The last presidential debate left an obvious bad taste in the American public’s mouth. Aside from interruptions and the generally chaotic organizing of the event, the presidential candidates’ debate degenerated into a name-calling contest that, while characteristic of American politics, definitely crossed the line of what is acceptable. Many hoped that both vice-presidential candidates would have a more civil discussion on the matters affecting the United States. While this was true, for the most part, it highlighted a much more pressing matter: the candidates don’t seem to bother answering the questions directly.
Kamala Harris certainly proved more aggressive than her presidential counterpart, Joe Biden. At one point, Mike Pence began speaking over Harris before she was done and received a forceful, “I’m not done yet.” This does not mean that Pence played meek in the face of the former District Attorney’s onslaught. When the topic of Trump’s uncouth statements about minorities came into play, the current Vice President doubled back and brought up Harris’ own record of her agents’ aggressive policing of African Americans in her district.
What tied this debate to the last was the moderator’s inability to rein in each candidate. Pence was frequently reminded that his time was up to which he ignored, something Harris also mirrored. Both speakers would often rather bring up the positives of each candidate they represented. However, Harris had choice words to say against Biden when she ran in the primaries just a few months ago, then actually responding directly to the question. One of the last questions had to do with Trump multiple times, admitting he would not allow for a peaceful transference of power should he lose the election. Pence barely spoke on it and opted to speak about the Democrats’ frequent attempts to impeach the president and overturn the 2016 election, claiming he does not doubt that his party will win in November. Harris barely gave anything close to a succinct response to the letter of a child that was distraught over the lack of bipartisan cooperation in these last four years, echoing much of what Pence had said before but with Biden put on the pedestal position.
The true MVP of the debate was the large fly that landed on Pence’s head and went unnoticed for a large portion of the debate’s final act.
