Pence v. Harris: reaction and analysis

We get analysis of the vice presidential debate and how it might impact the election? Also, the latest on the Covid outbreak in the White House.

Listen 49:45
Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Vice President Mike Pence answer questions during the vice presidential debate Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020, at Kingsbury Hall on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, Pool)

Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Vice President Mike Pence answer questions during the vice presidential debate Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020, at Kingsbury Hall on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, Pool)

Plexiglass dividers separate Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris at Wednesday night’s vice presidential debate. Precautions are being taken after the President contracted the coronavirus and along with over two dozen White House staffers and members of Congress, some of whom Pence had been in contact with recently. With the President’s illness, his poor debate performance, and his slipping poll numbers, both Pence and Harris now face even more pressure to perform well. This hour, we’ll discuss the debate highlights, how the candidates’ differed in policies and tone, and how it may sway the election. Our guests are Villanova political science professor CAMILLE BURGE and Washington correspondent for Business Insider TOM LOBIANCO, who is also the author of Piety & Power: Mike Pence and the Taking of the White House. But first we get an update on the President’s health, the outbreak at the White House, and the fallout from NPR White House correspondent TAMARA KEITH.

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal