The people in that audience youre probably looking at very, very closely. Theyre all wearing masks. What youre not seeing is the people who are going to be up on the stage, the moderator and the two candidates. They will not be. Now, its required here that they all make sure that they keep those masks on in the audience or they will be kicked out. I think jerry baker is back with us gerry baker is back with us. I i a apologize for my confusion. Erasing the memories and all the other stuff that happened entertaining that might have been that these guys are going to keep it to a minimum. Do you think they can, they will . Well, i think we certainly wont see anything like last week, i think we can probably guarantee that. But Kamala Harris is sharp, aggressive, i dont think she can help herself. Shell want to prosecute the case as shes done in the past, shell want to prosecute aggressively, and Vice President pence is not going to take it lying down. I think itll be a sharp, lively debate, but i think itll probably be one in which both are able to answer the questions and, again, as i said earlier, one in which i hope both of them will be particularly Kamala Harris will be questioned properly on the positions that she and joe biden have taken. So i expect a good, lively debate, one that well actually learn something. Neil we do know, gillian, theyre not going to cut off anyones mics, that at least was the thought going in. But if it does get out of hand, have you heard anything you would do short of cattle prods or a floor drop like austin powers [laughter] tasers. [laughter] neil right. I dont think theyre going to need anything, any special tricks, you know, the moderators going to need anything up her sleeve this week for that. I think the host of the next president ial debate maybe has something more to be concerned about. Neil, youve pointed out already a couple of times tonight that there are builtin sort of barriers to insure decency in this debate. There is those plexiglas dividers, so theyre not going to be, you know, ranting and raving at one another, screaming. Theyre also sitting down which doesnt make anybody more decent, but it does make it harder to talk an aggressive stance. Remember, the last round of debates how much President Trump was giving for sort of creeping up on Hillary Clinton, getting into her personal space. That risk is totally removed now during the age of coronavirus with these barriers in place. Neil you have not been at many italian dinner tables, by the way. You can make a lot of noise sitting down. Well see what happens there. Butting again, any second now but again, going right to the floor here. This debate, a lot of people concerned it could be the last one with concerns that the president ial candidates are arguing over venues and whether they happen. But right now, the vp debate. 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 sociallydistant audience, and weve 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 theyve 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. [cheers and applause] thank you. [applause] senator harris and Vice President pence, thank you for being here. Were 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 their rapid and complete recovery and for the recovery of everyone aproduct inned by the coronavirus afflicted by the coronavirus. The two campaigns and the commission on president ial debates have agreed to the ground rules for 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 ill raise or what questions ill ask. This 90minute debate will be divided into nine segments of about ten minutes each. Ill begin 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 well take six minutes or so to discuss the issue. At that point, although there will always be more to say, well 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 than 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 in hot spots . A federal mandate to wear masks . You have two minutes to respond without interruption. Thank you, susan. Well, the American People have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any president ial a managers in the history of 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 who have contracted this disease. One in five businesses closed. Were looking at frontline 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 heres the thing, on january 28th the Vice President and the president were informed about the nature of this pandemic. They were informed that its 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 28th as opposed to march 13th 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 youre on one side of his ledger if you wear a mask, youre on the other side of his ledger if you dont. And in spite of all of that today, they still dont have a plan. They still dont have a plan. Well, joe biden does. And 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 ahold of 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 thank you, senator. Their right to reelection based on this. 