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With strong measures and without being cordial, Wednesday night’s debate between the candidates for the US vice presidency ended. being the opposite pole of the chaotic exchange between President Donald Trump and the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, last week.
A confrontation between rivals that, although they did not agree on almost nothing, allowed in-depth discussion of the issues that matter most to the country. And, as expected, the coronavirus ended up being the epicenter of the discussion.
Senator Kamala Harris and the current Vice President, Mike Pence, met in Salt Lake City (Utah), amid unusual security protocols to prevent a possible contagion of covid-19. Each one, four meters apart and with a plastic wall as a dividing wall.
That, as a result of the positive diagnosis that Trump received last week and that already affects at least 15 people around him. Initially, Pence’s team refused to accept the wall, which was demanded by Harris.
Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s formula.
But organizers insisted it was necessary or the debate would have to be canceled. In the end, the Republican campaign gave its arm to twist despite the fact that the precaution was hardly logical given that Pence works in the White House and could be infected even though his tests have been negative.
Also read: Biden’s attacks on Maduro in his campaign for Hispanic votes)
And that was precisely the first question of the night when the moderator asked Harris what Biden would do if he became president to face the pandemic. The senator started with a strong attack, claiming that the administration had known since January how lethal the disease was and chose to hide the reality from the Americans.
This is the biggest failure of any administration in history. More than 210,000 people have died and millions have been affected
“This is the biggest failure of any administration in history. More than 210,000 people have died and millions have been affected. They politicized the use of masks. And the worst thing is that they have no plan (…) “Harris said. Pence argued that Biden’s plan was plagiarism, as it was identical to the one they were developing. According to the vice president, Trump has put the health of Americans first.
(Further: ‘Contracting covid-19 has been a blessing from God’: Trump)
Harris went back on the offensive pointing out the enormous cost that the Americans were paying for the incompetence of the government. And she said, in turn, that she would be the first to get a vaccine if the doctors recommend it But not if it is announced by Trump because he believes that the president is accelerating its development only to benefit politically and present it before the elections.
Pence criticized her for decimating the credibility of a cure that could save thousands just by hitting it. The debate then turned to economic issues where the vice president said the Biden-Harris duo will raise taxes for everyone and bury the economy. Harris said Biden will not raise taxes on people who earn more than $ 400,000 and held Trump responsible for creating the worst economic recession since the Great Depression.
He also argued that the Republican administration will end health services. Although the debate between vice presidential candidates does not usually have the same interest as those agreed between the incumbents to the White House, yesterday’s debate became more relevant given the explosive environment that exists in the country and how contentious this presidential race has been .
Mike Pence, Donald Trump formula.
Climate change also figured high in the debate. Harris said the administration didn’t even believe in science when it came to approaching this issue and that in these four years they have been regressing. Pence defended himself by saying that the Trump administration has been one of the best at protecting the environment and that Biden would only raise taxes to fund a costly plan, the Green Deal, that will cost millions to jobs.
For the first time in the debates, the topic of foreign policy appeared with an emphasis on China, Russia and the fight against terrorism.
SERGIO GÓMEZ MASERI
EL TIEMPO correspondent
WASHINGTON
On twitter: @ sergom68
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