Susan good evening, from the university of utah in salt lake city, welcome to the first and only Vice President ial debate of 2020, sponsored by the nonpartisan commission on president ial debates. Im susan page of usa today. It is my honor to moderate this debate, an important part of our democracy. In Kingsbury Hall tonight, we have a small and socially distanced audience, we have taken extra precautions during this pandemic. Among other things, everyone in the audience is required to wear a face mask, and the candidates will be seated 12 feet apart. The audience is enthusiastic about their candidates, but they have agreed to express that enthusiasm only twice, at the end of the debate, and now, when i introduce the candidates. Please welcome california senator Kamala Harris and Vice President mike pence. [applause] senator harris and Vice President pence, thank you for being here. We are meeting as President Trump and the first lady continue to undergo treatment in washington after testing positive for covid19. We send our thoughts and prayers to them for the rapid and complete recovery, and for the recovery of everyone afflicted by the coronavirus. The two campaigns have agreed to the ground rules tonight. Im here to enforce them, on behalf of the millions of americans who are watching. One note, no one in either campaign or at the commission or anywhere else has been told in advance what topics i will raise or what questions i will ask. This 90minute debate will be divided into nine segments for about 10 minutes each. I will begin a segment by posing a question to each of you, sometimes the same question, sometimes a different question on the same topic. You will then have two minutes to answer without interruption by me or the other candidate. Then we will take six minutes or so to discuss the issue. At that point, although there will always be more to say, we will move on to the next topic. We want a debate that is lively, but americans also deserve a discussion that is civil. These are tumultuous times, but we can and will have a respectful exchange about the big issues facing our nation. Lets begin with the ongoing pandemic that has cost our country so much. Senator harris, the coronavirus is not under control. Over the past week, Johns Hopkins reports that 39 states have had more covid cases over the past seven days then in the week before. Nine states have set new records. Even if a vaccine is released soon, the next administration will face hard choices. What would a Biden Administration do in january and february that a Trump Administration wouldnt do . Would you impose new lockdowns for businesses and schools in hotspots, a federal mandate to wear a mask . You have two minutes to respond without interruption. Sen. Harris thank you, susan. Well, the American People have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any president ial administration in the history of our country. And here are the facts. 210,000 dead people in our country in just the last several months. Over 7 Million People have contracted this disease. One in five businesses closed. We are looking at front line workers who have been treated like sacrificial workers. We are looking at over 30 Million People who in the last several months had to file for unemployment. And here is the thing. On january 28, the Vice President and the president were informed about the nature of this pandemic. They were informed that it is lethal in consequence, that it is airborne, that it will affect young people, and that it would be contracted because it is airborne. And they knew what was happening and they didnt tell you. Can you imagine, if you knew on january 28, as opposed to march 13, what they knew, what you might have done to prepare . They knew, and they covered it up. The president said it was a hoax. They minimized the seriousness of it. The president said if you are on one side of the ledger if you wear a mask and you are on the other side if you dont. In spite of all that, today they still dont have a plan. They still dont have a plan. Well, joe biden does. Our plan is about what we need to do around a National Strategy for contact tracing, for testing, for administration of the vaccine and making sure that it will be free for all. That is the plan that joe biden has and that i have, knowing that we have to get a hold on what has been going on and we need to save our country, and joe biden is the best leader to do that, and frankly, this administration has forfeited their right to reelection based on this. Susan thank you, senator harris. Vice president pence, more than 210,000 americans have died of covid19 since february. The u. S. Death toll as a percentage of our population is higher than that of almost every other wealthy nation on earth. For instance, our death rate is 2. 5 times that of canada, next door. You head the administrations Coronavirus Task force. Why is the u. S. Death toll as a percentage of our population higher than that of almost every other wealthy country . And you have two minutes to respond, without interruption. Tn higher than that of almost every other wealthy country . And you have two minutes to respond, without interruption. Vice pres. Pence susan, thank you, and i want to thank the commission and the university of utah for hosting this event, and senator harris, it is a privilege to be on the stage with you. Our nation has gone through a very challenging time this year. But i want the American People to know that from the very first day, President Donald Trump has put the health of america first. Before there were more than five cases in the United States, all people who would return from china, President Trump did what no other american president had ever done. And that was he suspended all travel from china, the second largest economy in the world. Now, senator, joe biden might have opposed that decision, he said it was hysterical. I can tell you, having led the white house Coronavirus Task force, that that decision alone by President Trump bought us in valuable time to stand up the greatest National Mobilization since world war ii, and i believe it saved hundreds of thousands of american lives. Because within that time we were able to reinvent testing. 115 million tests have been done worldwide to date. There were millions of supplies or doctors and nurses had the support they needed. And we began before the month of february to start to develop a vaccine and to develop medicines and therapeutics that of been saving lives all along the way. Under President Trump, operation warp speed we believe we will believe will have literally tens of millions of doses of vaccine before the end of this year. The reality is, when you look at the biden plan, it reads an awful lot like what President Trump and i and our task force have been doing every step of the way. And quite frankly, when i look at their plan, talks about advancing testing, creating new ppe, developing a vaccine. It looks a little bit like plagiarism, which is something joe biden knows a little bit about. I think the American People know that this is a president who has put susan thank you, mr. Vice president. Vice pres. Pence we are proud of the sacrifices they have made to save american lives. Susan senator harris, would you like to respond . Sen. Harris absolutely. Whatever they claim the administration has done, clearly it hasnt done. When youre looking at over 200,000 dead bodies, american lives, families that are grieving that loss. And you know, the Vice President is the head of the task force, and knew on january 28 how serious this was, and then thanks to bob woodward, we learned that they knew about it, and then when that was exposed, the Vice President said when asked, why didnt you