Pence and Harris’s vice-presidential debate to take place behind plexiglass
MIKE PENCE and Kamala Harris will face each other through a plexiglass wall at the vice-presidential debate.
The move came amid calls from public health experts for the meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, today to be held virtually or abandoned.
Vice-president Mr Pence also faced calls for him to quarantine for 14 days after the president and senior White House officials tested positive for coronavirus.
The plexiglass shield option was a compromise as neither Mr Pence nor Ms Harris wanted to pull out and be portrayed as scared to debate. It was proposed by the Democrat campaign.
The Commission on Presidential Debates, which runs the presidential and vice-presidential debates, accepted.
So did Mr Pence’s team, although they were believed to have been reluctant, and were opposed to any configuration that would give the appearance of the vice-president being in a box.
The discussions led to a war of words between the two sides. Katie Miller, Mr Pence’s spokesperson, said: “If Senator Harris wants to use a fortress around herself, have at it.”
Sabrina Singh, a spokesperson for Ms Harris, said: “Interesting that Katie Miller mocks our wanting a plexiglass barrier on the debate stage, when her own boss is supposedly in charge of the Covid-19 task force, and should be advocating for this too.”
The moderator, Susan Page, a journalist on USA Today, will also be behind plexiglass.
‘If Senator Harris wants to use a fortress around herself, have at it’
Ms Harris has reportedly decided to tone down her planned attacks on Mr Trump, and instead to express sympathy for his coronavirus diagnosis.
Mr Pence and Ms Harris were originally to be seated at a large table, 7ft apart; then the distance was increased to 12ft 8in. They will now be seated at two separate tables, with the barrier between.
Last weekend Jaime Harrison, a Democrat threatening to unseat Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator, in South Carolina, had a plexiglass screen set up for their debate.
The latest safety measures followed new guidance from the US Centres for Disease Control and Protection suggesting that the virus can be transmitted through small droplets that remain in the air for prolonged periods in indoor areas with bad ventilation.
Mr Pence’s campaign rejected suggestions that he should be quarantining, saying he had not been in close proximity to Mr Trump since the president was infected, and had been working from home.
The debate commission said: “Plexiglass will be used as part of our overall approach to health and safety...If anyone does not wear a mask, they will be escorted out.” (© Daily Telegraph, London)