Will be seated 12 feet apart.
The audience is enthusiastic
about their candidates, but they've
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.
Thank you.
Senator Harris and Vice President
Pence, thank you for being here.
We're meeting as President Trump and
the first lady continue to undergo
treatment in Washington after
testing positive for
covid-19. We send
our thoughts and prayers to them for
their rapid and complete recovery
and for the recovery of everyone
afflicted by the
coronavirus.
The two campaigns and the Commission
on Presidential Debates have agreed
to the ground rules for tonight.
I'm 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 are raise or what
questions I'll ask.
This 90 minute debate will be
divided into nine segments of about
ten minutes each. I'll 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'll take six
minutes or so to discuss the
issue. At that point, although
there will always be more to
say, we'll 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.
Let's 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 thirty nine 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 wouldn't
do? Would you impose new lockdowns
for businesses and schools 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 presidential
administration in the history of our
country.
And here are the facts.
Two hundred and ten thousand dead
people in our country in just the
last several months.
Over seven million people who have
contracted this disease.
One in five businesses
closed.
We're 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's the thing.
On January 28th, the
vice president and the president
were informed about
the nature of this pandemic.
They were informed that it's 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 didn't 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, you're on
one side of his ledger, if you wear
a mask, you're on the other side of
his ledger. If you don't
and in spite of all of that
today, they still don't have a
plan.
They still don't 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 a hold 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 has forfeited, thank
you, senator, their right to reelection
based on this.
Thank you, Senator Harris.
Vice President Pence, more than two
hundred and ten thousand Americans
have died of covid-19 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 two
and a half times that of Canada next
door, you head the administration's
coronavirus task force.
Why is the US 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, it's 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 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.
Now, Senator, Joe
Biden, Biden opposed that
decision. He said it was xenophobic
and hysterical.But
I can tell you, having led the White
House coronavirus task force at that
decision alone by President Trump
bought us invaluable time to stand
up the greatest national
mobilization since World War
Two.
And I believe it saved hundreds of
thousands of American lives.
Because with that time, we were able
to reinvent testing.
More than 115 million tests
have been done to date.
We were able to see to the delivery
of billions of
supplies. So our doctors and nurses
had the resources support they
needed. And we began really
before the month of February, was
asked to develop a vaccine and
to develop medicines and
therapeutics had been saving lives
all along the way.
And under President Trump's
leadership, Operation Warp Speed, we
believe we'll have literally
tens of millions of doses of a
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 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.
And I think the American people know
that this is a president who has put
the health of America first.
And the American people, I believe,
with my heart, can be proud
of the sacrifices they have
made. It saved countless American
lives.
Senator Harris, would you like to
respond?
Absolutely. Whatever the vice
president is claiming the
administration has done, clearly it
hasn't worked.
When you're looking
at over two hundred and ten thousand dead bodies in our country. American
lives. That have been lost. Families that are grieving that loss. And the
vice president of the task force.
And knew on January 28th 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, well, why didn't you
tell anybody?
He said, because the president
wanted people to remain
calm.
Well, let's give.
But, Suzanne, this is important.
And I want to add, Mr. Vice
President, I'm speaking.
I'm speaking. You.
Have 15 more seconds and then we'll
give the vice president a chance.
So I want to ask the American
people, how calm were you when you
were panicked about where you're
going to get your next roll of
toilet paper, how calm are
you when your kids were sent home
from school and you didn't know when
they could go back?
How can you think when
your children couldn't see your
parents because you were afraid they
could kill them?
Let's give Vice President Pence a
chance to respond. Vice President,
you have one minute to respond.
There's not a day goes by that I
haven't thought of every American
family that's lost a loved one.
And I want all of you to know that
you'll always be in our hearts
and in our prayers.
But when you say what the American
people have done over these last
eight months, hasn't worked,
that's a great disservice
to the sacrifices the American
people have made.
I'm afraid - the reality.
If I may 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 spoke
with confidence that we'd get
through this together.
But when you say it hasn't worked,
when Dr. Fauci and Dr. Bergson
and our medical experts came to us
in the second week of March, they
said if the president didn't take
the unprecedented step of
shutting down roughly half of the
American economy, that we could
lose two point two million
Americans. And that's the reality.
Thank you. He also said, if we did
everything right, Susan, we could
still lose more than two hundred
thousand Americans.
Vice President. for 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 their neighbors
first, our doctors or nurses our
first responders.
Thank you, Vice President Pence.
And I'm going to speak up on behalf
of what the American people have
done.
Vice President, since you were in
the front row in a Rose Garden
event, 11 days ago, what seems to
have been a super spreader event for
senior administration and
congressional officials, no social
distancing, few masks, and now
a cluster of coronavirus cases among
those who were there.
How can you expect Americans
to follow the administration's
safety guidelines to protect
themselves from covid when
you were at the White House have not
been doing so?
Well, the American people have
demonstrated over the last
eight months that
when given the facts.
They're willing to put the health of
their families and their neighbors
and people they don't even know
first. And President Trump
and I have great confidence in the
American people and
in 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 two
thousand five hundred 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,
Americans step forward.
But the reality is the work of
the president of the United States
goes on.
The 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 very much.
If I may say that Rose Garden
event, there's 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 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. Joe Biden and Kamala
Harris consistently talk
about mandates and not not
just mandates with the coronavirus,
but a government takeover of
health. Thank you. Thank you.
Green New Deal, all government
control. We're about freedom and
respecting the freedom of the
American people.
Let's talk about respecting the
American people.
You respect the American when you
tell them the truth, you respect
the American people when you have
the courage to be a
leader. 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, knowing you didn't have
enough money saved up and now you're
standing in a food line
because of the ineptitude
of an administration that was
unwilling to speak the truth to
the American people.
So let's 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 people, it
asking too much of the people.
They would not be equipped with the
information they need to
help themselves to protect their
parents and their children.
I'm sorry that Kamala Harris,
Senator Harris, I mean, I'm sorry.
That's fine, I'm Kamala.
You'ree Senator Harris, to me 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. But half of Americans
now say they wouldn't take a 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?
If the public health
professionals, if Dr. Fauci, if
the doctors tell us that we
should take it, I'll be the first in
line to take it.
Absolutely. But if Donald Trump
tells us that we should take it, I'm
not taking it.
Vice President Pence, there have
been a lot of repercussions from
this pandemic.
In recent days, the president's
diagnosis of covid-19 has
underscored the importance
of the job that you hold and
that you are seeking.
That's our second topic tonight.
It's the role of the vice president.
One of you will make history on
January 20th.
You will be the vice president to
the oldest president of 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 Trump's 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
presidential disability?
And if not, do you think
you should? You have two minutes
without interruption.
Well, Susan, thank you.
Although I would like to go back.
I think we need to move on,
but.
I would like to go back
because the reality is
that we're going to have a vaccine,
Senator, in record time, in unheard
of time, in less than a year.
We have five companies in
phase three clinical trials
and we're right now producing tens
of millions of doses.
So the fact
that you continue to undermine
public confidence in a vaccine
if the vaccine emerges during the
Trump administration, I think is
is unconscionable.
And, Senator, I just ask you,
stop playing politics with people's
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.
And let me also say,
you know, the reality is when you
talk about about failure in this
administration, we actually do know
what failure looks like in a
pandemic. It was 2009.
The swine
flu 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 seven
and a half million people contracted
the swine flu, sixty
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 two
million American lives.
His own chief of staff, Ron
Klain, would say last year
that it was pure luck, that
they did, quote, 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 learned from it.
And I think-
Vide President Pence, I'm sorry.
Your time is up.
What we have done.
And Senator, please
stop undermining confidence in a
vaccine.
Senator Harris, let me ask you the
same question that I asked Vice
President Pence, which is, have
you had a conversation or reached
an agreement with Vice President
Biden about safeguards
or procedures when it comes
to the issue of presidential
disability? And if not, and if you
win the election next month, do
you think you should?