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 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. Susan, thank you. And i want to thank the commission and the university of utah for hosting this event and, senator harris, its a privilege to be on the stage with you. Our nations 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 had returned from china President Donald 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. Senator, joe biden opposed that decision. He said it was husbander the call. And i can hysterical. I can tell you that decision brought by President Trump gave us the greatest National Mobilization since world war ii, and i believe it saved hundreds of thousands of american lives. Because with that time we were able to reinvent testing. More than 150 million have been tested to date. We were able to give our doctors and nurses the resources for what they needed. And we began really before the month of february to develop a vaccine and to develop medicines and therapeutics and have been saving lives all along the way. And under President Trumps leadership, operation warp speed, we 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 that talk talks at advancing testing, creating new ppe, developing a vaccine, it looks a little bit about plagiarism which is something joe biden knows a little bit about. I think the American People know this is thanks puts the American People first thank you, Vice President. Can be proud of the sacrifices that they have made thank you. Senator harris. Would you like to respond . Absolutely. Whatever the Vice President s claiming the administration has done, clearly it hasnt worked. When youre looking at over 210,000 dead bodies in our country, american lives that have been lost, families that are grieving that loss. And, you know, the Vice President is the head of the task force and knew on january 28th how serious this was. And thanks to bob woodward, we learned that they knew about it, and then when that was exposed, the Vice President said when asked can, well, why didnt yall tell anybody, he said because the president wanted people to remain calm. Susan, this is susan, i have mr. President if, im speaking 15 more seconds, and then well give the thank you. So i want to ask the American People, how calm were you when you were panicked about where you were going to get your next roll of toilet paper thank you. How calm were you when your children couldnt see your parents because you were afraid they could kill them. Lets give Vice President pence a chance to respond. You have one minute to respond. Theres not a day thats gone by that i havent thought of every American Family whos lost a loved one. Youll always be in our hearts and in our prayers. But when you see what the American People have done say what the American People have done over these past eight months hasnt worked, thats a great disservice i referred if i may finish, senator. The reality is dr. Fauci said everything that he told the president in the oval office the president told the American People. Now, President Trump, i will tell you, has boundless confidence in the American People, and he always knew wed get through this together. But when you say it hasnt worked, dr. Fauci and dr. Birx and our medical experts came to us in the second week of march they said if the president didnt shut down roughly half of the american economy, that we could lose 2. 2 million americans. Thats the reality. Thank you. We did everything right, susan, we could still lose more than 200,000 americans. Vice president one life lost is too many, susan, but the American People, i believe, deserve credit for the sacrifices that they have made putting the health of their family and neighbors first, our doctors, our nurses thank you, Vice President pence. And im going to speak up on behalf of what the American People since you were in the front row of the rose garden 11tys ago, what seems to have been a super spreader, no social instancing, few masks and now a cluster of coronavirus cases among those who were there. How can you expect americans to follow the administrations safety guidelines to protect themselves from covid when you at the white house have not been doing so . Well, the American People have demonstrated over the last eight months. Theyve been given the facts. Theyre willing to put the health of their families, 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 of 2,500 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 sacrifice. When the outbreak in the sun belt happened this summer, again americans stepped forward. But the reality is the work of the president of the United States goes on. A vacancy on the Supreme Court of the United States has come upon us, and the president introduced judge Amy Coney Barrett thank you. Thank you, mr. President if i may say, that rose garden event, this is been 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, susan, actually were tested for coronavirus, and it was an outdoor event which all of our scientists regularly, routinely advise. The difference here is President Trump and i trust the American People to make choices in the best interests of their health. And joe biden and Kamala Harris consistently talk about mandates. Not just mandates with the coronavirus, but a government take over thank you. Thank you the Green New Deal, all government control. Were about freedom and respecting the freedom of the American People. Lets talk about respecting the American People. You respect the American People when you tell them the truth. You respect the American People when which we speaking of those things that you may not want people to hear, but they need to hear so they can protect themselves. But this administration stood on information that if you had as a parent, if you had as a worker known you didnt have enough money saved up and 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 asking too much of the susan, we talked it is asking too much of the people that they would not be equipped with the information they need to help susan. [inaudible conversations] Kamala Harris, senator harris, i mean, im sorry thats fine, im kamala. [laughter] youre senator harris to me. To get back to normal, dr. Fauci and other experts say most of the people that can be advantage vaccinated need to be vaccinated. But half of americans say they wouldnt take a vaccine if it was released now. If the Trump Administration releases a vaccine before or after the election, should americans take it and would you take it . If the Public Health professionals, if dr. Fauci, if the doctors tell us that we should take it, ill be the first in line to take it, absolutely. But if Donald Trump Tells us that we have to take it, im not taking it. Vice president pence, th