The Supreme Court, and health care. With me throughout the night are bloomberg contributors rick davis, partner at Stone Court Capital and jeanie, professor of Political Science at iona college. The economy, both candidates have been in debates before. Vice president pence against tim kaine four years ago. And senator harris against all the other Democratic Candidates for president earlier this year. And this is what they have had to say about the economy in prior debates. In the wake of a season where American Families are struggling in this economy, under the weight of higher taxes and obamacare and the war on coal and the stifling avalanche of regulation coming out of this administration, Hillary Clinton and tim kaine want more of the same. And youre measuring this greatness of this economy of yours, and he talks about the stock market. Well, thats fine if you own stocks. So many families in america do not. David ric davis, what we just heard from Vice President pence in that last four years ago how little has changed. You can say almost exactly the same thing. Just substitute in the names. Yeah. Except right now, what he really needs to do is talk about what the next four years is going to look like. And you got to quit prosecuting a campaign against Hillary Clinton and start taking credit for the good things that have happened in the Trump Administration which we fully expect him to do. And including their record on covid. But also to point out that theyve got an agenda for the next four years. Something that the top of the ticket, donald trump, seems to not want to do. David its interesting, that agenda for the next four years, doesnt include all the people in the country because Kamala Harris saying whose economy are you talking about here . And people dont have stock, theyre not doing so well. Yeah, absolutely. And i think that speaks to the divide that weve heard talked about in the country, right between the people who are doing well in the stock market and the people on main street maybe not doing so well. But i do think mike pence will talk about this because they want to paint Kamala Harris as a radical liberal, most liberal senator in the u. S. Senate today. They will talk about her record. And theyre going to try to warn people that if you elect the democrats, your taxes will go up. We want to get you back to a precovid economy. So thats going to be a message hes going to try to send over and over again. David rick, certainly one way in which senator Kamala Harris stands out from any other vicepresident ial candidate ever is the first woman of color. She is an indianapolis american and a Indian American and a black american and how does that cut tonight . Ridiculous i think that rick i think thats a big question. Gender and race will play out but we dont know how. No record you can look back on with Vice President pence to see how hes going to handle it. And we know its going to arise somehow. Weve seen how she handles it on the campaign trail before. Where she talks about her personal experiences. That little girl was me. Was a great moment in the debate that she had during the primaries. And so i would suspect that she will go there first. David its fascinating. How do they play it, actually, jeanne . Jeanne mike pence has a tricky road tonight because they cannot alienate women, particularly suburban women. So anything he says that it all seems like he is being at all sexist either in his tone or words or anything else is going to come back to them. So hes got to be very careful. I think hes got to stick to the record. And i think he should focus on Vice President biden, former Vice President biden, who obviously is at the top of this ticket. Vicepresident ial debates usually are about the top of the ticket. Not the two people running as the vicepresident ials. David so rick, since last friday at least, news has been consumed with covid19. And particularly President Trump coming down with going to the hospital and coming back out. And until late today, i thought that maybe Kamala Harris would have to be a little careful attacking somebody who is sick. But then you had the president come out and do this he tweeted out this video that said it was gods blessing that i got covid19. Because i showed how i can triumph over it. And does that let her take the gloves off a little bit . Rick she has to be careful. The top of the picket Vice President biden as jeanne just said controls the tone and tenor of this campaign. And hes been very empathetic with the president over his covid diagnosis. And so i think shes got to be able to fit into that narrative, to be empathetic. Its what this administration, what the future administration of the Biden Administration is selling. Especially related to covid. But i think she will have a sharp award from time to time but has got to do it with a tone thats the happy warrior. David there you go. Lets go back to al smith. And bygone days. Rick and jenne will be staying with us throughout the night. And Salt Lake City our chief washington correspondent Kevin Cirelli on location. So kevin, give us an update on whats going out there in Salt Lake City. Kevin new developments just as Vice President mike pence announcing some of his special guests that will be in the audience this evening. The campaign saying that he will be accompanied by at least one Business Owner who had their business destroyed in the unrest in