You have two minutes uninterrupted.
So let me tell you, first of all,
the day I got the call from from
Joe Biden, it was actually a Zoom
call asking
me to serve with him on this ticket,
was probably one of the most
memorable, memorable days of my
life. I you know.
I thought about my mother
who came to the United States
at the age of 19
and gave birth to me at the age of
twenty five at Kaiser
Hospital in Oakland, California.
And the thought that I'd be sitting
here right now, I know
would make her proud.
And she must be looking down on us.
You know, Joe and I were raised
in a very similar way.
We were raised with values that are
about hard work,
about the value
and the dignity of public service,
and about the importance of fighting
for the dignity of all people.
And I think Joe asked me to serve
with him because, you
know, I have a career that included
being elected the first woman
district attorney of San
Francisco, where I created models of
innovation for law enforcement
in terms of reform of the criminal
justice system. I was elected
the first woman
of color and black woman to be
elected attorney general of the
state of California, where I ran the
second largest Department of Justice
in the United States, second only to
the United States Department of
Justice. And there I took on
everything from transnational
criminal organizations to the big
banks that were taking advantage of
homeowners to for profit
colleges, that were taking advantage
of veterans.
And then, of course, now I serve in
the United States Senate as only the
second black woman ever elected to
the United States Senate.
I serve on the Senate Intelligence
Committee, where I've been in
regular receipt of classified
information about threats to our
nation and hot spots around the
world. I have traveled the world.
I have met with our soldiers
in our in war
zones. And I think Joe has asked
me to serve with him because he
knows that we share,
we share a purpose which is about
lifting up the American people.
And after the four years that we
have seen of Donald Trump unifying
our country around our common values
and principles.
Thank you, Senator Harris.
Neither president nor Vice President
Biden has released the sort of
detailed health information
that had become the modern norm
until the 2016 election.
And in recent days, President
Trump's doctors have given
misleading answers or refused to
answer basic questions about his
health. And my question to each of
you in turn is, is this
information voters
deserve to know?
Vice President Pence, would you like
to go first?
Well, Susan, thank you.
And let me
let me say, on behalf
of the president and the first
lady, how moved we've all been
by the outpouring of prayers
and concern for
the president.
And I do believe it's emblematic of
the prayers and the concern that
have ushered forth for every
American impacted by
the coronavirus.
But the care the president received
at Walter Reed Hospital,
the White House doctors, was
exceptional. And the transparency
that they practiced all along the
way will continue because
the American people have a right to
know about the health and well-being
of their president and we'll
continue to do that.
But I'm just extremely grateful and
was more than more
than a little moved by
the broad and bipartisan
support. And Senator, I want to
thank you and Joe Biden for your
expressions of genuine concern.
And I also want to congratulate you,
as I did on that phone call,
on the historic nature of your
nomination.
I never expected to be on this
stage four years ago.
So I know the feeling.
But the reality
is we've got an
election before the American
people in the midst of this
challenging year.
And the stakes have never been
higher. I think the choice has never
been clearer.
I want to give Senator Harris a
chance to respond to the same
question I asked, which is, do
voters have a right to know
more detailed health information
about presidential candidates and
especially about presidents,
especially when they're facing some
kind of challenge?
Absolutely. And that's why Joe Biden
has been so incredibly
transparent. And certainly, by
contrast, the president has not
both in terms of health records, but
also let's look at taxes.
We now know because of great
investigative journalism that
Donald Trump paid seven hundred and
fifty dollars in
taxes. When I first heard about it,
I literally said, you mean seven
hundred and fifty thousand
dollars? And it was like, no, seven
hundred and fifty dollars.
We now know Donald Trump owes and
is in debt for 400
million dollars.
And just so everyone is clear, when
we say in debt, it means you owe
money to somebody.
And it'd be really good to know who
the president of the United States,
the commander-in-chief, owes
money to. Because the American
people have a right to know
what is influencing the
president's decisions, and is
he making those decisions on the
best interest of the American
people, of you, or
self-interest? So, Susan, I'm glad
you asked about transparency because
it has to be across the board.
Joe has been incredibly transparent
over many, many
years. The one thing we all know
about Joe, he puts it all
out there. He he is
honest. He is forthright.
But Donald Trump, on the other hand,
has been covering up everything.
Thank you, Senator Harris. I want to give you a chance to respond, vice
president.
Well, look, I respect the fact that Joe Biden spent 47 years in public
life. I respect your public service as well.
Thank you.
But the American people have a president who was businessman, who's
a job creator, who's
paid tens of millions
of dollars in taxes, payroll
taxes, property taxes.
He's created tens of thousands
of American jobs.
And the president said those public
reports are not
accurate. And and the president also
released literally stacks of
financial disclosures the American
people can review just
as the law allows.
But the distinction here
is that Joe Biden, 47
years in public service compared
to President Donald Trump, who
brought all of that experience four
years ago.
Thank you, vice president.
And turned this economy around by
cutting taxes, rolling back
regulation.
Thank you. Thank you, Vice President Pence.
American energy, fighting for free
and fair trade and all of
that's online if Joe Biden and
Kamala Harris.
You know, that's a great segue into
our third topic, which is
about the economy.
This has been another aspect of
life for Americans that's been so
affected by this
coronavirus. We have a jobs crisis
brewing. On Friday, we learned that
the unemployment rate had declined
to seven point nine percent in
September, but that job growth had
stalled and that was before the
latest round of layoffs and
furloughs in the airline
industry, at Disney and elsewhere.
Hundreds of thousands of discouraged
workers have stopped looking for
work. Nearly 11 million
jobs that existed at the beginning
of the year haven't been replaced.
Those hardest hit include
Latinos, blacks and women.
Senator Harris, the Biden Harris
campaign has proposed new programs
to boost the economy.
And you would pay for that
new spending by raising four
trillion dollars in taxes on welathy individuals and corporations. Some
economists warn that could curb entrepreneurial ventures that fuel growth
and create jobs. Would raising taxes put the recovery at
risk? And you have two minutes to
answer uninterrupted.
Thank you.
On the issue of the economy, I think
there couldn't be a more fundamental
difference between Donald Trump
and Joe Biden.
Joe Biden believes you measure the
health and the strength of America's
economy based on the health
and the strength of the American
worker and the American
family.
On the other hand, you have Donald
Trump, who measures the strength of
the economy based on how rich
people are doing, which is why
he passed a tax bill benefiting
the top one percent and the biggest
corporations of America,
leading to a two
trillion dollar deficit that the
American people are going to have to
pay for.
On day one, joe Biden
will repeal that tax bill.
He'll get rid of it.
And what he'll do with the money is
invest it in the American
people. And through a plan that
is about investing in
infrastructure, something that Donald
Trump said he would do.
I remember hearing about some
infrastructure week.
I don't think it ever happened.
But Joe Biden will do that.
He'll invest in infrastructure.
It's about upgrading our roads and
bridges, but also investing in clean
energy and renewable energy.
Joe is going to invest that money
in what we need to do around
innovation. There was a time when
our country believed in science
and invested in research and
development so that we were
an innovation leader on
the globe.
Joe Biden will use that money to
invest in education.
So, for example, for folks who want
to go to a two year community
college, it will be free.
If you come from a family that makes
less than one hundred and twenty
five thousand dollars, you'll go to
a public university for
free. And across the board
we'll make sure that if you have
student loan debt, it's cut by ten
thousand dollars.
That's how Joe Biden thinks about
the economy, which is it's about
investing in the people of our
country as opposed to passing a tax
bill which had the benefit
of letting American corporations
go offshore to do their
business.
Thank you, Senator Harris.
