VP debate takes on some added importance
In light of Trump’s illness, pressure is on Pence and Harris
President Donald Trump’s hospitalization with the coronavirus has catapulted this week’s vicepresidential debate into the spotlight to an extraordinary degree, putting pressure on Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris to use this forum to reassure an anxious public they are prepared and qualified to step in as president.
Trump’s diagnosis with a potentially lethal virus— andthe fact that he is 74 and his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, is 77 — was a stark reminder that either Pence or Harris could end up being president themselves, as opposed to just leading contenders for the nomination in 2024 and beyond.
For Pence, Wednesday’s debate will most likely compel him to account for the administration’s record on a virus that has now infected7.4 million Americans— including the most protected man in the country, Trump — and answer for his own stewardship as chair of the federal coronavirus task force. For Harris, a former prosecutor, the debate is a chance to showthat she is capable of being president in a national emergency, as well as to demonstrate that she can challenge the Trump record on COVID-19 without seeming overly aggressive against an ailing president.
Depending on how quickly Trump recovers, his condition could also force the cancellation of the two remaining debates between Trump and Biden. Should that happen, the 90- minute session Wednesday would be the final debate of this presidential election season, and the last chance for both parties to command a huge audience.
That could be particularly significant for Trump, whose debate performance lastweek turned voters in some key states against him.
Raphael J. Sonenshein, theexecutive director of the of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles, said that a debate between two running mates in any other year would be little more than a “political afterthought.” Wednesday’s vice-presidential match up in Salt Lake City would be markedly different, he said, “given the age and vulnerability of the candidates” running for president.
“The vice-presidential debate could be the only thing happening,” said Sonenshein, whowas on a panel of questioners for Harris’ 2016 Senate debate.
There have been some questions about whether Pence should participate at all, given his exposure to a White House where new positive tests are arriving by the day. “Hewas sitting in a sea of people with COVID,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, an infectious disease expert at Harvard University .“There is noway he should go anywhere.”
Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump, rejected the suggestion that Pence should skip the debate, which will be held at the University of Utah. Pence has so far tested negative for the coronavirus, and the two candidates will be 12 feet apart, an increase from the 7 feet that was originally proposed.
Pence and Harris have untilnow largely been eclipsed by the contest between Trump and Biden. But it appears that for the time being, Pence will become the face of the campaign while its standardbearer remains out of public view.
But Pence standing in for Trump could work tothe benefit of the Democrats, according to Jennifer Palmieri, a senior adviser to the 2016 Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, and a coach for her running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, for the 2016vice-presidential debate.
“It’s so hard for the Biden-Harris ticket to get a cleans hot at delivering straight message because Trump takes up somuch oxygen,” she said. “They have to make the most of every opportunity.”
Pence has some advantages. After four years at Trump’s side, he has close experience with the major policy and political challenges that are bound to come up Wednesday, especially on the virus and the economy. And Pence went through such a debate in 2016, where he checked all of the boxes of an effective No. 2 candidate: He was a diligent defender of Trump and relentless attacker of Clinton.
By contrast, Harris has been in Washington since only 2017, and relegated to the sidelines as a Democrat in the Republican-controlled Senate. She has appeared in debates while running for senator and attorney general from California — much smaller-scale affairs against opponents of less ambition and talent than Pence.
Pence, 61, is a former Indiana governor and served 12 years in Congress. Harris, 55, served as California’s attorney general and San Francisco district attorney before being elected to the Senate.
Neil Newhouse, a Republican pollster, said the debate would draw heightened attention for both candidates. But in a campaign of such extraordinary stakes, he said that the defining question for voters will be whether Trump deserves a second term.
“Somuch stuff is happening every day and everyweek right now, that I’ve got to think the vice-presidential debate is going to be forgotten by the time the Election Day rolls around,” he said.