming for you'.

Why we might not get a result on election night Full coverage of the US election. What is Trump's record on the environment. Pence denies systemic racism. That set up Harris's most powerful rejoinder. A look into the future. Related Topics. Raul Reyes: Why Harris was the clear winner. Raul A. On style, substance and strategy, the clear winner of the debate was Kamala Harris.

She seemed simultaneously passionate and relaxed as she prosecuted her case against the Trump administration. Right from the start, she mentioned the devastating numbers of the coronavirus pandemic over , Americans dead , as well as January 28 -- the date the President and Vice President reportedly knew about the potential impact of the pandemic.

Harris deftly brought up Trump's taxes and his failure to clearly and forcefully condemn White supremacy, while pushing back against Mike Pence's repeated interruptions. Most importantly, she spoke affirmatively to Biden's record, mentioning his faith, his role in saving the auto industry and his fundamental belief in science.

Harris never lost her cool, which says a lot -- given the high stakes of this matchup. With Trump behind in most polls, this was Pence's last real chance to change the trajectory of the race. But he was not up for the job and looked miserable for nearly the entire debate. Several times, he brought the focus back to the coronavirus, a topic he would have been wise to avoid as much as possible.

His vague answers on climate change and racial justice made him seem out of step with the national mood. And his attempts to speak over the moderator were no doubt grating to any women who has been "mansplained" or similarly talked over.

The missed opportunity of the evening was immigration. Out of the nine topics the moderator Susan Page introduced, not one question about Trump's signature issue? Reyes is an attorney and a member of the USA Today board of contributors. Follow him on Twitter RaulAReyes. Keith Boykin: The insect omen at Wednesday's debate. Keith Boykin. If there was one omen about Wednesday night's debate, it came from the fly that landed on Mike Pence's hair and stayed there.

Its unexpected appearance distracted from Pence's message and indicated that the night was going less than perfectly for the Vice President. Going into Wednesday night's debate, I thought the expectations for Kamala Harris were unreasonably high.

By the end of the night, however, she met them. She prosecuted the case against Donald Trump. She defended Joe Biden and her own record. And she managed to do it all while walking a racist, sexist tightrope that holds professional Black women to unfair standards of decorum. Trailing badly in the polls, Pence needed to score a knockout to change the momentum of the campaign. Instead, he repeated empty platitudes and talking points that contradicted the truth about the coronavirus and the economy.

And after months of struggling under the weight of the pandemic and an economy in freefall, Americans knew Pence was defending the indefensible. In the end, nothing that happened in the debate did anything to move the needle. And that's bad news for the Trump-Pence ticket. Jessica Anderson: Harris is not a good look for Biden. Jessica Anderson.

The vice presidential debate was the one America needed. Before this debate, the American people wondered which Kamala Harris would show up -- the loyal running mate or the liberal warrior? Now we know. She showed that progressives are trying to be Joe Biden's boss. And that cost her the debate. She promised a repeal of Trump's tax cuts, which a Heritage Foundation study shows help the middle class, refused to disavow the Green New Deal she co-sponsored, and dodged the court-packing question.

Wednesday's performance showed progressives like Harris still have the same goals as ever — but now they're using Biden to achieve those goals. Mike Pence, in contrast, offered a clear vision for America. An America of law and order, one that provides economic opportunity for all Americans, and one that takes on China.

There is no space between them. Trump and Pence are a team, playing for the same goal -- the same cannot be said of Biden and Harris. Follow her on Twitter at JessAnderson2. Paul Begala: The night belonged to Kamala Harris. Paul Begala. It wasn't so much a debate as a time machine. For approximately 90 minutes, the country was transported to a post-Donald Trump era of politics.

Mike Pence and Kamala Harris gave us a preview of where each might lead their parties after their septuagenarian ticket-toppers retire. If the VP debate was any indication, the Democrats' future is smart, strong and powerful.

The GOP's future is, apparently, shameless obeisance to Trump and all he stands for. Harris showed the world why Joe Biden's first presidential decision was a masterstroke. She indicted the Trump regime with a relentless, remorseless command of the facts. She was cutting yet charming; righteously indignant yet likeable.

A former talk radio host who billed himself as "Rush Limbaugh on decaf," Pence was uncharacteristically rude. Pro tip: if you're 31 points behind among women, don't talk over your female opponent and the female moderator. When he wasn't interrupting, Pence was fawning over Trump's supposed accomplishments. One day Trump will exit the stage, and Pence will want to take over. If, as I suspect, Trump is leading his party off a cliff, few will thank Pence for cheering, "Keep going, boss!

Both in style and on substance, the night belonged to Harris. Her case that the Trump administration has been a miserable failure is self-evident in the deaths of over , Americans from Covid What could be a more apt metaphor than the fact that debate organizers required an acrylic glass barrier to protect Harris and others from being infected -- from the head of the White House Coronavirus Task Force? One piece of breaking news: we finally found a wall the Trump team doesn't like.

Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist and CNN political commentator, was a political consultant for Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in and served as a counselor to Clinton in the White House.

Nayyera Haq: Harris goes after Trump's veracity. Nayyera Haq. Senator Kamala Harris won the debate the moment she said , "You respect the American people when you tell them the truth. Pence made this mistake early in the debate by praising the "transparency" of Trump's Covid response and was quickly called to the mat by Harris, who used the word to pivot to Trump's obfuscation on his taxes, personal health, and myriad other issues.

Four years into the Trump administration, Pence trying to claim the moral high ground of truthiness is a transparent lie.

By contrast, Harris' statement that "Donald Trump does not know what it means to be honest" rang clear and true. In the absence of being able to defend Trump's veracity, Pence used his soothing voice to sound reasonable as an intentional contrast to the belligerent approach of the man at the top of his ticket. Where Trump scared off voters with his aggressive debate performance, Pence went overboard when he commended VP Biden's public service and Senator Harris' historic nomination.