Vice President Pence, your
administration has been predicting a
rapid and robust
recovery, but the latest economic
report suggests that's not
happening. Should Americans be
braced for an economic comeback
that is going to take not months,
but a year or more?
You have two minutes to answer
uninterrupted.
When President Trump and I took
office, America had gone through the
slowest economic recovery since the
Great Depression.
So when Joe Biden was vice
president, they tried to tax and
spend and regulate and bail our
way back to a growing economy.
President Trump cut taxes across
the board. Despite what
Senator Harris says, the average
American family of four had two
thousand dollars in savings in
taxes. And with
the rise in wages that occurred,
most predominantly for blue
collar, hard working Americans, the
average household income for a
family of four increased by four
thousand dollars following President
Trump's tax cuts.
But America, you just heard Senator
Harris tell you.
On day one, Joe
Biden is going to raise your taxes.
It's really remarkable to think.
That's not what I said.
I mean, right after a time where we're going through a pandemic that lost
22 million jobs at the height, we've already added back 11.6 million
jobs, because we had a president who cut taxes, rolled back regulation
and unleashed
American energy, fought for free and
fair trade, and secured four
trillion dollars from the Congress
of the United States to give direct
payments to families, save 50
million jobs through the paycheck
protection program.
We literally have spared no expense
to help the American people and the
American worker through this.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris want
to raise taxes.
They want to bury our economy under
a two trillion dollar Green New
Deal, which you were one of the
original co-sponsors of in the
United States Senate.
And they want to abolish fossil
fuels and ban
fracking, which would cost hundreds
of thousands of American
jobs all across the heartland.
And Joe Biden wants to go back to
the economic surrender of China
that when we took office, half
of our international trade deficit
was with China alone.
And Joe Biden wants to repeal all of
the tariffs that President Trump put
into effect to fight for American
jobs and American workers.
Joe Biden says democracy is on the
ballot. Make no mistake about it,
Susan.
The American economy, the American
comeback is on the ballot
with four more years of growth.
Thank you.
And opportunity and four more years
of President Donald Trump.
Twenty twenty one is going to be the biggest eonomic year in the history
of this country.
Thank you, Vice President Pence. Senator Harris?
Well, I mean, I thought we saw enough of it in last week's debate. But I
think this is supposed to be a debate based on fact and truth. And the
truth and the fact is Joe Biden has been very clear he will not raise
taxes on anybody who makes less than 400 thousand dollars a year.
He siad he's going to repeal the Trump tax cuts.
Mr. Vice President, I'm speaking. I'm speaking.
The importance is that you say the truth. Joe Biden has said twice
in the debate last week that he's
going to repeal the Trump tax
cuts. That was tax cuts that
gave the average working family
two thousand dollars in a tax
break every single year, senator.
That's a laugh.
That is absolutely not
true.
Is he only cutting is he only going
to repeal part of the Trump tax
cuts?
If you don't mind letting me finish.
We can then have a conversation.
OK?
Please.
OK, Joe
Biden will not raise taxes on anyone
who makes less than 400000 pounds a
year. He has been very clear about
that. Joe Biden will not.
And fracking, he has been very clear
about that.
Joe Biden is
the one who during the
the Great Recession was responsible
for the Recovery Act that brought
America back.
And now the Trump administration
wants to take credit
when they ran when they rode the
coattails of Joe Biden's
success for to economy that they had
at the beginning of their term. Of course, now the economy is a complete
disaster. But Joe Biden on the one hand did that. On the other hand you
have Donald Trump, who has reigned over a recession that
being compared to the Great
Depression. On the one hand, you
have Joe Biden, who was
responsible with President Barack
Obama for the Affordable Care
Act, which brought health care to
over 20 million Americans
and protected people with
preexisting conditions.
And what it also did is it
saved those families who otherwise
were going bankrupt because of
hospital bills they could not
afford. On the other hand, you have
Donald Trump, who's in court right
now, trying to get rid of thank you
for trying to get rid of the
Affordable Care Act, which means
that you will lose protections
if you have preexisting conditions.
And I just this is very important,
Suzanne.
Yes. And it's about we need to we
need to get vice president, just
like -
He interrupted me and I'd like to
just finish. Please.
If
you have a preexisting condition,
heart disease, diabetes, breast
cancer, they're coming for you.
If you love someone who has a
preexisting condition.
Thank you. Thank something for you.
If you are under the age of 26
on your parents coverage, they're
coming for you.
Senator Harris, thank you.
Let me give you a chance to respond.
Well, I hope we have a chance to talk
about health care because Obamacare
was a disaster for the American
people. Remember it well.
President Trump and I have a plan
to to improve health care and
protect preexisting conditions for
every American.
But look at Senator Harris.
You're you're entitled to your own
opinion, but you're not entitled to
your own facts.
You, yourself said on multiple
occasions when you were running for
president that you would ban
fracking.
Joe Biden looked at a supporter in
the eye and pointed and
said, I guarantee I guarantee
that we will abolish fossil
fuels. They have a two trillion
dollar version of the Green New
Deal, Susan, that your newspaper,
USA Today, said really wasn't
that very different from the
original Green New Deal.
More taxes, more regulation
banning fracking, abolishing
fossil fuel, crushing American
energy and economic surrender to
China is a prescription
for economic decline.
President Trump and I will keep
America growing.
The V shape recovery that's underway
right now will continue with
four more years of President Donald
Trump.
Thank you very, very much, Vice
President Pence. Once again, you've
provided the perfect segue way to a
new topic, which is climate change.
And Vice President Pence, I'd like to pose the first question to you.
This year we've seen record setting hurricanes in the South. Another one,
hurricane Delta is threatening the Gulf, and we have seen record setting
wildfires in the West. Do you believe, as the scientific community has
concluded, that man made climate change has made wildfires bigger, hotter
and more deadly. And it has made hurricanes wetter, slower and more
damaging. You have two minutes uninterrupted.
Thank you Susan. Well first, I'm very proud of our record on the
environment and on conservation. According to all of the best estimates,
our Air and land are cleaner than any
time ever recorded, and our
waters, among the cleanest in the
world. And just a little while
ago, the president signed the
Outdoors Act. It's the largest
investment in our public lands and
public parks in 100
years. So President Trump has
made a commitment to conservation
and to the environment.
Now, with regard to climate change,
the climate is changing,
but the issue is
what's the cause and what do we do
about it?
President Trump has made it clear
that we're going to continue to
listen to the science.
Now, Joe Biden and Kamala
Harris would put us back in the
Paris Climate Accord.
They'd impose the Green New
Deal, which would crush American
energy, would increase the energy
costs of American families
in their homes and literally
would crush American jobs.
And President Trump and I believe
that the progress that we have
made in a cleaner environment
has been happening precisely because
we have a strong free market
economy. You know, what's remarkable
is the United States has reduced
CO2 more
than the countries that are still in
the Paris Climate Accord,
but we've done it through innovation. And we've done it through natural
gas. And fracking. Which, Senator, the American people can go look at the
record, and I know Joe Biden says otherwise now, as you do.
But the both of you repeatedly
committed to abolishing fossil
fuel and banning
fracking. And so by creating the
kind of American innovation,
we're actually steering toward a
stronger and better environment.
With regard to wildfire.
President Trump and I believe the
forest management has to be front
and center. And even Governor Gavin
Newsom from your state has agreed
we've got to work on forest
management. And with regard to
hurricanes, the National Oceanic
Administration tells us that
actually is as difficult as they
are. There are no more hurricanes
today than there were a hundred
years ago.
Thank you.
But many of the climate alarmists
and hurricanes and
wildfires to try and sell the
green new deal.
And President Trump and I are going
to always put American jobs,
American workers first.
Senator Harris, as the vice
president mentioned, you co-sponsored
the green new deal in Congress,
but Vice President Biden said in
last week's debate that he does not
support the Green New Deal.