minneapolis. Clearly a sign that they will try to double down on the issue of law and order in his approach. I spoke with rick sutcliffe, richard dor to grenell, former ambassador to kosovo and they say they want to see senator harris pinned down on the issues pertaining to the economy, to the Supreme Court, as well as energy policy. They are going to try to portray her as someone who is with this incredibly liberal. In contrast to that, i spoke with former south bend mayor of indiana Pete Buttigieg just about how they will try to portray mike pence. Take a listen to what he told e. How are we going to contain this pandemic and so Many Americans getting blow after blow, especially with this lafmente news that the president is walking from negotiations on relief. These are the things is that i most people are tuning in wanting to hear about. Kevin now the Trump Campaign looking to have some type of major shift in the trajectory of this race. They feel that they are still questioning the legitimacy of those polls that came out today from quinnipiac that show him trailing in battleground states. David so kevin, let me ask one other question. Politico report out today as you probably saw that another guest who is going to be there invited by Vice President pence the parents of kayla mueller, the woman who was kidnapped by Islamic State and ultimately murdered over there. Is terrorism going to be a big issue for the Vice President at least tonight . Kevin yes. And in fact, specifically of Richard Grenell told me they are not only going to try to link senator harris to the protesters but also to various statements that the protesters have made. If there was any indication this would be a more substantial debate maybe they wont be speaking over one another but it will be incredibly contentious. David kevin, thank you so far. We will be coming back to you. Good luck out there in Salt Lake City. And in the meantime coming up next here well talk with joe watkins about what we can expect from this debate tonight. This is bloomberg. This is bloomberg. David this is special coverage of the vicepresident ial debate on Bloomberg Television and radio. Im david westin. Vicepresident ial nominee Kamala Harris makes history tonight as the first black american female to take the debate stage. And the significance of her accomplishment in american politics and the current state of the race of racial relations we welcome joe watkins, former white house aide to president George Herbert walker bush and host of state of independence joewatkins. Org. Reverend, great to have you with us. Talk to us if youre willing joe great to be with you. David and a black american and also an Indian American. The first woman of color nominated to be Vice President. Joe this is huge, of course. I mean, joe biden picked her as his running mate because he wanted to make sure that he would have a great turnout, that he would energize his base of support, especially among africanamerican men and women. This clearly does that. We all know that polls are one thing but turnout really matters on election day. Its the number of people that show up at the polls to vote. And in order for that to happen, they got to be energized and got to be energized to show up at the polls to vote on election day. So Kamala Harris is somebody who joe biden has on the ticket to accomplish that purpose. And we know that shes a very, very skillful prosecutor. That shell do very, very well as she has in the past and in the debate format. And then mike pence will do well as well. Mike pence is a very skilled debater. And very, very good in these kind of settings. So it will be a very, very good contest tonight between Kamala Harris and mike pence. But i think Kamala Harris is poised to do well. David so joe, its not just the history. I dont want to make light of that. But not just the history of the first woman of color but racial relations are very much on the National Agenda right now. Given the aftermath of the killing of george floyd, Breonna Taylor. How will she handle that as a prosecutor but also as someone who has stood up for Racial Justice . Joe i think shell probably point to her record and talk about the injustices that have taken place for pem of color around the for people of color around the country. And especially use of Excessive Force in some of these instances by police. And shell talk about it passionately i think. And at the same time, prosecuted in a lawyerly fashion about this injustice and why it needs to end. I think thats something that a lot of voters of color who are watching tonight will look to see and will want to hear. This is a time when the country of course has been pretty racially polarized. So having her on the stage is important and likewise her capacity to talk about these events and to talk about how we solve them and how we fix them is equally important to the whole audience. Jeanne reverend joe, its jeanne and its so good to see you and talk to you. Joe thanks, jeanne. Great to see you always. Jeanne as somebody who worked for george w. Bush, george h. W. Bush, what are you looking for tonight from mike pence . You mentioned and i i agree with you that hes a very strong debater. I think hes been a little underrated going into this. But what do you think he has to do tonight on behalf of the administration, polls are showing are really suffering after the what happened last week at the debate and then going