all tell anybody, he said because the president wanted people to remain calm. This is important. Mr. Vice president , i am speaking. I want to ask the American People, how calm were you when you are panicked about or youre going to get your next roll of toilet paper . How calm were you when your kids were sent home from school and you did know when they were going to go back . How calm were you when your children couldnt see their parents because they were afraid it would kill them . Susan lets give Vice President pence a chance to respond. Vice pres. Pence i want all of you to know you will always be in our hearts and in our prayers. But when you see what the American People have done over these last 8 months, it hasnt worked, thats a great disservice to the sacrifices the American People have made. The reality, if i may finish, the reality is, dr. Fauci said everything that he told the president in the oval office, the president told the American People. President trump, i will tell you, has boundless confidence in the American People and he always spoke with confidence that we would get through this together. But when you say it hasnt worked, when dr. Fauci and dr. Birx in our medical experts came to us in the second week of march, the president if he didnt take the unprecedented step of shutting down roughly half of the American Economy come that we could lose 2. 2 million americans, thats the reality. They also said if we did everything right, susan, we could still lose more than 200,000 americans. The American People, i believe deserve credit for the sacrifices they have made for the health of their family and their neighbors, our doctors, nurses, first responders. Im going to speak up on behalf of what the American People have done. Susan you were in the front row in the rose garden 11 days ago at what seems to be a super spreader event for Senior Administration and officials. You mask, no social distancing, now cluster of coronavirus cases among those who were there. How can you expect americans to follow the Administration Safety guidelines to protect themselves from covid when you at the white house have not been doing so . Vice pres. Pence well, the American People have demonstrated over the last eight months that when given the facts, they are willing to put the health of their families and their neighbors and people they dont even know first. President trump and i have great confidence in the American People and their ability to take that information and put it into practice. In the height of the epidemic, when we were losing a heartbreaking number, 2500 americans a day, we surged resources to new jersey and new york and new orleans and detroit. We told the American People what needed to be done, and the American People made the sacrifices. When the outbreak in the sunbelt happened this summer, again come american step forward. Americans stepped forward. But the reality is, the work of the president goes on. The vacancy on the Supreme Court in the United States has come upon us and the judge introduced judge Amy Coney Barrett. If i may say, at that rose are in event, with a great deal of speculation about it, my wife karen and i were there and honored to be there. Many of the people who were at that event were actually tested for coronavirus and it was an outdoor event, which all of our scientist regularly and routinely advise. The difference here is, President Trump and i trust the American People to make choices in the best interest of their health. And joe biden and Kamala Harris consistently talk about mandates, not just mandates with the coronavirus, but a government takeover health care, the Green New Deal all government control. We are about freedom and respecting freedom of the American People. Sen. Harris lets talk about respecting the American People. We respect the American People when you tell them the truth. You respect the American People when you have the courage to be a leader, speaking of those things you they may not want to hear, but they need to hear so they can protect themselves. But this administration stood on information that you if you had as a parent, knowing it you didnt have enough money saved up, now youre standing in a food line because of the ineptitude of an administration that was unwilling to speak the truth to the American People. So lets talk about caring about the American People. The American People have had to sacrifice far too much because of the incompetence of this administration. It is acting too much of the much of theo people that they would not be equipped with the information they need to help themselves to protect their parents and their children. Susan senator harris, for life to get back to normal, dr. Anthony fauci and other experts say that most of the people who can be vaccinated, need to be vaccinated. Half of americans now say they wouldnt take the vaccine if it was released now. If the Trump Administration approves a vaccine before or after the election, should americans take it, and would you take it . Sen. Harris if the Public Health professionals if dr. Fauci, if the doctors tell us that we should take it, i will be the first in line to take it, absolutely. But if Donald Trump Tells us we should take it, im not taking it. Susan Vice President pence, there have been a lot of repercussions from this pandemic to be in recent days, the president s diagnosis of covid19 has underscored the importance of the job that you hold and that you are seeking. That is our second topic tonight, the role of the Vice President. One of you will make history on january 20. You will be the Vice President to the oldest president the United States has ever had. Donald trump will be 74 years old on inauguration day. Joe biden will be 78 years old. That already has raised concerns among some voters, concerns that have been sharpened by President Trumps hospitalization in recent days. Vice president pence, have you had a conversation or reached an agreement with President Trump about safeguards or procedures when it comes to the issue of president ial disability . And if not, do you think you should . You have two minutes, without interruptions. Vice pres. Pence susan, thank you. I would like to go back susan we need to move on. Vice pres. Pence i would like to go back, because the reality is were going to have a vaccine in record time, in unheard of time, in less than a year. We have five companies in phase 3 clinical trials. We are right now producing tens of millions of doses. The fact that you continue to undermine Public Confidence in a vaccine, if a vaccine emerges during the Trump Administration i think is unconscionable. Senator, i just ask you, stop playing politics with peoples lives. The reality is that we will have a vaccine, we believe before the end of this year, and it will have the capacity to save countless american lives. And your continuous undermining of confidence in a vaccine is just unacceptable. Let me also say, the reality is, you talk about failure in this administration, we actually do know what failure looks like in a pandemic. Swine fluidthe arrived in the United States. Thankfully, it ended up not being as lethal as the coronavirus. But before the end of the year, when joe biden was Vice President of the United States, not 7. 5 Million People contracted the swine flu, 60 million americans contracted the swine flu. If the swine flu had been as lethal as the coronavirus in 2009 when joe biden was Vice President , we would have lost 2 million american lives. His own chief of staff would say last year that it was pure luck that they did Everything Possible wrong. And we learned from that. They left the Strategic National stockpile empty. They left an empty and hollow plan but we still lea