But if you look at the Biden Harris
campaign website, it describes the
Green New Deal as a crucial
framework. What exactly would be
the stance of a Biden Harris
administration toward the
Green New Deal?
You have two minutes
uninterrupted.
So first of all, I will
repeat and the American people
know that Joe Biden
will not ban fracking, that
is a fact.
That is a fact.
I will repeat
that Joe Biden has been very
clear that he thinks
about growing jobs, which
is why he will not increase taxes
for anyone who makes less than
$400,000 a
year.
Joe Biden's economic plan,
Moody's, which is a reputable Wall
Street firm, has said will create
7 million more jobs than
Donald Trump's.
And part of those jobs that will be
created by Joe Biden are
going to be about clean energy
and renewable energy.
Because, you see, Joe understands
that the west coast of our
country is burning, including
my home state of California.
Joe sees what is happening
on the Gulf states, which are being
battered by storms.
Joe has seen and talked with
the farmers in Iowa, whose
entire crops have been destroyed
because of floods.
And so Joe believes again in
science. I'll tell you something,
Susan. I served when I first got to
the Senate on the committee that's
responsible for the environment.
Do you know this administration
took the word science off
the website and
then took the phrase climate change
off the website?
We have seen a pattern with this
administration, which is they don't believe
in science.
And Joe's plan is about saying
we're going to deal with it, but
we're also going to create jobs.
Donald Trump, when asked about the
wildfires in California and
the question was, you know, the
science is telling us this.
You know what Donald Trump said?
Science doesn't know.
So let's talk about who is prepared
to lead our country over
the course of the next 4 years on
what is an existential threat
to us as human beings.
Joe is about saying we're going to
invest that in renewable energy,
which is going to be about the creation
of millions of jobs.
We will achieve net zero emissions
by 2050, carbon neutral
by 2035.
Joe has a plan.
This has been a lot of talk from the
Trump administration and really it
has been to go backward instead of
forward. We will also reenter the
Climate Agreement with pride.
Senator Harris just said that climate change is an existential threat.
Vice President Pence, do you believe that climate change poses an
existential threat?
As
I said, Susan, the climate is
changing. We'll follow the science.
But once
again, Senator Harris
is denying the fact that they're
going to raise taxes on every
American.
Joe Biden said twice in the debate
last week that on day one
he was going to repeal the Trump tax
cuts. Those tax cuts delivered
2000 dollars in tax relief
to the average family of four across
America. And with regard to banning
fracking, I just recommend that
people look at the record.
You yourself said repeatedly that
you would ban fracking.
You were the first Senate co-sponsor
of the Green New Deal.
And while Joe Biden denied the Green
New Deal, Susan, thank you for
pointing out the Green New Deal is
on their campaign website.
And as USA Today said, it's
essentially the same plan as
you co-sponsored with AOC
when she submitted it in the Senate.
And you just heard the senator say
that
she's going to resubmit America to the Paris Climate Accord. Look, the
American people have always cherished our environment. We'll continue to
cherish it. We've made great progress reducing CO2 emissions through
American innovation and the development of natural gas through fracking.
We don't need a massive 2 trillion dollar Green New Deal that would
impose all new mandates on American businesses and American families.
Thank you.
Joe Biden wants us to retrofit four
million business
buildings. It makes no sense.
It will cost jobs.
President Trump, thank you to
America. First, he's going to put
jobs first and we're going to take
care of our environment and follow
the science.
On the issue of jobs.
Senator, let's talk about that.
You, the vice president, earlier
referred to it as part of
what he thinks is an accomplishment,
that the president's trade war
with China.
You lost that trade war.
You lost it.
What ended up happening
is because of a so-called trade
war with China, America
lost three hundred thousand
manufacturing jobs.
Farmers have experienced
bankruptcy because of
it. We are in a manufacturing
recession because of
it. And when we look
at where this administration has
been, there are estimates that by
the end of the term of this
administration, they will have lost
more jobs than almost any
other presidential
administration. And the American
people know what I'm talking about.
You know, I think
about 20 year olds.
You know, we have a 20 year old,
20 something year old, who are
coming out of high school and
college right now.
And you're wondering, is there going
to be a job there for me?
We're looking at people who are
trying to figure how they're
going to pay rent by the end of the
month. Almost half of American
renters are worried about
whether they're going to be able to
pay rent by the end of the
month. This is where the economy is
in America right now.
And it is because of the catastrophe and the failure of leadership of
this administration.
Thank you, Senator Harris. Vice President Pence, let me give just 15
seconds to respond, because then I want to move on.
Well I'd love to respond, look,
lost the trade
war with China?
Joe Biden never fought it.
Joe Biden has been a cheerleader for
communist China through over the
last several decades.
And again, the
senator, you're entitled to your
opinion. You're not entitled to your
own facts.
When Joe Biden was vice president,
we lost 200,000 manufacturing
jobs and President Obama said
they were never coming back.
He said we needed a magic wand to
bring them back in our first three
years after we cut taxes
back, regulation unleashed American
energy. This administration saw
500,000 manufacturing
jobs created.
And that's exactly the kind of
growth we're going to continue to
see as we bring our nation through,
thank you for, this pandemic.
A green new deal,
mandate for Paris climate accord.
It's going to kill jobs this time,
just like it killed jobs.
I just want to respond very
qucickly, 15 seconds and I can't
move. Thank you.
Joe Biden is responsible
for saving America's auto
industry, and you voted against it.
So let's set the record straight.
Thank you.
I'd like to talk about China.
We have as our next
topic, we have no more complicated
or consequential foreign
relationship than the one with
China. It is a huge market
for American agricultural goods.
It's a potential partner in
dealing with climate change and
North Korea.
And in a video tonight, President
Trump again blamed it for the
coronavirus, saying China will pay.
Vice President Pence, how would you
describe our our fundamental
relationship with China?
Competitors, adversaries,
enemies? You have two minutes.
Thank you Susan. Before I leave that let me speak to voting records if I
can. Everybody knows that NAFTA caused literally thousands of American
factories to close. We saw automotive jobs go south of the border.
President Trump fought to renegotiate NAFTA and the United
States/Mexico/Canada agreement is now the law of the land. The American
people deserve to know, Senator
Kamala Harris was one of only ten
members of the Senate to vote
against the US MCA. It was a huge win for American autoworkers. It was a
huge win for American farmers, especially dairy in the upper midwest. But
Senator you said it didn't go far enough on climate change. That you put
your radical environmental agenda ahead of American autoworkers and ahead
of American jobs. The American people deserve to know that. It's probably
why Newweek Magazine said Harris was
the most liberal member of the
United States Senate in 2019.
More liberal than Bernie Sanders,
more more liberal than any of the
others in the United States Senate.
So now, with regard to
China,
Susan, first and foremost,
China is to blame for the
coronavirus
and President Trump is not happy
about it. He's made that very clear,
made it clear again today.
China and the World Health
Organization did not play straight
with the American people.
They did not let our personnel
into China to get information
on the coronavirus until the middle
of February.
Fortunately, President Trump, in
dealing with China from the outset
of this administration, standing up
to China that had been taking
advantage of America for decades
in the wake of Joe Biden's
cheerleading for China, President
Trump made that decision before the
end of January to suspend all travel
from China.
And again, the American people
deserve to know Joe Biden opposed
President Trump's decision to
suspend all travel from
China. He said it was hysterical, he
said it was xenophobic.
And we're going to continue to stand
strong.
We want to improve the relationship.
We're going to level the playing
field. We're going to hold China
accountable for what they did to
America with the coronavirus.
Thank you, Senator Harris, let me
ask you the same question
that I asked the vice president.
How would you describe our
fundamental relationship to
China? Are we competitors,
adversaries, enemies?
You'll have two minutes
uninterrupted.
Susan, the Trump
administration's
perspective and approach to China
has resulted in the loss of American
lives, American jobs
and America's standing.