into the president s diagnosis . Joe well, hes got to do things to shore up the base and to excite the base. And hes got to talk in a way that is energizing to suburban women. One of the big fights in this campaign is for the hearts and minds and the votes of suburban women. And College Educated women. And so well have to keep that in mind in all of this talking. Hell remind voters that even if they havent been thrilled with the tweets and some of the behavior of the president that at the end of the day they like the economy. They like what he does from the standpoint of lowering taxes and lowering regulation. And hell probably also talk about how the president has made good on his promises. And that at the end of the day, what you really what really matters are results. And so expect him to give a very levelheaded and strong debate performance just highlighting the strengths financially certainly of the trump of the Trump Administration. Rick hey, joe,s are rick davis. How are you doing . Joe , hey, rick. Rick i want to change the subject a little bit to pennsylvania. Something you know quite a bit about. And its a key battleground state. One that trump did well in last time. But weve got new polling data since the last debate. And even since the coronavirus hit the president that the polls are starting to divide and a significant advantage is building in some of the public surveys for joe biden. Are you seeing that on the ground and you talked a little bit about how Kamala Harris has to build a little enthusiasm out of tonight, are you seeing voters energized for this ticket . Joe im gick beginning to see it. See some voter enthusiasm. Especially among africanamericans. I passed over a church and do talk to other churches and their pastors. And certainly among a lot of congregations of color. Theres a lot of enthusiasm for Kamala Harris candidacy and for the fact that joe biden put her on the ticket. And i think certainly for a lot of suburban women and College Educated women, nare i think heartened and pleased to see a woman on the ticket with joe biden. What will really matter is what they say and how they say it. For both of them. What they say and how they say it and their capacity to win back whatever they may have lost and what may still be out there for grabs. Again, mike pence has to win back some of the suburban women with his talk about the need for security and law and order. Do it in a way that doesnt turn them off. So hes got to work hard to win those some of those voters who voted for him, who broke for donald trump in the last campaign. Hes got to do that to win them back. Thats going to be a tall order. Because Kamala Harris is going to remind remind voters that there have been too many Police Incidents and that law and order gone amok leads to the killings of people like george floyd. So its going hes going to have to walk a bit of a of a tightrope to try to win those voters back. But that will be his task. And i think he will be up to the challenge. David i want to ask exactly that question. Whatever one thinks of mike pence, you might love him, are we asking too much of him to turn around a campaign that seems to be going south right now according to the polling . After all, its the president people vote for, not the Vice President , historically, can the vicepresident ial candidate really turn that around . Joe historically that hasnt happened. So thats a great question, david. Because there have been some vicepresident ial debates in the past that have seemed like a major victory for one side or the other. But they have an impact havent impacted the general election because at the end of the day people vote for the man running for president and they may like or not be excited about the person running as the running mate of the but they really do care about the person at the top of the ticket. The person whos running for the presidency, of the United States. And so mike pence is a very solid guy. Ive known him for a long time. Because i used to live in indiana. And i was i was an assistant to u. S. Senator dan quayle in indiana long before mike even became a member of congress there. So ive known him for quite some time. Hes very solid. Very smart. And certainly very much in control of himself gh these kinds of set in these kinds of settings. I dont see him making any mistakes tonight but a tall order to win back some of the people whove been lost by this campaign. And but i think he will make the best of it in his efforts tonight. David thank you so very much. As i say its always a pleasure to have you with us as joe watkins, former white house aide to president George Herbert walker bush. For more on the importance of tonights vicepresident ial debate, welcome now lara brown, associate proffer at George WashingtonUniversity Professor at George Washington university and author of amateur hour, president ial character and leadership. And put this in an Historical Context with respect to vicepresident ial debates and talking about with joe historically they have not been the main item on the ticket. Well, thats right. I mean, there is a lot of Political Data which show that voters really care about the top of the ticket. But i think tonight we are in a unique circumstance. We do have the two oldest nominees that have ever run for the office at the top of each ticket. And obviously we are living with a coronavirus pandemic that is you know, upset