There's a weird obsession
that President Trump has had
with getting rid of whatever
accomplishment was
achieved by President Obama
and Vice President Biden.
For example,
they created within the White House
an office that basically
was responsible for monitoring
pandemics.
They got away. They got rid of it.
There was a team
of disease experts
that President Obama
and Vice President Biden dispatched
to China to monitor
what is now predictable
and what might happen. They pulled
them out.
We now are looking at
210,000
Americans who have lost their
lives.
Let's look at the job situation
we mentioned before, the trade
deal, the trade war
they wanted to call it with China. It resulted in the loss of over 300
manufacturing jobs and a manufacturing recession, and the American
consumer paid thousands of dollars more for goods because of that failed
war, they called it. Then lets talk about standing. Pew, a reputable
research firm, has done an analysis that shows that leaders of all our
formerly allied countries
decided that they hold in greater
esteem and respect
XiXi JinPing, the head of the
Chinese Communist Party, than
they do Donald Trump, the president
of the United States, the commander
in chief of the United States.
This is where we are today
because of a failure of
leadership by this
administration.
Senator Harris, we've seen changes
in the in the role of the United
States in terms of global leadership
over the past four years.
And, of course, times do change.
What's your definition?
We've seen strains with China, of
course, as the Vice President mentioned. We've seen strains with our
traditional allies in NATO and elsewhere.
What is your definition of the role of American leadership in 2020?
I love talking with Joe about a lot
of these issues.
And, you know, Joe, I think he said
it quite well. He says, you know,
foreign policy might sound
complicated, but really, it's relationships.
Just think about it as
relationships. And so we know
in our personal and professional relationships, you've got to keep your
word to your friends. You've got to be loyal to your friends. People who
have stood with you, you've got to stand with them. You've got to know
who your adversaries are, and keep them in check. But what we have seen
with Donald Trump is that he has betrayed our friends and embraced
dictators around the world. Lets take for example Russia
I serve on the Intelligence
Committee of the United States
Senate.
America's intelligence community
told us Russia
interfered in the election of the
president of the United States in
2016 and his plan in twenty
twenty. Christopher Wray, the
director of the FBI, said
the same.
But Donald Trump, the commander in
chief of the United States of
America, prefers to take the word of
Vladimir Putin over the word of
the American intelligence community.
You look at our friends at
NATO, he has walked away
from agreements.
You can look at the Iran nuclear
deal, which now has put us in a
position where
we are less safe because they are
building up what might
end up being a significant nuclear
arsenal. We were in that
deal, guys. We were in the Iran
nuclear deal with friends, with
allies around
the country. And because of Donald Trump's unilateral approach to foreign
policy, coupled with his isolationism, he has pulled us out and made
America less safe. So Susan, it's about relationships. And the thing that
has always been part of the strength
of our nation, in addition to our
great military, has been that we
keep our word.
But Donald Trump doesn't understand
that because he doesn't understand
what it means, to be honest.
Thank you.
Susan.
Thank you. Thank you, Senator Harris. Vice President Pence, I'm going to
give you a chance to respond.
Well, thank you. Well, President Trump kept his word when we moved the
American embassy to Jersusalem, the capital of the State of Israel. When
Joe Biden was vice president, they promised to do that and they never
did.
We stood strong with our
allies, but we've been demanding.
NATO is now contributing more to our
common defense than ever
before, thanks to President Trump's
leadership. We've strengthened our
alliances across
the Asia Pacific. And we've stood strong against those who would do us
harm. You know when President Trump came into office, ISIS had captured
an area of the Middle East the size of
Pennsylvania. But President Trump
unleashed the American military
and our armed forces destroyed the
ISIS caliphate and took down
their leader, al-Baghdadi, without
one American casualty.
Al Baghdadi
Today, two of the ISIS
killers responsible for
Kayla Mueller's murder
were brought to justice in the
United States.
Jihadi John was killed in the
battlefield, along with the other
brutal reality
is that when Joe Biden
was vice president, we had an
opportunity to save
Kayla Mueller.
Breaks my heart to reflect on about
the military, came into the Oval
Office, presented a plan.
They said they knew where Kayla
was. Baghdadi had held her for 18
months, abused her mercilessly
before they killed her.
But when Joe Biden was vice
president, they hesitated for a
month. And when armed forces finally
went in, it was clear she'd been
moved two days earlier.
And her family says
with a heart that broke the heart
of every American, that if
President Donald Trump had been
president, they believe Kayla would
be alive today.
Thank you. We destroyed
got us out of the vice president
Putin and when Qassem Soleimani
was traveling to Baghdad.
Thank you for you. Harm to
Americans, President Donald Trump.
Thank you, vice president.
And America is is
safer. Our allies are safer.
And the American people know
President Donald Trump will never.
Thank you, vice president, take
action.
And I would like to give Senator
Harris a chance to respond, but not
at such great length, because, of
course, there are other topics we
want to talk about.
I would like equal time.
Yes.
Thank you.
Please go ahead.
First of
all, to the Mueller family.
I know about your daughter's case
and I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry.
What happened to her is
awful.
And it should have never happened.
And I know Joe feels the same way,
and I know that President Obama
feels the same way.
But you mentioned Soleimani.
Let's let's start there.
So after the strike on
Soleimani, there was a counter
strike on our troops
in Iraq.
And they
suffered serious brain
injuries. And do you know what? Donald
Trump dismissed them as?
Headaches. And this is about a
pattern of Donald Trump's
where he has referred
to our men who are serving
in our military as suckers and
losers. Donald Trump,
who went to Arlington Cemetery
and stood above the graves
of our fallen heroes
and said,
what's in it for them?
Because, of course, you know, he
only thinks about what's in it for
him. Let's take what he said
about John McCain,
a great American hero and Donald Trump says he doesn't deserve to be
called a hero because he was a prsoner of war. And this is very important
when you want to talk about
who is the current commander in
chief and what they care about
and what they don't care about.
Public reporting that Russia
had bounties on the heads
of American soldiers.
And you know what a bounty is?
It's somebody puts a price
on your head and they will pay it
if you are killed.
And Donald Trump had
talked at least six times to
Vladimir Putin
and never brought up the subject.
Joe Biden would never do that.
Joe Biden, Joe Biden
would hold Russia to account
for any threat
to our nation's security or to our
troops who are
sacrificing their lives
for the sake of our democracy and
our safety.
Thank you, Senator Harris.
This is such an important issue, but
we have other important issues as
well. And I want to make sure we
have a chance to really talk about
that.
And look, she has 15
seconds because I gotta have more
than. Well I'm sorry Vice President Pence you've had more time than she's
had so far.
The slanders against President Donald Trump regarding men and women of
our armed forces are absurd.
I'm sorry Vice President.
My son is a captain in the United States Marines Corps, my son-in-law is
deployed in the United States Navy, I can assure all of you, the sons and
daughters serving in our miltiary, President Donald Trump not only
respects but reveres all of
those who serve in our armed forces.
And any suggestion otherwise is
ridiculous.
American people deserve answers.
American people decided to know vice
president. I did not
Susan. I did not read the notes for
tonight. Joe Biden.
Your campaigns agreed to
the rules for tonight's debate with
the commission president debates.
I'm here to enforce them, which
involves moving from one topic
to another, giving roughly equal
time to both of you, which is what
I'm trying very hard to.
Go right ahead.
So I want to go ahead and move to
the next topic, which is an
important one as the last topic
was, and that is the Supreme Court.
On Monday, the Senate Judiciary
Committee is scheduled to open
hearings on Amy Coney Barrett's
nomination to the Supreme Court.
Senator Harris, you'll be there as
a member of the committee.
Her confirmation would cement the
court's conservative majority
and make it more likely open to more
abortion restrictions, even to
overturning the landmark Roe v.
Wade ruling.
Access to abortion would then be
up to the states, VIce President Pence, you're the former governor of
Indiana, if Roe v. Wade is overturned, what would you want Indiana to do?
Would you want your home state to ban all abortions? You have two minutes
uninterrupted.
Well, thank you for the question,
but I'll use a little bit of my time
to respond to that very important
issue before.
The American people deserve to know,
Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian
general, was responsible for the
death of hundreds of American
service members.
When the opportunity came, we saw
him headed to Baghdad, kill more
Americans. President Trump didn't
hesitate and Qassem Soleimani
is gone.
But you deserve to know the Joe
Biden and Kamala Harris
actually criticized the decision to
take out Salim Qassem
Soleimani. It's really
inexplicable. But with regard to Joe
Biden, it's it's explainable
because history records that Joe
Biden actually opposed the raid
against Osama bin Laden.
It's absolutely essential
that we have a commander in chief
who will not hesitate to act to
protect American lives and to
protect American service members.
And that's what you have in
President Donald Trump.
Now with regard to the Supreme Court
of the United States.
Let me say President Trump and I
could not be more enthusiastic
about the opportunity to see Judge
Amy Coney Barrett become Justice
Amy Coney Barrett.
And she's a britlliant woman, and she will bring a lifetime of experience
and a sizeable American family to the Supreme Court of the United States.
And our hope is that in the hearing next week, unlike Justice Kavanaugh
received
with treatment from you and others,
we hope she gets a fair
hearing. And we particularly hope
that we don't see the kind of
attacks on her Christian
faith that we saw
before.
The Democrat chairman of the
Judiciary Committee, before
when when Judge Barrett
was being confirmed for the Court
of Appeals, expressed concern
that the dogma of her faith
lived loudly in her.
Dick Durbin of Illinois said that it
was a concern.
Senator, I know one of our judicial
nominees you actually
attacked because they were a member
of the Catholic Knights of Columbus,
just because the Knights of Columbus
holds pro-life views.
Thank you. Thank you, vice
president. So that when the hearing
takes place, the thank you vice
president Judge Amy Coney Barrett
will be respected.
Thank you . respectfully voted
in confirming the Supreme Court of
the United.
Senator Harris, you're the senator
from and former attorney general of
California. So let me ask you a
parallel question to the one I posed
to the vice president.
If Roe v. Wade is overturned,
what would you want California
to do? Would you want your home
state to enact no restrictions
on access to abortion?
And you have 2 minutes uninterrupted.
Thank you, Susan. First of all, Joe Biden and I are both people of faith
and it's insulting to suggest that we would knock anyne for their
faith. And in fact, Joe, if
elected, will be only the second
practicing Catholic
as president of the United States.
On the issue of this of this
nomination, Joe and I are very clear, as are the majorit of the American
people, we are twenty seven days before the decision about who will be
the next president of the United States. And you know before when this
conversation has come up, it's been about election
year or election time.
We're literally in an
election.
Over four million people have
voted.
People are in the process of voting
right now.
And so Joe has been very clear,
as the American people are,
let the American people fill
that seat in the White House
and then we'll fill that seat on the
United States Supreme Court.
And to your point, Susan, to the
issues before us couldn't be more
serious. There's the issue of
choice. And I will always fight for
a woman's right to make a decision
about her own body.
It should be her decision and not
that of Donald Trump and and the
vice president, Michael Pence.
But let's also look at what else is
before the court.
It's the Affordable Care Act.
Like literally in
the midst of a public health
pandemic
when over two hundred and ten
thousand people have died and seven
million people probably
have what will be in the future
considered a preexisting condition
because you contracted the
virus. Donald Trump is in court
right now trying to get rid of the
Affordable Care Act.
And I said it before and it bears
repeating.
This means
that there will be no more
protections if they win
for people with preexisting
conditions. This means that
over 20 million people will lose
your coverage.
It means that if you're under the
age of 26, you can't stay
on your parents' coverage anymore.
And here's the thing.
The contrast couldn't be more clear.
They're trying to get rid of the
Affordable Care Act.
Joe Biden is saying, let's expand
coverage. Let's give you a choice of
a public option or private
coverage. Let's bring down premiums.
The Senate. Let's lower Medicare
eligibility to 60.
Thank you, Senator.
That's true leadership.
You know, you mentioned
earlier, Vice President
Pence, that the president was committed
to maintaining protections
for people with preexisting
conditions.
But you do have this court case that
you are supporting your
administration's supporting, that
would strike down the Affordable
Care Act. The president says,
President Trump says that he's going
to protect people with preexisting
conditions, but he has not explained
how he would do
that. And that was one of the
toughest nuts to crack when they
were passing the Affordable Care
Act. So tell us specifically, how
would your administration protect
Americans with preexisting
conditions to have access to
affordable insurance if the
Affordable Care Act is struck
down?
Well, thank you, Susan.
But let me just say, addressing
your very first question, I couldn't be more proud to serve as vice
president to a president who stands without apology for the sanctity of
human life. I'm pro life. I don't apologize for it. And this is another
one of those cases where there's such a
dramatic contrast.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris support
taxpayer funding of abortion all
the way up to the moment of birth,
late term abortion.
They want to increase funding to
Planned Parenthood of America.
For our part, I would never presume
how Judge Amy Coney Barrett would
rule on the Supreme Court
of the United States, but
we'll continue to stand strong for
the right to life.
When you speak about the Supreme
Court, though, I think the American
people really deserve an answer,
Senator Harris. Are
you and Joe Biden going to pack the
court if Judge Amy Coney
Barrett is confirmed?
I mean, there've been 29 vacancies
on the Supreme Court during
presidential election years from
George Washington to Barack Obama.
Presidents have nominated in all 29 cases. But your part is actually
openly advocating adding seats to the Supreme Court which has had nine
seats for 150 years if you don't get your way.
This is a classic case of if you
can't win by the rules, you're going
to change the rules.
Now, you've refused to answer the
question. Joe Biden has refused to
answer the question.
So I think the American people would
really like to know.
If Judge Amy Coney Barrett is
confirmed to the Supreme
Court of the United States, are you and Joe Biden, if somehow you win
this election, going to pack the Supreme Court to get your way?
I'm so glad we went through a little hisory lesson. Let's do that a
little more. In 1864.
I'd like you to answer the question.
Yes.
Mr. Vice president, I'm speaking,
I'm speaking. OK?
In 1864
one of the, I think, political
heroes, certainly of the president
and I assume if you also, Mr. Vice
President, Is Abraham Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln was up
for reelection and
it was 27 days before the
election and
a seat became open on the United
States Supreme Court.
Abraham Lincoln's party was in charge, not only of the White House, but
the Senate. But Honest Abe said, "It's not the right thing to do. The
American people deserve to make the decision about who will be the next
president of the United States, and then that person can select who will
serve for a lifetime on the highest court of our land." And so Joe and I
are very clear, the American people are voting right now,
and it should be their decision
about who will serve
on this most important body
for a lifetime.
Thank you, Senator Harris.
The people, Susan, are voting right
now. They'd like to know if you and
Joe Biden are going to pack the
Supreme Court if you don't
get your way in this nomination.
Let's talk about packing...
That once we get to the
nonanswer. Joe Biden gave an
answer. You know, good people
deserve a straight
powers,.
If you haven't figured it out yet, the straight answer is that they're
going to pack the Supreme Court, if they somehow win this election. Men
and women, I got to tell you, people across this country, if you cherish
our Supreme Court, if you cherish the separation of powers, you need to
reject the Biden Harris
ticket. Come November the 3rd
reelect, President Donald Trump and
we'll stand by that separation
powers and a nine seat Supreme
Court.
Let's talk about packing the court
then. Let's talk about.
I'm about to.
So.
The Trump Pence administration
has been, because I sit on the
Senate Judiciary Committee, Susan,
as you mentioned, and I've witnessed
the appointments for lifetime
appointments to the federal
courts, district courts, courts of
appeal.
People who are purely
ideological, people who have been
reviewed by by legal
professional organizations and found
to have been not competent,
are substandard,
and do you know that of the 50
people who
President Trump appointed
to the Court of Appeals for lifetime
appointments, not one is black.
This is what they've been doing.
You want to talk about packing a
court, let's have that discussion.
Alright, thank you Senator. Let's go on and talk about the issue of
racial justice.
I just want the record to reflect that she never answered the question,
but the American people, maybe inthe next debate, maybe Joe Biden will
answer the question, but I think the American people
know the answer.
Thank you, Vice President.
In March, Breeone=a Taylor, a 26
year old emergency room technician
in Louisville, was shot and killed
after police officers executing a
search warrant on a narcotics
investigation broke into her
apartment. The police said they
identified themselves.
Taylor's boyfriend said he didn't
hear them do that.
He used a gun registered to him to
fire a shot which wounded an
officer. The officers then fired
more than 20 rounds into
the apartment. The say they were acting in self defence. None of them
have been indicted in connection with her death. Senator Harris, in the
case of Breeona Taylor, was justice done? You have two minutes.
I don't believe so. I've talked with
Brianna's mother, Tamika Palmer,
and her family and
her family deserves justice.
She was a beautiful young woman.
She had as her life goal to become
a nurse and she wanted to become
an EMT to first learn
what's going on out on
the street so she could then
become a nurse and save lives.
And her life was taken
unjustifiably and tragically and
violently. And it brings me to, you know, the eight minutes and forty six
seconds that America witnessed, during which an American man was tortured
and killed under the knee of an armed, uniformed police officer. And
people around our country,
of every race,
of every age, of every
gender, perfect strangers to each
other marched
shoulder to shoulder, arm in
arm,
fighting for us to finally achieve that ideal of equal justice under law.
And.I was a part of those peaceful protests. And I believe strongly that,
first of all, we are never going to
condone violence, but we always
must fight
for the values that we hold
dear, including the fight to achieve
our ideals.
And that's why Joe Biden and I have
said, on this subject. And look, I'm a former career prosecutor, I know
what I'm talking about. Bad cops are bad for good cops. We need reform of
our policing in America and our criminal justice system. Which is why Joe
Biden and I, will immediately ban chokeholds and karate holds. George
Floydd would be alive today if we did that. We will require a national
registry for police officers who break the law. We will, onthe issue of
criminal justice reform, get rid of private prisons, and cash bail. And
we will decriminalise marijuana and we will expunge the records of those
who have been convicted of marijuana possession. This is a time for
leadership on a
tragic, tragic issue
of unarmed black people in America being killed.
Thank you, Senator Harris.
Vice President Pence, let me pose
the same question to you.
In the case of Breeona Taylor,
was justice done?
You have two minutes uninterrupted.
Well our heart breaks for the loss of innocent, any innocent American
life. And the family of Breeona Taylor has our sympathies. But I trust
our justice system. A grand jury that review the evidences. And it really
is remarkable that as a former prosecutor, that you would assume that an
empanneled grand jury, looking at the evidence, got it wrong. But you're
entitled to your opinion Senator. I think, look, with regards to George
Floyd, there's no excuse to what happened to George Floyd. But there's
also no excuse for the rioting
and looting that
followed.
I mean, it really is
astonishing. Flora Westbrook is with
us here tonight in Salt Lake City.
This few weeks ago, I stood at what
used to be a
her salon, was burned
to the ground by
rioters and looters.
And Flora is still trying
to put her life back, together.
And I must tell you this presumption that you hear consistently
from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, that America is systematically racist.
That as Joe Biden said that he
believes that law enforcement has
an implicit bias
against minorities.
That is a great insult
to the men and women who serve in
law enforcement. And I want everyone
to know who puts on the uniform of
law enforcement every day.
President Trump and I stand
with you.
And it is remarkable that
that when Senator Tim Scott tried
to pass a police reform
bill, brought together a group of
Republicans and Democrats.
Senator Harris, you got
up and walked out of the room
and then you filibustered Senator
Tim Scott's bill on the Senate
floor that would have provided new
accountability, new repeat
resources. But we don't have to choose
between supporting law enforcement,
improving public safety and
supporting our African-American
neighbors for all of our minorities
under President Trump's leadership,
we will always stand with law enforcement, and we'll do what we've done
from day one and improve the lives of African Americans. Record
employment, record investments in education and we'll fight for school
choice for all of our minorities.
I'd
like to respond.
Senator Harris.
I will not sit here and be lectured
by the vice president on what
it means to enforce the laws of our
country. I am the only one on this
stage who has personally
prosecuted everything
from child sexual assault to homicide. I'm the only one on this stage who
has prosecuted the big banks for taking advantage of Americas homeowners.
I'm the only one on
this stage who prosecuted for profit colleges for taking advantage of our
veterans. And the reality of this is that we are talking about an
election in twenty seven days, where last week, the President of the
United States took a debate stage in from of seventy million Americans,
and refused to condemn white supremacists.
Not true. Not true.
It wasn't like he didn't have a chance. He didn't do it. And then he
doubled down. And then he said, when
pressed he said "Stand back, stand by", and this is a part of a pattern
of Donald Trump's. He called Mexicans rapists
and criminals.
He instituted as his first
act a Muslim ban.
He, on the issue of
Charlottesville, where people were
peacefully protesting
the need for racial
justice, where a young woman was
killed. And on the other side, there
were neo-Nazis carrying tiki
torches, shouting racial
epithets, anti-Semitic
slurs, And Donald Trump, when asked
about it, said
there were fine people on both
sides. This is who we have as the
president of the United States.
And America, you deserve
better. Joe Biden will be a
president who brings our country
together.
Senator Harris.
And recognizes the beauty
in our diversity and the fact
that we are so much more in common
than what separates us.
Vice president. Let me give you a
minute to respond.
Thank you, Susan.
I appreciate that very much.
You know, I think this is one of the
things that makes people dislike
the media so much in this country,
Susan, that you selectively
edited, just like Senator Harris
did, comments
that President Trump and I and
others on our side of the aisle make
it. Senator Harris conveniently
omitted after that, after the
president made comments about people
on either side of the debate over
monuments, he condemned
the KKK, neo-Nazis
and white supremacists and has done
so
repeatedly. Your concern that he
doesn't condemn
neo-Nazis? President Trump has
Jewish grandchildren.
His daughter and son in law are
Jewish.
This is a president who who
respects and cherishes all
of the American people that you talk
about having personally prosecuted.
I'm glad you brought up your record,
Senator. Thank you. But that's I
really need to make this point.
When you were when you were D.A.
in San Francisco, when you left
office, African-Americans
were 19 times more likely
to be prosecuted for minor drug
offenses than whites and Hispanics.
When you were attorney general of
California, you increased the
support, the disproportionate
incarceration of blacks in
California. You did nothing on
criminal justice reform.
In California, you didn't lift a
finger to pass the first step back
on Capitol Hill.
I mean, the reality is your record
speaks for itself. President Trump and I have fought for criminal justice
reform, we fought for educational choice and opportunities for African
Americans. And we'll do it for 4 more years.
You know there is no more imoportant issue than the final isuse that
we're going to talk about tonight.
But Susan, he attacked my record and I would like the opportunity to
respond.
Let me give you 30 seconds because we're running out of time.
I appreciate that.
First of all, having
served as the attorney general
of the state of California, the
work that I did is a model
of what our nation needs to do
and we will be able to do under
a Joe Biden presidency.
Our our agenda
includes what this administration
has failed to do.
It will be about not only
instituting a ban on chokeholds
in crowded halls.
Thank you. Not only thank you,
Senator. I would like to go through.
These are points that you made earlier in the hour. And I want to talk
about the election itself before we.
But I want to talk about the connection between what Joe and I will do
and my record, which includes I was the first statewide officer to
institute a requirement that my agents would wear body cameras and keep
them on full time. We were the first to inititate a requirement that
there would be a training for law enforcement on implicit bias. Because
yes, Joe Biden and I recognize that implicit bias does exist, Mr. Vice
President, contrary to what you may
believe. We did the work of
instituting reforms that were about
investing in reentry.
This is the work that we have done
and the work we will do going
forward. And again,
I will not be lectured by the vice president on our record of what we
have done in terms of law enforcement and keeping our communities safe
and a commitment to reforming the criminal justice system of America.
Thank you, Senator Harris. And I'd like to pose the
first I'd like you to respond first
to the question on our final
topic, the election itself.
President Trump has several times
refused to commit himself to
a peaceful transfer of power
after the election.
If your ticket wins and President Trump refuses to accept a peaceful
transfer of power, what steps would you and Vice President Biden then
take? What happens next? You have two minutes.
So I'll tell you, Joe and I are particularly proud of the coalition that
we've built around our campaign. We probably have one of the broadest
coalitions of folks that you've ever seen
in a presidential race. Of course, we have the support of Democrats, but
also independents and Republicans. In fact, seven members of President
George W. Bush's cabinet are supporting our ticket. We have the support
of of Colin Powell, Cindy McCain, John Kasich, over 500 generals, retired
generals and former national security experts and advisors are supporting
our campaign. And I believe they are doing that because they know that
Joe Biden has a deep, deep seated commitment to fight for our democracy
and to fight for the integrity of our democracy. And to bring integrity
back to the White House. And so we believe in the American people. We
believe in our democracy. And here's what I'd like to say to everybody.
Vote, please vote. Vote early, come up with a plan to vote. Go to
iwillvote.com. You can also go to joebiden.com. We have it within our
power in these next twenty seven days to make the decision about what
will be the course of our country for the next four years. And it is
within our power. And if we use our vote and we use our voice, we will
win and we will not let anyone subvert our democracy with what Donald
Trump has been doing as he did on the debate stage last week, when,
again, in front of 70 million people, he openly attempted to suppress the
vote. Joe Biden, on the other hand, on that same debate stage, because
clearly Donald Trump doesn't think he can run on a record because it's a
failed record, Joe Biden on that stage said, hey, just please vote. So
I'll repeat what Joe said. Please vote.
Thank you, Senator. Vice President
Pence, President Trump has several
times refused to commit himself
to a peaceful transfer of power
after the election.
If Vice President Biden is declared
the winner and President Trump
refuses to accept a peaceful
transfer of power, what would
be your role and responsibility
as vice president?
What would you personally do?
You have two minutes.
Well, Susan, first and foremost, I
think we're going to win this election
because while Joe Biden and Kamala
Harris rattle off a long litany the
establishment in Washington, DC
and the establishment that Joe Biden
has been a part of for 47 years,
President Donald Trump
has launched a movement of everyday
Americans from every walk of life.
And I have every confidence that
those
same Americans that delivered that historic victory in 2016, they see
this president's record, where we rebuild our military, we revived our
economy through tax cuts and rolling back regulation, fighting for fair
trade, unleashing American energy. We
appointed conservatives to our
federal courts at every level.
And we stood with the men and women
of law enforcement every single day.
And I think that movement of
Americans has only grown stronger
in the last four years.
When you talk about accepting the
outcome of the election,
I must tell you,
Senator, your party has spent the
last three and a half years trying
to overturn the results of the last
election.
It's amazing.
When Joe Biden was vice president of
the United States, the
FBI actually spied on
President Trump in my campaign.
I mean, there were documents
released this week that the CIA
actually made a referral
to the FBI documenting
that those allegations were coming
from the Hillary Clinton campaign.
And, of course, we've all seen the avalanche, what you put the contry
through for the better part of three years until it was found that there
was no obstruction, no collusion, case closed. And then, Senator
Harris, you and your colleagues in
the in the Congress
trying to impeach the president of
the United States over a phone
call, and now Hillary Clinton has
actually said to Joe Biden that
under, in her words, under no
circumstances should he concede the
election. So let me just say, I
think we're going to win this
election. President Trump and I are
fighting every day in courthouses to
prevent Joe Biden and Kamala
Harris from changing the rules and
creating this universal mail in
voting that will create a massive
opportunity for voter fraud.
And we have a free and fair
election. We know we're going to
have confidence in it.
And I believe in all my heart, the
president, Donald Trump, is going to be
reelected for four more years.
You know, I've
written all the questions that I've
asked tonight. But for the final
question of the debate, I'd like
to read
a question and someone else wrote.
The Utah Debate Commission asked
students in the state
to write essays about what they
would like to ask you.
And I want to close tonight's debate
with the question posed by Breckland
Brown. She's an 8th grader at
Springville Junior High in
Springville, Utah. And here's what
she wrote.
Quote, "When I watch
the news, all I
see is arguing between Democrats and Republicans. When I watch the news,
all i see is citizen fighting against citizen. When I watch the news, all
I see are two candidates from opposing parties trying to tear each other
down.
If our leaders can't get
along, how are the citizens supposed
to get along?" And then she added,
"Your examples could make
all the difference to bring us
together," end quote.
So to each of you in turn, I'd like
you to take one minute and respond to Breckland. Vice President Pence,
you have one minute.
Breckland, it's a wondeful question. They were on polar
opposites on the Supreme Court of
the United States, one very
liberal, one very conservative.
But what's been learned since her
passing was the two of them and
their families were the very closest
of friends.
I mean, here in America, we can
disagree. We can debate vigorously,
as Senator Harris and I have on
this stage tonight.
But when the debate is over, we
come together as Americans
and that's what people do in big
cities and small towns all across
this country. So I just want to
encourage you, Breckland, I want to
tell you that
we're going to work every day to
have government as good as our
people.
And the American people each and
every day love a good
debate. We love a good argument,
but we always come together and are
always there for one another.
Thank you.
In times of need.
And we've especially learned that.
Thank you, Mr. Vice President.
Through the difficulties of this
year.
Senator Harris, what would you say
to Breckland?
First of all,
I love hearing from our young
leaders. And when I hear her
words, when I hear your words,
Breckland, I know our future is
bright. Because it
is that perspective
on who we are and who we should be
that is a
sign of leadership and is something
we should all aspire to be.
And that, you know, that brings me
to Joe, Joe Biden.
One of the reasons that Joe decided
to run for president
is after Charlottesville, which
we talked about earlier.
It so troubled him and upset him
like it did all of us, that there
was that kind of hate
and division.
What propelled Joe to run for
president was to see that over
the course of the last four years,
what Breckland described has been
happening. Joe has a longstanding
reputation of working across the
aisle and working in a bipartisan
way. And that's what he's going to do as president. Joe Biden has a
history of lifting people up and fighting for their dignity. I mean, you
have to know Joe's story to know that Joe has know pain.
He has known suffering.
And he has known
love.
And so, Breckland, when
you think about the future,
I do believe the future is bright.
And it will be because of your
leadership.
And it will be because we fight for each person's voice through their
vote. And we get engaged in this election. Because you have the ability
through your work and through, eventually, your vote.
Thank you, Senator Harris.
To determine the future of our country and what its leadership looks
like.
Thank you, Senator Harris. Thank you, Vice President Pence. Thank you so
much for being with us tonight. We want to thank also the University of
Utah for its hospitality. And, most of all, our thanks to all the
Americans who watched this debate tonight. Again, our best wishes for a
quick recovery to President Trump, the first lady, and everyone who is
battling COVID-19. The second presidential
debate is next week on October
15th, a town hall style debate in
Miami. We hope you'll join us then.
Good evening.